Articles
Is it alright to get a divorce because you cannot get along?
QUESTION- It seems that my husband and I have fallen out of love. Is it alright to get a divorce because you
cannot get along?
ANSWER- No. If you cannot get along with a co-worker, what do you do, quit? If you cannot get along with a
teacher or boss, if you have a good job what do you do? Too many people in today’s society do not want to work to
resolve issues. We see it all throughout our society. It used to be that if something broke you got it fixed and that
required effort and work. It seems that we have developed into a throw-away culture and some evidently treat
marriage the same way.
God was very clear on His opinion on divorce in Malachi 2:16- “for I hate divorce, saith the LORD God of Israel.”
God takes marriage seriously, and sets it aside as the only lawful way for someone to engage in sexual activity. Note
that God made Adam and Eve (that is one man and one woman). He did not make man or woman to be happy in
multiple marriages although men have tried that route many times over the course of history.
Jesus taught in Matthew 19:9- “whoever puts away his wife, except it be for the cause of fornication, and marries
another, commits adultery and whoever marries here that is put away commits adultery.” Again, Jesus teaches in the
sermon on the mount in Matthew 5:32- “But I say to you whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual
immorality causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery.” Paul
writes in Romans 7:2,3- “for the woman who has a husband is bound by the law to her husband as long as he lives,
but if her husband is dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband. So then if, while her husband lives, she is
married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress; but if her husband is dead, she is free from the law; so that
she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man.”
Divorce for any cause is not lawful and pleasing to God. It is a sin. It can be repented of and forgiven, but even
with that being said, there are consequences to sin that live on after forgiveness. A prisoner guilty of murder, can be
forgiven for it but he must still serve out his sentence, thought he is forgiven of his sin of murder by God. In the
same way a person can be forgiven is they repent of adultery, but they may have to live celibate the rest of their
lives. That is the consequence of making a mockery of God’s marriage law.
Rather than pursue divorce (which is very costly and always leads to a life of pain, in dealing with the consequences
of divorce), why not pursue learning to love one another again? Perhaps start dating again? Too many people grow
stale in their marriages as time goes on and that do not work as hard as it as they did when their love was new and
fresh. If people would work as hard at staying in a marriage as they do trying to get out of one, there would be a lot
less divorce. The laws of the land and the court systems are overloaded with people who want to pursue divorce. I
have spoken with many who have pursued divorce, and they say that they thought divorce would mean they would
be free from dealing with the person, only to find out that is a lie and their dealing with one another is definitely
filled with pain and conflict and if children are involved, there is even more pain and confrontation. If you are
having conflicts in your marriage, we would be glad to point you to what God says about love and respect for self
and others and getting along with others instead of giving up. Please get in touch with us or visit our services and
we will try to help you.
