Has God's Views Changed?

Has God's Views Changed?

"Has not the Lord made them one? In flesh and spirit they are his. And why one? Because He was seeking godly offspring. So guard yourself in your spirit, and do not break faith with the wife of your youth. "I hate divorce," says the Lord, God of Israel ..." Malachi 2:15-16

On Tuesday I witnessed the real deal. It broke my heart to see what was going on in the hallway were I was sitting with a friend whose marriage was about to end in divorce.

Today's blog is not meant to make someone reading this who has been divorced feel condemnation or judgment. I don't know your story.

My wife's parents went through a painful divorce shortly before we were married. Painful really doesn't describe how it impacted my wife and her siblings, nor my in-laws, and it even had a negative impact on our church. It had ugly tentacles that reached far beyond the impact it had on my in-laws.

On Tuesday, I watched one gal who was absolutely jubilant that her marriage was over. I watched the drama unfold as a husband and wife fought over the custody of their two little girls. How painful it was to see the kids torn apart in having to choose between Mom and Dad.

I watched how a picture-perfect couple -- a very beautiful young lady, and a very handsome young man, ended a four year marriage that obviously was going to hurt their little boy. It took less than ten minutes to end a marriage of four years. And I really don't think either party realized that the adventure of divorce was only just beginning.

For our friends, a seven year marriage was ending. Nothing about the situation makes any sense. Lots of hurt. Unanswered questions. The potential for bitterness to set in and or rear its ugly head. The paperwork -- a mere formality -- but in the process -- much hurt and pain lies ahead.

Marriage takes work. Talk to anyone who has been married longer than 50 years, and they will tell you that they haven't arrived. Our world has a view of marriage that is not God's view. In this week's TIME magazine, there is an article entitled WHY MARRIAGE MATTERS.

Listen to this quote: In the past 40 years, the face of the American family has changed profoundly. As sociologist Andrew Cherlin observes, what is significant about American families, compared with those of other nations, is their combination of "frequent marriage, frequent divorce" and the high number of "short-term co-habiting relationships." Taken together, these forces "create a great turbulence in American family life, a family flux, a coming and going of partners on a scale seen nowhere else. There are more partners in the personal lives of Americans than in the lives of people of any other Western country ... There is no single force causing as much measurable hardship and human misery in this country as the collapse of marriage. It hurts children, it reduces mother's financial security ...

What a sad commentary on the state of the family in America. Divorce among Christians now is higher than non-Christians.

As I listen to the stories of people who are throwing in the towel, I shudder to hear the reasons. If these were truly legitimate reasons to end a marriage, Jan would have left me years ago. She deserves a gold medal for being married to me.

Maybe we need to think about why God makes the statement that He hates divorce. Watching the drama unfolding before me in the courtroom, gave me a little glimpse into why it grieves His heart.

Maybe the church needs to get back to basics. Get back to honoring the vows we made at the altar -- "what God has joined together -- let no man put asunder." -- Bill Welte is President and CEO of America's KESWICK

God's WORD for YOU: Proverbs 16; Psalm 16-17; Acts 20:1-16

Great Quote: He gave me a great fortune, placed thousands and millions at credit, but He gave a cheque-book with this one condition, "You never can draw more than you need at the time." Every time a cheque was wanted, however, there was the name of Jesus upon it, and so it brought more glory to Him, kept His name before the heavenly world and God was glorified in His Son. A. B. Simpson

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