God detests divorce

By Anne Anjao-Eboi

"I hate divorce," declares the Lord God Almighty.

There it is, in black and white. I know there are people who are thinking: "She is not in my shoes hence she can afford to talk like that."

I know marriage comes with challenges. I appreciate that some marriages undergo extremities. There are issues ranging from child molestation by a person your child should be calling ‘father’, to violence.

It is difficult to live with a man who has had carnal knowledge of his daughter. It is even more difficult to live with a man who is violent. There are many women who report to work with black eyes, evidence that battering took place the previous night. How about the immoral one? The one who thinks it’s a crime to let any beautiful skirt wearer pass by.

I am not in any way down-playing the above issues. In fact, I regard them with uttermost seriousness. A person who changes women or men like clothes is fast working towards the death of the both of you through sexually transmitted diseases. I would never support the battering of a fellow woman. I can’t even begin to think about a man who rapes his daughter.

The advice usually given is that such couples should separate and take time to work out their differences. Time is an interesting phenomenon. When a spouse so angers you, you are sure you don’t want to see his/her face ever again. Two years down the line, you are the best of friends and wonder what it is that caused so much disharmony in the first place. It is only after time has passed and the differences are irreconcilable that a divorce is allowed.

The word of God is telling us here that we should not take divorce matters lightly. That is why we are encouraged to take time to know our spouses before we get married. Court yes, but get as many people as possible involved.

Investigate the person’s background, their friends and family. Mingle with them at various levels, be it good or bad. Get your local church involved too.

Do not walk down the aisle without pre-marital counselling and the blessings of the elders from both families. This will not guarantee a blissful marriage but it will safeguard against future divorce.

So do not rush to divorce on flimsy grounds. Some reasons such as unattractiveness are laughable. God knew you would age so quit the frivolity.

At the end of the day, remember God hates divorce.