Why the Engagement Ring is the Foundation of Your Marriage

There are a thousand different opinions on rings that symbolize marriage. Some people put a lot of weight behind the meaning of a ring, while others think nothing of it at all. I recently read an article about the engagement ring titled, "Why Engagement Rings are a Joke."

The article, which you can read here, goes on to mock some of the marketing pitches that put so much emphasis on the ring and its correlation to love. While I agree that the marketing tactics can take an over-the-top approach to try and convince a person to buy the biggest, baddest diamond there is, I don't think they are a joke.

 I actually think the engagement ring is the foundation of your marriage. Without a good engagement ring, the wedding ring and all else that follows may not even happen. Or if they do happen, it may not be what you expected.

Let me explain my take on rings. I believe there are 7 rings of marriage, but not everyone is familiar with them, and not everyone gets to wear all 7 marriage rings. The 7 rings of marriage are not actual, physical rings. They are different stages in marriage.

The stages (rings) start from engagement and go through a stage in marriage that only few reach. Here is the list of rings:

Engagement RING

Wedding RING

DiscoveRING

PerseveRING

RestoRING

ProspeRING

MentoRING

Whether you are engaged, a newlywed, or a marriage vet, your marriage is at one of those stages right now. And each ring, or stage, doesn't have a timetable.

But back to the engagement ring, and why I say it is the foundation of your marriage. There is a passage in the Bible which provides a great backdrop for foundations, which the engagement ring is.

The passage talks about a wise man and a foolish man who both build houses. The wise man builds his house on a rock (maybe a diamond *wink*), and the foolish man builds his house on sand. Of course when storms (tough times) came, the wise man's house stood, while the foolish man's house fell.

 Much like the foundation each man built his house on, your engagement ring is the foundation you build your marriage on. You can build on a rock (so many diamond ring companies should be calling me for advertising right now), or sand.