Posted by DivorceLine in News About Christian Divorce
When God created the world, He initiated the institution of marriage and He did not want existence of Christian divorce. This is because he considered the first man to be lonely hence, created for him a companion who is the woman. The Bible states that the woman was created from the man’s ribs indicating, they are a part of each other and should be together forever or when one of them dies. When God considered marriage, He did not want divorce since man was expected to remain sinless forever.
The Bible discourages Christian divorce therefore, gives very specific instances when divorce should be considered. In the early ages, divorce was rarely discussed because it almost never happened among Christian couples. Today, it has become a realistic issue because the society has changed radically. Issues like infidelity have been on the increase hence, more divorce cases among Christians.
Research was carried out to find out the rate of divorce cases among Christians. The statistics show that the chances of a Christian getting a divorce, is almost equal to that of any other spouse, who is non Christian. It would be expected that Christians have the lowest statistics on the rate of divorces but that is not the case. This is because some country laws have put laws, which encourage divorces. For example, some American laws will easily grant divorce no matter the reasons. However, Christians should only consider divorce in instances, which the Bible allows.
Some of the reasons, which have brought divorce, include violence in marriages. It is unfortunate that some Christian marriages are characterized with violence. The Bible allows either of the spouses to seek divorce if the other is physically assaultive. Another major reason, which the Bible fully supports divorce is infidelity. If one of the spouses is unfaithful then the other is at free will to forgive or seek divorce. It is discouraging to find out that Christian divorce is even among church leaders because they are also becoming immoral. Several case have been seen where a pastor establishes an extra marital affair. The wife to such a pastor will definitely divorce him.
Christian married couples have the obligation of doing everything possible to sustain their marriage. It is very devastating to the couple and children, when the family has to break up. To avoid this, the most important thing is a serious and honest commitment to God because this will make a spouse to follow Christian principles keenly. Another fundamental step is to have a strong commitment to the family. This means a spouse will never do anything that would be detrimental to his or her family. Communication between couples is very vital such that without it, a relationship may not survive. The Bible really encourages forgiveness. If one spouse has done anything wrong, it is very important for the other to consider forgiveness. The spouse who has been forgiven should ensure that he or she has turned over a new leaf. This way, Christian divorce rate will be reduced and most of all, marriages will be sustained.
Those who say divorce was more difficult in later life also mention their children as a reason more often than other reasons but to a lesser degree than those who find their previous divorce more difficult.