Kenneth Mills: Three questions for life’s eternal love

In that tongue-in-cheek song, Boone declared, “You love ‘em, you leave ‘em / That’s what is known as technique …”

Boone hit the rock ‘n’ roll scene in 1955 and had three hits under his belt when a young singer opened for him in Cleveland, Ohio. That up-and-coming singer was Elvis Presley. During the 1950s and the early 1960s, Billboard magazine listed Boone as second in record sales with Elvis leading the pack.

Boone had 38 top-40 hits and six No. 1 songs during his career. He still holds the record for having at least one single on the Billboard pop charts for 220 consecutive weeks.

He starred in a number of movies, and after his 1957 hit movies, “Bernadine” and “April Love,” he was voted the third most popular star in the United States.

Although Boone’s marriage was not perfect – like most marriages – he and his wife, Shirley, had been married for 65 years at the time of her death a few years ago.

And maybe Tennyson was right. Maybe it is the spring when love starts to bloom. Or maybe it is spring when love really blossoms like the flowers from the April showers.

June used to be the most popular months for marriage, but June is now sharing brides and grooms with other months.

Whether love blooms in spring or a marriage takes place in June, one thing is certain: there are a lot of marriages where love is lost and the union is dissolved. Marriages have lasted for just a few days or many, many years, and something happens that leads the couple to divorce court.

God’s desire is for people to have strong marriages. Strong marriages create strong families; strong families create strong churches; strong churches create strong communities.

While dating or in preparation for marriage, couples can take the Taylor-Johnson Temperament Analysis test. Or folks might prefer to take the Myers Briggs Type Indicator. There are countless seminars couples can attend and an unknown number of dating and pre-marital counseling styles.

Even though they are a lot simpler than a personality test and not as in depth as hours of counseling, there are three questions that go a long way in determining the possibility of having a great marriage.

1. Are they good to me? Why would anyone want to be with someone who is not good to them?

2. Are they good for me? Being good for a person is different than being good to a person.

3. Will they help me go to heaven?

When all is said and done, the most important thing is not did he get me the birthday present I wanted (although that is very important), or did my child get on the softball team with their best friend (although that is great), or did we get to take that Alaskan cruise like a lot of our friends (although that is a great relaxing trip) – and the list could go on and on – the most important thing is that which is eternal: our relationship with our Father.

“For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?” (Matthew 16:26).

Sometimes the simplest questions delve into the deepest crevices of the soul and reap the most discerning and correct answers.