Today our paragraph topic is: (Divorce).
This topic is a touchy subject, considering that divorce is so prevalent in our society today. How does one deal with divorce? Why does one deal with divorce? If the relationship does not work out, get a divorce, separate from the spouse. There are a multitude of reasons and rationales for divorce but very little reasons for maintaining marriage.
Christ tells us, in this sermon, that we have indeed heard of how to get a divorce. Just simply give your spouse a written release and put her/him away. This was the common practice then and is still the practice today, however, today it is more complex in that we have legal proceedings that relate to property and income of the spouse. We live in a society where the judge decides who gets what, and the desire of the partners is to get as much from the other as possible. The extreme of this rationale is to remove the partner through death to prevent the loss of income and property and in many cases the spouse takes his own life and the life of the children because of extreme jealousy and fear. Satan has indeed taken control of our reasoning and hearts when it comes to marriage and divorce. The entire pre-marriage process is flawed and has no foundation for survival today in much of our society. This does not say that marriage does not work or that there are not successful marriages. It only underscores the fact that 40 to 50% of the marriages today end up in divorce.
The church makes an attempt to encourage proper marriage through pre-marriage counseling. It also makes an effort to avoid divorce through divorce counseling. But the success or failure of those measures depend on the belief system of the partners and on their hearts. What one has to realize in today's society, is that our foundation for marriage is based on a system of passion and lust. We live in a society that encourages sexual relationships. It is fed to us in the media, in our schools, through TV, in our music, in advertising, and in every other form of communication that is available to us. We have a mindset and a heart for pleasure.
Before the industrial revolution, our society was predominantly agricultural. The majority of families lived on farms. The assembly line came along, jobs were offered, people moved to the cities for better jobs and better pay. Along with the revolution came a requirement for education to teach people how to advance in job skills and income. So now, instead of a high school education, one has to have a college education to bring in a decent salary and afford the American way of life.
Back in the agricultural environment, kids were leaving high school, getting married, and starting families. They were starting life at an early age, as it was in Christ's time. There was no real requirement for a college education. One only had to be able to provide manual labor to survive on the farm. A college education added an additional 4 more years to the process of starting life after reaching the age of manhood or womanhood. Today one does not get married and go to college. One waits, completes college education and then gets married. During those 4 years of college, one has the opportunity to explore the freedom of relationships, lust, and sex. This is the society that we live in today.
So we start our pre-marriage process within the walls of free relationships, lust and sex. Within these walls, one then, attempts to find and establish a relationship with the opposite sex. One attempts to establish a marital relationship that will last, when the environmental walls within which we live does not support a sound relationship, but supports a relationship based on physical attraction and lust. Our young children go off to explore the world without any rules or guidelines as to how a mate is chosen. In some parts of our society, a mate is chosen for us by wiser heads but because of the pre-programming that we have received, we believe that our relationships should be based on love, i.e., lust.
Christ gives us the results of our actions. One who puts his wife away causes her to commit adultery. And he who marries a woman who has been put away commits adultery. Christ tells us there is one exception to this rule. If one puts his spouse away on account of immorality, then one does not commit adultery. What this tells us immediately is that those divorces that result from a cheating spouse are legitimate biblical grounds for divorce. All other reasons must meet the test of immorality before breaking the marriage contract. Would physical, or mental, or verbal abuse come under the immoral rule?? Would bodily injury and the threat of death meet the standard of immorality?? Would the statement that I just don't love him/her anymore come under the rule of immorality?? These are questions that we must ask ourselves when faced with a failed relationship. Prayer and seeking God's understanding are key to the decision process.
This topic is a touchy subject, considering that divorce is so prevalent in our society today. How does one deal with divorce? Why does one deal with divorce? If the relationship does not work out, get a divorce, separate from the spouse. There are a multitude of reasons and rationales for divorce but very little reasons for maintaining marriage.
Christ tells us, in this sermon, that we have indeed heard of how to get a divorce. Just simply give your spouse a written release and put her/him away. This was the common practice then and is still the practice today, however, today it is more complex in that we have legal proceedings that relate to property and income of the spouse. We live in a society where the judge decides who gets what, and the desire of the partners is to get as much from the other as possible. The extreme of this rationale is to remove the partner through death to prevent the loss of income and property and in many cases the spouse takes his own life and the life of the children because of extreme jealousy and fear. Satan has indeed taken control of our reasoning and hearts when it comes to marriage and divorce. The entire pre-marriage process is flawed and has no foundation for survival today in much of our society. This does not say that marriage does not work or that there are not successful marriages. It only underscores the fact that 40 to 50% of the marriages today end up in divorce.
The church makes an attempt to encourage proper marriage through pre-marriage counseling. It also makes an effort to avoid divorce through divorce counseling. But the success or failure of those measures depend on the belief system of the partners and on their hearts. What one has to realize in today's society, is that our foundation for marriage is based on a system of passion and lust. We live in a society that encourages sexual relationships. It is fed to us in the media, in our schools, through TV, in our music, in advertising, and in every other form of communication that is available to us. We have a mindset and a heart for pleasure.
Before the industrial revolution, our society was predominantly agricultural. The majority of families lived on farms. The assembly line came along, jobs were offered, people moved to the cities for better jobs and better pay. Along with the revolution came a requirement for education to teach people how to advance in job skills and income. So now, instead of a high school education, one has to have a college education to bring in a decent salary and afford the American way of life.
Back in the agricultural environment, kids were leaving high school, getting married, and starting families. They were starting life at an early age, as it was in Christ's time. There was no real requirement for a college education. One only had to be able to provide manual labor to survive on the farm. A college education added an additional 4 more years to the process of starting life after reaching the age of manhood or womanhood. Today one does not get married and go to college. One waits, completes college education and then gets married. During those 4 years of college, one has the opportunity to explore the freedom of relationships, lust, and sex. This is the society that we live in today.
So we start our pre-marriage process within the walls of free relationships, lust and sex. Within these walls, one then, attempts to find and establish a relationship with the opposite sex. One attempts to establish a marital relationship that will last, when the environmental walls within which we live does not support a sound relationship, but supports a relationship based on physical attraction and lust. Our young children go off to explore the world without any rules or guidelines as to how a mate is chosen. In some parts of our society, a mate is chosen for us by wiser heads but because of the pre-programming that we have received, we believe that our relationships should be based on love, i.e., lust.
Christ gives us the results of our actions. One who puts his wife away causes her to commit adultery. And he who marries a woman who has been put away commits adultery. Christ tells us there is one exception to this rule. If one puts his spouse away on account of immorality, then one does not commit adultery. What this tells us immediately is that those divorces that result from a cheating spouse are legitimate biblical grounds for divorce. All other reasons must meet the test of immorality before breaking the marriage contract. Would physical, or mental, or verbal abuse come under the immoral rule?? Would bodily injury and the threat of death meet the standard of immorality?? Would the statement that I just don't love him/her anymore come under the rule of immorality?? These are questions that we must ask ourselves when faced with a failed relationship. Prayer and seeking God's understanding are key to the decision process.
