Saturday Scripture Speaks - Divorce

Malachi 2:16 (GNT)

I hate divorce, says the Lord God of Israel.
         I hate it when one of you does such a cruel thing to his wife. Make sure that you do not break your promise to be faithful to your wife.

It's everywhere these days, and quite a bit accepted - even in the Church, especially in the Church. Divorce, or rather the condemnation of it, has become quite the touchy subject. I am not trying to make a personal statement for or against divorce. I simply want to address the epidemic it has become - and what that epidemic is doing to children.

I know quite a few people who have divorced. Some have remained single while others have remarried. Others yet have remarried to divorce again. The children have taken the brunt of the pain in almost all of those situations. Is it any wonder that God says  He hates divorce?

I watched a movie last night that put a little insight into the reality of this Scripture - at least from today's standpoint. It's titled: A Letter to Dad and it's based on a true story. In this story, a man finds he cannot get past the anger and hurt he felt toward (and because of) his father (and his parents' divorce). He ends up writing his dad a letter to just lay it all out on the line, letting him know about all of the bottled up resentment he has carried throughout his life. It's a touching story that left me thinking about all of the children everywhere in the world who have been changed because of divorce.

Kids love their parents and really do want them to stay together. When they don't the kids carry the guilt and the blame throughout their lives. They don't always express it in direct methods, such as in a letter or face to face. Most of the time it's displayed in their actions. Sometimes it's never expressed - until that child does something drastic, like commit suicide.

If you are divorced, my heart goes out to you. I'm not trying to make you feel guilty. If you have children, young or old, my prayer is that you and your kids can have healthy, good relationships. If you are contemplating divorce, my prayer is that you will seek God's will in this matter - with all that you have in you. If you have a healthy, thriving marriage, my prayer is that you never take that for granted and that you will always keep on alert for anything that might try to destroy that marriage.