Can It Be More Sinful
To Stay Married
Than Get Divorced
Divorce is a touchy subject and has been for a very long time.
General discussions on the topic will often generate friction – especially in religious circles.
When it happens between people we know, conversations are hushed as if something terribly sinful has happened.
Whispered responses and righteous posturing, however, serve no biblical purpose. It only evokes a sense of condemnation in those breaking-up and that, on top of the negative feelings already caused by the experience.
Heck, even people trying to support parting couples feel tainted.
But in spite of popular ideas to the contrary, divorce is not the bad-dy some people make it out to be and should not be viewed as sin. Divorce “may” be caused by sin but should never be considered a punishable or shameful offense.
Controversial statement, I know, but if divorce was a sin God would never have written it into law.
Remember this. Marriage was designed for sinless people in a perfect world. Those conditions no longer exist. The only marriage candidates left are sinful people and the world is no longer a museum of family values and virtue. We shouldn’t be surprised when marriages wobble and we mustn’t become judgmental when they fall part.
Marriage was NOT designed to handle the pressures brought on by one bite of the forbidden fruit. Something else was needed to do that – divorce.
Divorce was legislated as a means of alleviating some of the pressures. It is the safety valve, so to speak – the humane way of dealing with the problems that arise when two human natures – both sinful – are united in one relationship. Even when one person, for sinful reasons, decides they can no longer remain in the marriage, divorce is still a solution for the other. Who would want to stay where they aren’t wanted.
No, I’m not suggesting that every failure can now be excused because we are sinners. I’m saying that divorce, which is not a sin, was created as a means of graciously managing unbearable, sometimes unsafe, marriage situations.
And contrary to what is commonly suggested, the problems that follow a divorce are not caused by the divorce. They are only reflections of the pre-divorce state of the marriage and they are compounded by culturally generated condemning attitudes, usually condescendingly expressed, by friends and family.
Whatever we do in response to divorce should be helpful. Unfortunately, our responses often add to the hurt and divorce gets the blame. [Read more…] about Divorce – Is It Really A Sin?
