In a self-absorbed world, we are unwittingly influenced by the words and actions of others. From weekend parties, to watching negative TV programs, to texting while driving, many people simply follow the lead of others. After all, how can so many people be wrong? Yet people can be hurt by social norms they don't question. We often go along to get along. This happens in groupthink, and groupthink on a grand scale can be dangerous to our marriages and families!

Groupthink can directly affect the way we view marriage. Groupthink author Irving Janisdefined the phenomenon: "[G]roupthink…refer[s] to the mode of thinking that persons engage in when concurrence-seeking becomes so dominant in a cohesive in-group that it tends to override realistic appraisal of alternative courses of action. [T]he term refers to a deterioration in mental efficiency, reality testing and moral judgments as a result of group pressures" (Janis, I.L., Psychology Today, 1971, p. 43-46; emphasis mine).

When millions of TV viewers watch shows like The Modern Family or The New Normal, they can eventually water down or dismiss their Christian roots and morals and incrementally absorb the amorality of such shows. Remarkably, groupthink also works on a grand scale.

Over the last 60 years, following World War II and the pervasive impact of television, the institution of marriage has deteriorated dramatically. As Americans became more affluent, they invested in the novel technology of television, which became, to media moguls, more of a business tool than an educational one. Media companies maximize their income by playing on the basest of human passions. Bad news sells better than good news. The result is that more people watch, or are excited by, the basest of human experiences, like illicit sex, violence and corruption.

On a global scale, whole societies can exhibit groupthink just like smaller in-groups. It's based on concurrence-seeking that overrides any realistic appraisal of other good courses of action. God reveals that the entire world is blinded from the glorious gospel of God by the god of this world (2 Corinthians 4:4). His name is Satan, and his avowed purpose is to destroy humankind from the face of the earth (Matthew 24:21-22; 1 Peter 5:8).

In structuring this Good News article—"Who Will Win the Battle Over Marriage?"—I considered the debilitating effects of groupthink as it applies to the battle over marriage. I began with modern TV programs that influence harmful social thinking (through groupthink) while chipping away at the building blocks of society: marriage and family. I then discussed an unseen power who flaunts (through global groupthink) his hate-filled designs against humankind. Finally, I showed that God will win the battle over marriage and the family unit through Jesus Christ our Lord, after His return to this earth (Malachi 3:1; John 14:3). This is positive groupthink (Hebrews 8:10-12).

The Good News is dedicated to imparting spiritual understanding to any who hunger and thirst for God. "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled" (Matthew 5:6). We are dedicated to helping you to satisfy that hunger and thirst!

Thank you for allowing us to share godly principles about how to have a happy marriage and also to explain the conventional wisdom of groupthink that directly affects the battle over marriage. We invite you to share with others The Good News, which is free and without obligation or follow-up.