THE BARGAIN 1

"In ancient times, there was the bride price—a man paid the father based on the woman's beauty or inheritance. We condemn it as awful. 

But today, we've made it democratic: men and women evaluate partners like investments—what assets do they bring? We say 'She's on the market' or 'He got a bad deal.' In Timothy Keller's The Meaning of Marriage, this reveals a consumer mindset. 

Lesson: True marriage isn't transactional—it's a covenant of selfless love, mirroring Christ's unconditional commitment to us."