Teleios: March 2021

Wednesday, March 31, 2021

Marriage - God's Plan: Part 2

Welcome back to my blog.

Few topics are as important to our lives as marriage. However, this long-standing institution has been under attack in our culture for the past few generations! Is marriage, as traditionally defined as a legal union between a man and a woman, worth preserving for society? Is there an advantage to this form of union to individuals’ mental and physical health, and to society in general? Numerous studies have shown the benefit of traditional marriage on personal and mental wellbeing, health, and finances (1-8).

In my last blog (https://teleiosresearch.com/blog-marriage-gods-plan/) we discussed that marriage’s primary purpose in the Bible is a tool for spreading the gospel and related this relationship to Christ and His bride the church. This time let us discuss the research that backs the great value marriage conveys to its participants and society.

Teleios recently reviewed published studies in the medical literature which evaluated the benefits and disadvantages of legally binding, heterosexual marriage (https://teleiosresearch.com/benefit-of-marriage/). We went back as far as 1966!

The analysis showed overwhelming benefits of traditional marriage on general wellbeing and specific parameters that might affect wellbeing, including:

Physical and mental health
Sexual satisfaction
Family income
Children’s outcomes

Of the 42 articles evaluated, only 3 did not describe any marriage benefits. Even more, the stronger the relationship commitment, the greater trend of enhanced wellbeing. Never married, widowed, and divorced individuals suffered the lowest wellbeing.

Interestingly, individuals in a committed relationship, even unmarried, generally had improved elements of wellbeing compared to those uncommitted. But marriage relationships, which typically demonstrate the strongest legal and outward social commitment to a relationship, generally had the highest wellbeing of all relationships. Further, some evidence in diseased and depressed individuals indicated that the better quality of the marriage relationship, the better the wellbeing-related outcome (Please see Figure 1).

A Gallup polling found similar findings (Table 1; 9).

How to explain these results? We speculate on several reasons.

A committed partner helping with income, household tasks, and raising children can lessen the burden compared to a single parent.
Socialization with a marriage partner provides a potential source of personal enrichment, encouragement, and empathy.
The more committed the relationship, the greater confidence spouses can have in each other thus conserving time, money and emotion required to correct problems in their relationship.
Marriage partners can help maintain good health by encouraging each other to keep medical appointments, take medicines and develop a healthy lifestyle.
The marriage commitment may facilitate sexual satisfaction by building confidence that no competing love interest is diverting the attention of the spouse.

Why would a committed marital relationship have a positive impact on children and the community? Again, several potential explanations are:

A couple can help each other provide time and income to better raise children and serve the community.
Satisfied couples who are not dealing with internal problems can more easily look outwards to helping their children and community.
Committed couples who agree together how to raise their children can provide a more consistent, productive, secure, and supportive home environment.

Our review suggested that traditional marriage generally provides numerous benefits to the relationship partners through enhanced measures of mental and physical wellbeing, and benefits to their children compared to other heterosexual partnership arrangements or single status.

Wow, traditional man-woman marriage is a precious institution, so beneficial for the partners and for society. God is so wise!

Read similar topics:

https://teleiosresearch.com/bible-marriage/

https://teleiosresearch.com/dating-habits-of-young-christians/

https://teleiosresearch.com/effect-early-sexual-activity-mental-health/

Join us next time as we continue to discuss our Christian life and service to God.

William C. Stewart, MD

Horwitz AV (1996). Becoming married and mental health: A longitudinal study of a cohort of young adults. J Marriage Family, 58:895-907.
Marks NF, Lambert JD (1998). Marital status continuity and change among young and midlife adults longitudinal effects on psychological wellbeing. J Family Issues, 19:652-686.
Kamp Dush CM (2013). Marital and cohabitation dissolution and parental depressive symptoms in fragile families. J Marriage Family, 75:91-109.
Meadows SO (2009). Family structure and fathers’ wellbeing: trajectories of mental health and self-rated health. J Health Social Behavior, 50:115-131.
Abern M (2014). Marital status independently predicts testis cancer survival—an analysis of the SEER database. Urologic Oncology, 30:487-493.
Barbash I, Gaglia MA, Torguson R, Minha S, Satler LF, Pichard AD, Waksman R (2013). Effect of marital status on the outcome of patients undergoing elective or urgent coronary revascularization. Am Heart J, 166:729-736.
Hahn BA (1993). Marital status and women’s health: The effect of economic marital acquisitions. J Marriage Family, 55:495-504.
Killewald, A, & Gough, M. (2013). Does specialization explain marriage penalties and premiums? Am Sociological Review, 78:477-502.
https://news.gallup.com/poll/154001/separation-divorce-linked-sharply-lower-wellbeing.aspx

For questions or to view more of our research…

Email info@teleiosresearch.com

Website http://teleiosresearch.com/

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/TeleiosResearch

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/TeleiosResearch

Youtube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCh6wIbPgxeP0YvypwAn5-9Q

Disclaimer - This blog and its content are provided only as information. No content on the website should be taken as advice or recommendation to any personal or institutional situation. The views expressed are those of the author and not necessarily either shared or endorsed by Teleios. Both the blog and the contents are subject to change at any time without notice. Although I endeavor to ensure that the blog and the content are current and accurate, it may contain errors. I do not represent that the blog or the content is current, accurate or complete, or appropriate for your specific requirements. I do not accept any liability from any person for the blog, the content or any other information (or the use of such information) I provide. I do not have a seminary degree, but I have trained myself in the scriptures to teach and provide this information. For any specific question, I suggest you contact experts in that field and or do your own research into the scriptures.

Wednesday, March 24, 2021

Marriage – God’s plan

Welcome back to my blog and thank you for visiting.

Most people would agree that few topics are as important to our lives as marriage. However, this long-standing institution has been under attack in our culture for the past few generations! Is marriage, as traditionally defined as a legal union between a man and a woman, worth preserving for society? Is there an advantage to this form of union to individuals’ mental and physical health, and to society in general?

In the current blog, and the next blog, I am going to discuss the importance of marriage in the Christian life.

Marriage is a foundational institution in our society as it replenishes the country’s population for the next generation. It also provides an important social unit for community function and order as well as helping the weak in society the poor, children and the elderly. Marriage additionally assists its participants. Numerous studies have shown the benefit of traditional marriage on personal and mental wellbeing, health and finances (1-8).

Marriage also represents an important entry into society for married couples. Emotionally, marriage provides love, acceptance, as well as intimacy for the spouses and care for children.

As important as these attributes are regarding marriage, spiritually it is even more important. The Bible describes the main purpose of Christian marriageas demonstrating to society the precious relationship between Christ and the church (Ephesians 5:21-33). Stated another way, marriage is primarily an evangelical tool!

Marriage – Primarily reflects the relationship between Christ and the church

Wow! Why is this, considering all the other important reasons for marriage? Please consider the following:

God’s goals – God’s plans are greater than our own and His plan is to sum up all history in Christ (Ephesians 1:10-11). Consequently, viewing marriage and its purpose within the overall construct of God’s plan is important and appropriate. God wants all people to come to know Him and so marriage is primarily evangelical as we demonstrate Christ’s loving relationship to the church.
Importance to us – Although marriage as a witness to society, it is also vital to our own marriage relationship, as it reminds us that we were married for God’s purposes and not primarily for our own desires such as: sex, a wonderful marriage ceremony, and having children (as wonderful as they are). Remembering God’s goal in marriage also minimizes whatever expectations for marriage we might hold such as the responsibility for household tasks and interactions with extended family.
God defines the relationship – Knowing that the purpose of marriage is to reflect Christ and the church reminds us that we primarily serve Christ and our spouse. When we leave and cleave from our prior families our priorities are clearly to be toward our marriage partner and God (Ephesians 5:31-32).

How then does marriage reflect the relationship between Christ and the church?

The love between a man and a woman reflects the love Christ and the church have for each other.
The love of the husband, and his complete devotion to his wife, reflects the love and devotion of Christ to the church.
The submission of the wife to her husband reflects the submission of the church to Christ. The prescribed order of people and institutions in the Bible is important not only for the function of society, but for the church and family as well (1 Timothy 2:1-2; Romans 13:1-7; Colossians 3:18ff, 1 Peter 2:13-20; Ephesians 6:1-9).It is within the confines of order that the gospel best goes forward to bring people to Christ.
This combination of order, love and devotion provide a productive, caring picture to society of what Christ does for the church. Marriage should attract people to the gospel.

Marriage is a wonderful institution that God has ordained and provides marvelous benefits to the church, society and individuals. However, at its highest purpose is an evangelical tool that God uses to attract people to the gospel.

Thanks very much for joining me today. Join me next time as we discuss Teleios research and the scientific benefits of marriage or read more at https://teleiosresearch.com/marriage-gods-plan/.

Horwitz AV (1996). Becoming married and mental health: A longitudinal study of a cohort of young adults. J Marriage Family, 58:895-907.
Marks NF, Lambert JD (1998). Marital status continuity and change among young and midlife adults longitudinal effects on psychological wellbeing. J Family Issues, 19:652-686.
Kamp Dush CM (2013). Marital and cohabitation dissolution and parental depressive symptoms in fragile families. J Marriage Family, 75:91-109.
Meadows SO (2009). Family structure and fathers’ wellbeing: trajectories of mental health and self-rated health. J Health Social Behavior, 50:115-131.
Abern M (2014). Marital status independently predicts testis cancer survival—an analysis of the SEER database. Urologic Oncology, 30:487-493.
Barbash I, Gaglia MA, Torguson R, Minha S, Satler LF, Pichard AD, Waksman R (2013). Effect of marital status on the outcome of patients undergoing elective or urgent coronary revascularization. Am Heart J, 166:729-736.
Hahn BA (1993). Marital status and women’s health: The effect of economic marital acquisitions. J Marriage Family, 55:495-504.
Killewald, A, & Gough, M. (2013). Does specialization explain marriage penalties and premiums? Am Sociological Review, 78:477-502.

William C. Stewart, MD

For questions or to view more of our research…

Email info@teleiosresearch.com

Website http://teleiosresearch.com/

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/TeleiosResearch

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/TeleiosResearch

Youtube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCh6wIbPgxeP0YvypwAn5-9Q

Wednesday, March 17, 2021

Our life is a service

Welcome back to my blog. This blog investigates what the Bible says about our relationship with God and how the scriptures influence our lives. Today we discuss the enriching topic of service to other people both within or outside the church. To fully serve God we need to turn our thoughts away from ourselves, as we are able, and reach out to others, not only using gracious speech, but our actions as well (1 Peter 4:10).

How are we to act towards others outside the church?

We know that the church of Jesus Christ is pivotal for its members, which include all Christians in promoting the walk with God as well as research from Teleios and others have shown it promotes personal wellbeing. However, Christ sent us into the world to preach the gospel (Matthew 28:19-20) and not to live in an isolated fashion.

How then do we treat others outside the church?

The Bible gives us guidelines:

Do good to all men (Galatians 6:10)
Pray for all men and giving of thanks (1 Timothy 2:1-2)
Be good citizens (1 Timothy 2:1-2; 1 Peter 2:13-15)
Provide things honest to all men (Romans 12:17)
Show love toward all men (1 Thessalonians 3:12)
God wants all men to be saved (1 Timothy 2:4)
As possible, live peaceably with all men (Romans 12:18)
Be gentle to all men, apt to teach, patient (2 Timothy 2:24)

How are we to help others inside the church?

Scripture says that we are to assist each (beyond how we treat each other) inside the body of Christ in a variety of ways:

Be affectionate one to another (Romans 12:10)
Bear one another’s burdens (Galatians 6:10)
Provide social help to those in need (1 Timothy 5:1-16)
Love one another (1 John 4:7)
Comfort one another (1 Thessalonians 5:11)
Serve one another (Galatians 5:13)
Be hospitable to one another (Romans 12:13)
Do not judge one another (Romans 14:13)
Bear with one another (Colossians 3:13)
Be subject to one another (1 Peter 5:5)
Consider how to provoke others to love and good works (Hebrews 10:24)
Exhort each other (Hebrews 3:13)
Pray for each other (Hebrews 13:18)
Fellowship with one another (1 John 1:7)

Teleios Research on service and wellbeing

Amazingly, the service we provide to others helps ourselves by enhancing our knowledge of God (Colossians 1:10), and our own wellbeing (please see below).

Of course, the benefit of serving others is not limited to the person giving but also to the individual or communities receiving the help.

Although the benefit of service has been little studied scientifically to our knowledge, we believe that assistance to communities and giving to individuals promotes a gracious and courteous culture which allows all to pursue their best.

Service and wellbeing study – Teleios recently evaluated the effect of personal service on wellbeing at Grace Community Church (https://teleiosresearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/CV-TELEIOS-GCC-II-CMHJ-2013.pdf). We surveyed 309 adults in two services on one Sunday.

The survey showed that individuals who routinely participated in a community or church-based service program, compared to those who did not, had better wellbeing scores in contentment, peace, joy, purpose and community acceptance. Wow! Who wouldn’t want that? Additionally, people who served had a better global wellbeing score (average of seven questions together) than those who did not serve.

Interestingly, the study showed the benefit of service might occur with as little as one hour a week helping others! The benefit was even greater when people served up to 6 hours per week. In addition, the perceived benefit of the service did not depend on the type of service, whether inside the church or in non-church sponsored community service.

Why would personal service help wellbeing? We don’t know this answer for certain but there are several potentials:

Serving others provides us with a sense of purpose.
Serving provides a comfort that our lives are useful.
When we serve we realize we are being obedient and living consistently with God’s desires.
Our own problems are put into proper perspective not only by perceiving the suffering of other people but also by ordering our own priorities under God’s.
By serving we focus less on our own troubles perhaps reducing the emotional burden of these problems.

In summary, service is fundamental to our Christian walk both inside and outside the church. It has the advantage of enhancing our own wellbeing, uplifting other individuals as well as our society in general and allowing us to know God better.

William C. Stewart, MD

For questions or to view more of our research…

Email info@teleiosresearch.com

Website http://teleiosresearch.com/

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/TeleiosResearch

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/TeleiosResearch

Youtube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCh6wIbPgxeP0YvypwAn5-9Q

Wednesday, March 3, 2021

Sharing Your Faith: Part 1

As Christians and recipients of God’s grace to salvation our natural response is to desire to share the gospel to other people as Christ commanded the disciples and us (Matthew 28:20; Mark 16:16; 2 Timothy 2:21-25; 1 Peter 3:15).

As simple as this sounds, Teleios has shown through research several issues often inhibit the gospel from being shared by many Christians (Figure 1):

Nonetheless, God graciously uses Christians to spread His gospel (Romans 10:14-16).

In today’s blog, and the next several editions, were going to help you become a gospel sharing dynamo! Let us look first at people's view in sharing the gospel.

Teleios research – Gospel survey

Teleios recently evaluated how often evangelical Christians share the gospel and what makes a person fear doing so (1). We surveyed all attendees at one Sunday worship service in a midwestern evangelical church. Approximately 370 people participated. Below are some issues the survey addressed:

What is sharing the gospel?

The survey also discovered what many people consider to be sharing the gospel may not necessarily include a verbal explanation! In fact, a verbal gospel message came in only number five on the list of how people say they share. Most common methods are noted in Table 1.

Verbalizing the Gospel – Biblically it is important actually to say the gospel?

The Bible indicates in Romans 10:13-15 that someone has to actually hear the words of the gospel to understand salvation. Further, the apostle Paul in 1 Thessalonians 2:9-10 noted that although he worked day and night to live a blameless life in front of the Thessalonians, he still verbally spoke the gospel to them. In other words, non-verbal efforts, although important, will not bring somebody to belief. A non-Christian needs to hear the specific gospel message.

Do Christians fear in sharing the gospel?

Almost all (96%) participants said they feared sharing the gospel’ but thought they should explain it more often to others (5.1/6.0 rating). Further, participants confessed to some guilt in not explaining the gospel (3.0/6.0 rating). In total, 31% indicated that they shared the plan of salvation verbally with someone once a month or more frequently. However, the fear or social pressure to explain the gospel might have caused participants to confess they exaggerate how often they actually explain the gospel (4.9/6.0 rating).

In a politically correct society where Christians often are demonized as mean, judgmental, racist and uneducated it is easy to feel ashamed and reticent to speak God’s truth. Yet if our God is the God of the Bible, He has given us His power and truth to salvation and for daily living. We have a wonderful message to give our colleagues, family and friends. We are correct and society is wrong! Therefore, we should be confident in sharing these truths in a patient and loving manner (2 Timothy 2:24-25).

Does sharing the gospel help me?

This study also found that the personal wellbeing of the believer telling others how to become Christian was boosted. This was true also for several biblical markers for wellbeing (Table 2)!

Table 2: Wellbeing ratings compared to verbally sharing the gospel monthly or more

Question	Share	Do not share	P-value
Content	4.8	4.5	0.007
Peace	5.0	4.5	0.0004
Joy	5.0	4.4	<0.0001
Purpose	5.3	4.8	0.0001

Why would this be? Several causes might be possible:

Believers may feel better after discussing the gospel realizing they are fulfilling an injunction from the Bible.
A Christian who explains the message of salvation may derive joy knowing they are providing good advice and helping others.
If a Christian does not know how to share the Gospel with someone else, they may not be able to even convince themselves of God’s faithfulness in times of personal doubt, which may hurt their own wellbeing.
It takes our mind off ourselves and focuses on someone else’s needs. This most likely is healthy for us and gives our mind a rest from ruminating over our own troubles.
It orients our goals under those of the almighty God and recognizes His purposes are greater than ours. Therefore, our personal troubles are set in proper perspective, providing a balance to our own mental health.
It helps build community, both in numbers and maturity, by encouraging a civil and gracious society.
Believers who told others about the gospel were more likely to be adherent in other areas of their Christian life including: teaching others, praying, praising God and having meaningful Christian fellowship. These extra measures of adherence, especially in associating with other believers, may have contributed to wellbeing (2,3).

Our study suggests that practicing, Bible-believing Christians generally have high ratings of wellbeing. Although Christians may fear explaining the gospel to others, those who do so show better wellbeing than those who do not.

At Teleios we believe the Bible is true instruction to salvation and healthy lives. What we offer to society is correct and true.

In contrast, what the world offers through globalism, humanism, communism, identity and statist politics cannot match the glory and the benefits from our blessed Savior. We should not recoil from the world but realize what we have is good for our family, friends and society.

Join us next time as we discuss the exact elements of the gospel and how easily it can be said to others! Thanks for joining me today and I look forward to seeing you at my next blog.

For more on the topic see…

Jesus Film Project - We Asked 1,600+ Christians Why They Don't Share Their Faith

https://www.jesusfilm.org/blog-and-stories/asked-1600-christians-why-they-dont-share-their-faith.html

William C. Stewart, MD

For questions or to view more of our research…

Email info@teleiosresearch.com

Website http://teleiosresearch.com/

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/TeleiosResearch

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/TeleiosResearch

Youtube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCh6wIbPgxeP0YvypwAn5-9Q