Marriage: contract or covenant?

Do you see marriage as a contract (1) or as a covenant (2)? I am not saying that one or the other type of marriage is necessarily better than the other. The problem would likely come if one partner sees it as business and the other sees it as covenant. Of course there are some “marriages” that are completely for business and I suppose my use of parentheses betrays my prejudice. “Now wait a minute” you say. “We're in love! We're not in some kind of business deal!” I think it is the fog of love that keeps us from recognizing and reconciling our different points of view.
Even with premarital counseling we may not recognize our differences in attitudes, or even understand our own. After thirty years of marriage this thought has just come to me. I would have said that marriage is spiritual, but what does that mean?
I might have said that marriage is an endeavor(3) like climbing a mountain. Once we have undertaken climbing Mt. Everest, we will go to extreme lengths to see that everyone makes it back down alive. I don't think there is much haggling over the fine print at twenty thousand feet. “I hired you to carry a seventy pound pack and now you have a broken leg – you're fired!”
In an endeavor we put ourselves all out. We risk injury and loss. We accept pain and bruising. (I am not advocating acceptance of physical abuse here) Think of an athlete who trains hard and works to avoid injury, but also works through injuries when they happen.
Joseph Campbell said, “Marriage is not a simple love affair, it's an ordeal, and the ordeal is the sacrifice of ego to a relationship in which two have become one.”(4) My interpretation is that the marriage is the greater idea to which both parties sacrifice themselves in covenant. Marriage is the endeavor. Marriage is the mountain we climb. And of course not all endeavors are successful. Not everyone makes it to the summit. Or perhaps those endeavors are successful even though the proposed goal was not achieved. Perhaps the endeavor is in the work, not the goal.
In an individual marriage we may not think about how the trappings reflect our beliefs. Was the marriage in a church because that's where marriages happen or because the church was an integral part of our concept of marriage? Perhaps the marriage was officiated by a minister though not in a church. Were these decisions purposefully made or made to appease someone? Was the marriage a quickie wedding in Las Vegas but in our heart was a commitment to a higher purpose. There are many reasons why our marriage ceremony may or may not have been in a particular setting. The question is were we, or are we, aware of the psychological context in which we and our partner entered the marriage.
I think these distinctions may not come to the forefront until serious difficulties enter the relationship. Recognizing the differences or similarities in our attitudes toward marriage can help us in coming to terms with the issues. It helps to know if we are on the same page or not. It may help to recognize whether reconciliation is possible or not.
So, this is an invitation to think about it. What page are you on? Are you sure? How about your partner, or partner to be? Has your perspective changed over the years?

(1) contract – Definition: An voluntary agreement between two or more parties to provide specified goods or services in exchange for some payment. (oldmbherald.com)
(2) covenant – Covenant begins with a promise – not to a set of conditions- but to a person. A covenant is a promise of love, loyalty and faithfulness. A covenant precedes, and is larger than, the covenanting parties. They do not negotiate the terms of the covenant. Rather , they acknowledge and commit themselves to terms that are already there in the nature of the covenant relationship. (oldmbherald.com)
(3) endeavor - Definition: An exertion of physical or intellectual strength toward the attainment of an object; a systematic or continuous attempt; an effort; a trial (ardictionary.com)
(4)http://thinkexist.com/quotation/marriage_is_not_a_simple_love_affair-it-s_an/254585.html)