"If some of you people would get a divorce from yourself, you might could get along with your mate." —Pastor Danny Castle
Somebody say Amen!
The
divorce rate in southern California hit 75.54%
between 1996-2004. Today is is nearly 80% and climbing. Umpteen Hollywood
celebrities have already been married 3,4,5 times and still going. It's a
form of progressive adultery, going from one marital partner to the next,
swapping spouses like musical chars.
Divorce is a sin according to numerous passages of Scriptures in the Bible. God's original intent was for one man and one woman, joined together for life. The modern practice of moving on from one spouse to the next is foreign to the Word of God. Satan's way is to quit and move on, destroying families and leaving a trail of collateral damage a hundred miles long. Jesus said in John 10:10 that the thief cometh only to steal, kill and destroy. And so it is with feminism and divorce in America today. God hates the sin of divorce, called “putting away” in Malachi 2:16 and Jeremiah 3:20. There's always a seemingly good reason to justify filing for divorce, but God sees the human heart that is full of desperation, deceit and evil (Jeremiah 17:9; Proverbs 24:12)).
Jesus plainly taught that divorce only happens...
“because of the hardness of your hearts” (Matthew 19:8).
THE TEST OF SPIRITUAL MATURITY (life-changing sermon by Dr. Jack Hyles)
Before the ink even dries, most divorced celebrities are already in a new “relationship.” When a woman says, “I'm not in a relationship right now,” what she really means is “I've temporarily stopped whoring around.” ...
What Can We Learn From JLo and Marc Anthony?
We know this much though. Hollywood isn’t real. The people there are real. But the higher their star rises the greater risk they have for falling in bigger ways. They get caught up in the stardom, the money, the glamour. None of that is real and lasting and it makes it really hard to gauge what is real and lasting in the relationships going on around them in that place.
There is a reason why most Hollywood marriages don’t last. While there are no hard and fast statistics available, most guess-timates show that Hollywood divorce rates are upwards of 80%. While the rest of the American public, us non-famous, non-rich, folk aren’t doin’ so hot ourselves at an average of almost 50% we certainly can learn something from the stories we continually read in the check out line.
Hollywood marries too quickly. It is not uncommon for us to hear about a couple who just started dating, taking trips around the world together, living together and running off to get married together. Or, blasting their engagement across all the news media after just a couple months of dating. Now, I know some of us have probably heard of someone who got married after one date and are still happily married 40 years later but that really isn’t the norm. You can get married and then spend the next 40 years getting to know someone but that makes marriage that much more difficult. Getting to know someone first, and then using what you know about them to determine if you want to spend the rest of your life with them is a much better route. Someone told Clint and I when we were talking about getting married, “If you’re really meant for each other now, you’ll still be meant for each other six months from now. There’s no reason to rush it.”
Hollywood marries for all the wrong reasons. Name one celebrity couple who actually dated, not just showed up at events together, and had something other than “Hollywood” in common. Probably can’t. Its very common these days to hear about celebrities hooking up, making babies, living together and then deciding to get married. Only to later get divorced. The answer isn’t to stop getting married. Its not that piece of paper that’s ruining relationships. Its the way the two people involved view their commitment that ruins the relationship.
It’s also very common these days to hear about people meeting on a set and starting an affair. Leann Rimes. Ryan Phillippe. Brad Pitt. To name a few. Great chemistry in a sex scene with someone you just met does not a love connection make. But that is often how many relationships begin in Hollywood. And, ironically, how many marriages are broken up. When you go around making out with other people than your spouse for a living, eventually your body is going to lead your heart somewhere where it’s not supposed to go. And we as the public wonder why those relationships don’t last? We seriously read the tabloid headlines and go, “What? Seriously? I thought those two would make it!”
Hollywood marries and divorces easier than they change their clothes. I could list for you right now the celebrities that have been married three or more times, but I already write blogs that are too long. Suffice it to say, the list is lengthy. For JLo, this is her third divorce. For Marc Anthony it is his second. It’s fun to be in love. But whirlwind romances have to come back to reality at some point. It’s fun to plan a wedding. But not too many of them are taking the time to plan a marriage. How can they when the public wants to know what dress she’ll be wearing and how much their wedding is going to cost?
And divorce? Even easier than planning a wedding. The average American will end up being thrown for a financial loop if their spouse files for divorce. Not celebrities. Divorce is one of the biggest reasons why families end up on state assistance. Specifically the mothers and children. It’s too financially difficult to pay for two households on one income. Not so with celebrities. Maybe that’s why they are so flippant about it. They can “afford” to do it.
And we buy the stories. We share in the problem, don’t we? We care too much about what dress Kim Kardashian is going to wear. We care too much about where Vanessa and Nick Lachey spent their honeymoon. We care too much about who is hooking up with who and who broke up with who. And in the end those things don’t matter.
So instead of buying the next mag that says “Hey guess who JLo is dating now!” maybe we should just take a step back, stop buying into all the crap that gets thrown at us in the media and take a lesson or two…or three.
You want your marriage to last? Make sure you know who you are marrying. Make sure you are getting married for the right reasons. Make sure you are taking more time to plan the marriage than you are the wedding. And make sure you don’t treat marriage, or divorce, like its candy.
It doesn’t matter how much money or fame you have. At the end of the day, it’s the relationships you have, the ones you choose to work at and not give up on, the ones you choose to honor, that count.SOURCE: Marriage Life » Divorce
Forgiveness is one of the most important commands from our Lord in the Scriptures, even included in the Lord's Prayer. It's really “the disciple's prayer” because Jesus was teaching them how to pray.
The Bible teaches love. Jesus said the two greatest commandments in the Bible is to: first, love; and to second, love. Love God and love thy neighbor. We are to love one another. The world is filled with cruel hatred and insane oppression. Jesus foretold in Matthew 24:12 that because iniquity would abound, the love of many would wax cold. Divorce is the opposite of love and forgiveness. Divorce is an unwillingness to forgive. Divorce is perpetual hatred. Divorce always looks for excuses; but love seeks reconciliation and reunion.
It's a secular song, but it's Biblical my friend... REUNITED by PEACHES & HERB...
