On the question whether beautiful stories and moving poetry are better than well-stated propositions, Timothy says that that question could not be answered concretely, simply because the theological part always tends to be propositions, the polemical is made of arguments and the practical one is comprised of stories with points – which means one without the other simply doesn't go. You can't paraphrase a story and narrow it down to a few simple propositions.
In a nutshell ( if it could be put that way), the meaning of marriage comes down to keeping the fire burn at all times. God made the holy matrimony between a man and a woman for a reason. Other things like respect, support and protection come by definition. But the burning fire requires oxygen to stay alive.