Why I am for Divorce

Until coming to college, I hadn't realized that people's opinions could vary so greatly. I knew that people were different and therefore thought differently from things of course, but it hadn't really clicked in my head that people could disagree to the point of heated discussion, and I didn't realize that I could get so upset about someone disagreeing with me on a topic that I think to be elementary. I suppose I kind of was shocked when I started school because I grew up homeschooled and did not have much exposure to different kinds of people and beliefs, and as with any child, before you form your own beliefs you first accept those of your parents, or people who look after you. I didn't start forming my own opinions strongly or realizing that I thought differently from others until college.

Recently this summer I have been exposed to several opinions of others on apparently controversial topics that I disagree with, one of them being divorce. A person who I do not wish to spend company with recently told me with a definite tone of voice that there are very few reasons for divorce. He backed himself up with bible verses. Or, rather, he said that he disagreed with divorce because of "biblical reasons".

"To the married I give this charge (not I, but the Lord): the wife should not separate from her husband (but if she does, she should remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband), and the husband should not divorce his wife." - 1 Corinthians 7:10-11

"31 "It has been said, 'Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.'

32 But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, causes her to become an adulteress, and anyone who marries the divorced woman commits adultery." - Matthew 5:31-32

"He said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. And I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery.”"- Matthew 19:3-12

Obviously from these passages, divorce is not ideal, and it is not what God wants. I am struggling with this topic, and I refuse to believe that what these passages are ultimately saying is that divorce is only "acceptable" when it is dealing with adultery. I have several reasons for this:

1. I CANNOT believe that God intends for someone divorced to never remarry. How does this match the character of God? So he wants us to remain unhappy for the rest of our lives, being bound by someone who does NOT honor God?

2. I CANNOT believe that God intends for us to stay with a spouse who is abusive in verbal and physical situations and appears to have no true desire to change/is not changing.

3. I REFUSE to believe that God wants us to stay with someone at the expense of others, when there is no love or God - honoring relationship. i.e children.

4. I CANNOT believe that adultery is the only reason for divorce.

This does not match the character of God. Why would he want us to stay in a relationship that isn't honoring him? Now, I am not saying that divorce should be taken lightly and seen as an "easy" escape from problems in a relationship. But if both you and the spouse have tried to solve your problem to no avail, or your spouse sees no need for remedy. IT IS TIME for a divorce. The marriage is no longer a marriage, because you are not keeping your covenant to one another, and as a result, your marriage is no longer honoring God the way marriage is supposed to.

This is what I currently believe on this topic. I will continue to pray about my opinion and ask God for answers, and to pray for my mother, who is trapped in a marriage with someone who dishonors God with seemingly everything he does, and is constantly hurting my family.

Who Deserves Respect?

My family does devotions every morning after breakfast. They are really short, but are a great way to start the day. Today we talked about honoring authorities; and what that means when one is a Christian, and how to follow God by honoring others.

Since I got a Facebook account, I have realized that a lot of people disagree with the government; not only do they just disagree, they are very adamant about their opinions. And most of them want to share their strong opinions with a wide audience: everyone on Facebook. Recently there has been a lot of this, people complaining about our president in a degrading and disrespectful way which made our family devotion very thought provoking. So who deserves our respect?

Romans 13: 1-7 says the following:
"Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God's wrath but also for the sake of conscience." (ESV)

Now it is important for us to realize that just because we are to respect authorities, does not mean we have to agree with what the person over us says and does. It means we are to respect that person(s) because God set them in place over us. We are to honor and respect them because we are to honor and respect God.

There is also the fact that God made them, just like He made us. So they deserve respect on that level already because they are God's creation and a human being like everyone else.

"Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor." Romans 12:10. (ESV)   

So who deserves our respect? Everyone, even those who do wrong.