Is from Al Mohler. Dr. Mohler deals with the scandal of divorce in the evangelical church: Divorce — The Scandal of the Evangelical Conscience. He refers to and interviews political scientist Mark Smith on this topic (there is both a blog post and an audio file, you should definitely listen to the audio file as well)
The sanctity of human life is a cause that demands our priority and sacrifice. The challenge represented by the possibility (or probability) of legalized same-sex marriage demands our attention and involvement, as well.
But divorce harms many more lives than will be touched by homosexual marriage. Children are left without fathers, wives without husbands, and homes are forever broken. Fathers are separated from their children, and marriage is irreparably undermined as divorce becomes routine and accepted. Divorce is not the unpardonable sin, but it is sin, and it is a sin that is condemned in no uncertain terms.
Evangelical Christians are gravely concerned about the family, and this is good and necessary. But our credibility on the issue of marriage is significantly discounted by our acceptance of divorce. To our shame, the culture war is not the only place that an honest confrontation with the divorce culture is missing.
Divorce is now the scandal of the evangelical conscience.
I think that is a powerful statement. Divorce is far more devastating to family life than homosexual "marriage" and is just as wrong. What was interesting was that this political scientist recognized something that much of the church does not, that divorce is a hard thing to speak out against because it is so common in the church and you can't hide it. Someone who has an abortion can come to church the next Sunday and no one will be the wiser. When a couple in a local church gets divorced, everyone knows about it.
The church frankly is soft on divorce and we are called out on it, and rightly so, by the unbelieving world. It is easy to rail against homosexuals because by and large they are not members of conservative evangelical churches and are not putting money into the offering plate. It is harder to call something a sin that so many people in the church are starting to see as, if not normal, at least a reality we have to live with.
2 comments:
But Arthur,
Jesus said it was ok to Divorce...you know...and Paul...he backs Jesus up even better...
Three A's bro..
Abuse
Adultery
Abandonment...
I'm set...who needs a covenant..the second the ol' lady is outta line...
BOOM Bill of divorcement. Gonna get me some new diggs...
Arthur,
I agree that the effects of divorce are terrible. I can also testify that living in a home where parents fight continuously is not good either. Unfortunately this is not an issue that is black and white. It is complicated, in my opinion. As followers of Christ, we should be mutually committed to Him, and to each other, and should be willing to forego our "rights". Mutual submission is a huge part of a successful marriage, and is especially important when trying to repair a broken relationship. Things get really complicated when both parties aren't mutually committed.
The issue that is bigger than divorce, to me, actually comes way before: choosing your mate. I observe lots of people getting married, as my wife runs a business that provides wedding services. People today, many Christians included, have NO IDEA what love is, and I think many times people marry who have no business getting married, either in general, or to the person they are currently marrying. Our society, and again, many Christians, take marriage way too lightly, and thus get themselves into relationships they should not be in. The result is often too people too immature to make a bad relationship work, or one willing and able but the other not, which is a bad situation whether Mom and Dad stay married or divorce.
The answer is difficult. Actually, there is no answer for the world at large. The answer in the body of Christ is for His people to take service to Christ seriously, and seek His face in determining whom to marry (or whether to marry). When I met my wife, I knew, early on, that I should marry her, even though my flesh and emotions lagged months behind (sounds strange, I know, but true). It took great perseverance, for both of us, but we can see exactly how we were made for each other, and how any other mate would not have been right for either of us, and our particular sets of issues.
So, divorce is bad, but as the body of Christ let us endeavor to grow in maturity so that we raise children who understand the sacrificial nature of love, who are committed to following Christ at all costs, and thus are capable of handling anything that life could throw at a married couple. That is the ultimate answer.
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