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Morning Thoughts |
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Malachi 2:16, "For the LORD, the God of Israel, saith that he hateth
putting away: for one covereth violence with his garment, saith the LORD
of hosts: therefore take heed to your spirit, that ye deal not
treacherously."
This
morning, many things catch our eyes because they are unusual and outside
the normal, everyday activities of life. Other things pass from our
glance due to the normalcy of their occurrence. How many of us remember
a lot of the details of well-worn paths of life? I confess that I many
times notice something on my regular route to and from work and wonder,
"When did that get there?" Things so frequently seen garner little
attendance of thought. Many times this lack of perception is not
injurious to us, but some things happen so frequently that we lose sight
of just how good or evil a circumstance it is. For example, there are
many churches in our immediate and general area that do not have a
pastor right now. Lately, I have heard many from those areas talk about
how thankful they forgot to be when they had a pastor. Sadly, we
neglect to contemplate the good situations when they become "normal,"
but just as regrettably, we fail to contemplate the absolute evil of
other circumstances when become just as "normal."
In
the not too distant past, communities frowned upon single parenthood
outside of wedlock. Today's common practice of infidelity was widely
reviled, and divorces were far less common then than they are today.
The mammoth occurrence of them now makes them seem normal and less
criticized. However, the disciple of Christ that yearns to follow after
the Instruction Book that God has left us should not allow the frequency
of tragic behaviors cloud the understanding of what pleases the Lord and
what He hates. In our study verse, we find language that is as clear as
any language in Scripture about the Lord's feelings on the subject of
divorce. He hates it. It does not get much simpler than that.
Here
lately, I have been amazed to sit in the background and listen to people
at work talk one with another. It is amazing how often one hears the
language of people when they talk about their children. They say things
like "well they are with their mother this weekend" or "their father did
that and I'm not responsible." These are common expressions today from
the divorced. No longer do they even claim an "ex-wife" or
"ex-husband." The language they employ shows that they have passed from
their mind any remnant or trace of the marriage that once was. Their
language pretends that it never happened. As such, they show how little
they think about it - or not at all.
When
I was growing up, my father talked to us quite a bit about marriage, and
his one rule about choosing a spouse was to select one that was "God
fearing" as that principle was something from which all other
foundations of a good marriage could grow and rest upon. In describing
to us what marriage was all about, he many times said "act like divorce
is not an option." Granted, he showed us Biblically what warranted a
putting away (unfaithfulness), but he impressed upon us the severity of
taking that union lightly. Being from a broken home himself, it did not
take effort to see or understand how personal it was to him. He did not
just know the correct Biblical stance on the subject, but he had also
lived through the hell of actually going through it as a boy.
If
the Lord hates putting away as our verse declares, so should we.
Whenever I have had to comfort or console a friend or loved one going
through a divorce, the pain and sorrow that divorce brings seems to
multiply upon itself like a chain reaction. Why would someone who is
not at fault (has been cheated on), still have such multiplied sorrow?
Because they hate the very thing that is upon them. While they believe
the course is necessary due to the callous behavior of their spouse, it
still hurts, and they still hate it. They had all intention of spending
the rest of their life with the person that has now betrayed them. What
a loss! Looking at my current situation, I cannot fathom spending the
rest of my journey on earth with anyone else or without my wife. Such a
thought is hateful to me, and I fervently pray that such a circumstance
will stay perpetually alien to my labours here.
The
world at large today, however, does not hate divorce. It is rapidly
becoming one of the most pedestrian activities that people partake in.
Hearing about another celebrity divorce elicits one big yawn from the
country. Another divorce in many families emotes the same reaction as
it is just one more to add to their family tree. Sadly, many
denominations of the Christian world have softened their opinion on the
subject to the point that leaders in those groups encourage their
members to divorce if they are not happy, because to so many, "God just
wants us all to be happy." Friends, God hates divorce, and God's will
for His children is to be faithful regardless if we are happy in life or
not.
Every
time I hear about another one in the lives of those that I hold dear, it
causes my heart to cry out at yet another family unit that has imploded
along the sands of time. What must God think and feel when viewing the
events of the globe in total at all times? How many people flippantly
conduct themselves without second thoughts or mixed feelings in behavior
that He finds repugnant? While I realize that God has made provision
for ending a union due to the neglect and death that one party brings
upon it in taking another instead of their spouse, that should still be
a hateful situation that we never find agreeable to our soul. May our
constant hearing of it in day-to-day life never soften us to marriage's
importance or God's feelings about the putting away.
One
of my co-workers found out that I was a preacher, and one day he told
me, "Preacher, you got any marriages lined up to do?" When I replied
that I did not have any lined up at present, he said, "Well, let me know
when they come. I'm an expert on marriage. I've been married 4
times." Imagine the shock that I had to contain! Friends, if you want
advice on marriage, go to those that have been truly successful. Go to
those that have done it for 30, 40, or 50 years. Listen to the advice
of the sage and successful in learning how to get through problems and
resolving disagreements. May our ministers be successful in helping
proclaim the Biblical importance of marriage to the edification of the
marriages in the churches. Finally, may we all have a hateful attitude
towards this increasingly common situation so that we never find it
normal even if it is common.
In
Hope,
Bro
Philip |