Mark Tabata’s Weekday Devotionals:
Friday February 13 2026
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Psalm 68:6 (ERV)-God provides homes for those who are lonely. He frees people from prison and makes them happy. But those who turn against him will live in the desert.
Valentine’s Day is a holiday which has many important lessons we can learn from. What is the history behind this celebration of marriage and the family?
“The origin and evolution of Valentine’s Day are deeply rooted in both ancient pagan rituals and Christian traditions, weaving together a complex tapestry of historical influences. Dating back to ancient Rome, the mid-February period marked the celebration of Lupercalia, a fertility festival dedicated to Faunus, the Roman god of agriculture, and Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome….However, the Christianization of Roman traditions saw the eventual transformation of Lupercalia into Valentine’s Day. The exact origins of the association between Saint Valentine and romantic love remain shrouded in legend. One popular legend suggests that Saint Valentine, a third-century Roman priest, defied Emperor Claudius II’s decree banning marriage for young men, secretly marrying couples to spare the husbands from conscription. Imprisoned for his actions, Valentine reportedly healed the jailer’s blind daughter and sent her a farewell letter signed “Your Valentine” before his execution on February 14th. The medieval period witnessed the romanticization of Valentine’s Day, particularly through the works of Geoffrey Chaucer and the concept of courtly love. Chaucer’s poetry, such as “The Parliament of Fowls,” linked February 14th with romantic love, cementing Valentine’s Day as a day for expressing affection. Over time, Valentine’s Day evolved into a celebration of romantic love, transcending religious boundaries and spreading globally. Today, it is characterized by the exchange of cards, flowers, and gifts among loved ones, a testament to its enduring popularity and adaptability across cultures and generations.” (Sara E. Monzo, The True Story Behind Valentine’s Day: History, Origin, Significance, Facts, And Story Of Valentine’s Day, 5-6 (Kindle Edition): Amazon)
The holiday of Valentine’s Day is a reminder to us of the importance of marriage and the family as God designed it.
Mark 10:6-8-But from the beginning of the creation, God ‘MADE THEM MALE AND FEMALE.’ 7 ‘FOR THIS REASON A MAN SHALL LEAVE HIS FATHER AND MOTHER AND BE JOINED TO HIS WIFE, 8 AND THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH’; so then they are no longer two, but one flesh.
In our day and age, there have been several attempts to redefine marriage and the home. Yet there are many good reasons for honoring God’s parameters for the family.
“However, marriage is much more than the private relationship of two people in a marriage. Marriage is a social institution that provides society with the very foundation of civilization—the procreating family unit. There would be no stability for children and, therefore, no community without marriage. In fact, marriage is the oldest and most basic of the three foundational institutions of Western civilization (the other two are government and the church). It is the most basic of the three because without children there would be no need for a government or a church, and no government or church can parent like a mom and a dad. The benefits of natural marriage cannot be overstated. It benefits the married couple, their children, our economy, and the nation as a whole. In fact, natural marriage serves as a kind of national immune system. When our marriages are strong, our nation is strong and our social problems are few. When our marriages are weak, so is our nation. Natural marriage: a. Lengthens life spans of men and women. 6 b. Civilizes men and focuses them on productive pursuits. Unmarried men cause society much more trouble than married men. (How many married men do you know who rove neighborhoods in street gangs?) c. Protects women, who often give up or postpone their careers to have children, from being abandoned and harmed economically by uncommitted men. d. Protects mothers from violent crime. Mothers who have never been married are more than twice as likely to suffer from violent crime as mothers who have married. 7 e. Lowers welfare costs to society. 8 f. Encourages an adequate replacement birth rate, resulting in enough productive young people to contribute to society and provide social security to the elderly. The United States’ birth rate is about 2.1 per couple—any lower and the nation cannot sustain itself without immigration. Children from natural marriage homes are: a. Seven times less likely to live in poverty9 b. Six times less likely to commit suicide10 c. Less than half as likely to commit crime11 d. Less than half as likely to become pregnant out of wedlock12 e. Develop better academically and socially13 f. Healthier physically and emotionally when they reach adulthood14 These positive results of marriage are not new to our twenty-first century culture. Since virtually the dawn of humanity, marriage has been the bedrock of human social structure. In fact, British anthropologist J.D. Unwin studied eighty-six civilized and uncivilized cultures spanning five thousand years and found that the most prosperous cultures were those that maintained a strong marriage ethic. Every civilization that abandoned this ethic, including the Roman, Babylonian, and Sumerian empires, experienced demise soon after liberalizing their sexual practices. 15 A civilized and productive society will not long endure if its adults abandon their children and one another in order to pursue sexual desires outside of natural marriage.” (Frank Turek, Correct, Not Politically Correct: How Same-Sex Marriage Hurts Everyone, Updated and Expanded, 12-13 (Kindle Edition); Charolette, NC; CrossExamined.org)
Valentine’s Day reminds us of the beautiful gift of love that God has given to humanity.
Lord, thank You for the gift of family. Amen.