Divorce is ugly.

In some cases divorce is necessary, and thus I am grateful for the ease at which people can terminate their marriages.  However, in many of marriages divorce ends in heartache.  Look at the effect on the children, on the extended family, on friends, on the community.  A marriage is not just about the husband and wife.  It is as Dietrich Bonhoeffer says,

“Marriage is more than your love for each other. … In your love you see only your two selves in the world, but in marriage you are a link in the chain of the generations, which God causes to come and to pass away to his glory, and calls into his kingdom. In your love you see only the heaven of your own happiness, but in marriage you are placed at a post of responsibility towards the world and mankind. Your love is your own private possession, but marriage is more than something personal—it is a status, an office. Just as it is the crown, and not merely the will to rule, that makes the king, so it is marriage, and not merely your love for each other, that joins you together in the sight of God and man. … So love comes from you, but marriage from above, from God.”

The end of a marriage union causes so much negativity.  Look at the pain the once spouses face as they are again alone.  Reflect on the struggles the children have as they are often forced to choose which parent to live with, and who's side to be on.  Think about the awkwardness for the grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc.  And of course, consider the struggles future blended families will have as they try to deal with all of this pain and emotional baggage.

Of course it isn't always possible, but shouldn't the sanctity of marriage be something that we fight for?  This isn't just about our own happiness, we need to look outside ourselves.  Successful marriages take work, effort, sacrifice, compromise, communication, patience, humility, love, and most importantly time.  Don't give up so fast.




*HAPPY FAMILIES CHANGE THE WORLD*