Until Divorce Do Us Part

I, Meagan, take you Eric, to be my husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish; from this day forward until divorce do us part.

Although the wedding vows above may appear silly, if not offensive, to you, they seem to fit American marriages quite well.

According to enrichment journal on the divorce rate in America –
The divorce rate in America for first marriage is 41%
The divorce rate in America for second marriage is 60%
The divorce rate in America for third marriage is 73%

We are living in a culture that treats divorce less like dissolution of a life-long commitment, and more like a normal, everyday activity. For example, I just found a website entitled, “Completely Legal Online Divorce Kits – Easy Do It Yourself Divorce Forms.” This website claims to come with, “all necessary forms for do it yourself divorce including marital separation agreements, child custody, visitation, alimony, spousal support, and domestic abuse/violence.”

The Bible takes a much more radical and negative view on divorce.

Malachi 2:16 says, ‘“I hate divorce,’ says the Lord God of Israel.”

Paul says in 1 Corinthians 7:10-11: “To the married I give this command (not I, but the Lord): A wife must not separate from her husband. But if she does, she must remain unmarried or else be reconciled with her husband. And a husband must not divorce his wife.”

Finally, in Mark 10:2-12, Jesus himself discusses the issue of divorce –

“Some Pharisees came and tested him [Jesus] by asking, ‘Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?’
‘What did Moses command you?’ he replied.
They said, ‘Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce and send her away.’
‘It was because your hearts were hard that Moses wrote you this law,’
Jesus replied, ‘But at the beginning of creation God “made them male and female. ‘For
this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two
will become one flesh.” So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined
together, let no man separate.’
When they were in the house again, the disciples asked Jesus about this. He said,
‘Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery
against her. And if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.'"

Jesus didn’t dance around the subject. He hates divorce. We as Christ followers should follow His example and hate divorce as well. Marriage is for better, for worse, and for keeps.

Can We Earn Our Way to Heaven?

John 14:6 says, “Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me’” (NIV).

Jesus is vey clear when He speaks about the way to Heaven.

You can’t get to Heaven by participating in humanitarian activities.

You won’t pass through those pearly gates by denying yourself the sinful pleasures of this life.

And Jesus won’t pick you for His Kingdom team because you go to church every Sunday and teach Sunday school.

Those are all good things and I would encourage you to do them, but there is only one way to Heaven.

The way to Heaven is to believe in Jesus Christ as your one and only Savior.

That’s it. His grace is enough in your weakness.

In our individualistic, achievement-based culture, this can be a hard concept to grasp. We are trained from a very early age that we have to work for what we have and we will only be successful if we push our way to the top. Success goes to the active, not the passive.

Hard as it may be, we need to change our mindsets. Jesus came to earth, died, and rose again so we can experience true life with Him in Heaven.

The work is already done. We don’t have to strive and we don’t have to prove ourselves. Jesus did all.

Tithing

Every Sunday my mom writes a $50 check to a ministry she feels led to support.

Sometimes it’s our church, sometimes it’s a local youth outreach, and other times it’s publications like Our Daily Bread or Christianity Today.

My mom considers her weekly checks to be her tithe.

Tithing is somewhat of a controversial and confusing topic in the Church today.

We ask questions like, Is tithing an option for Christians, or does God demand it? Can I give my tithe only to the church I attend? Is the traditional idea of giving 10% of my income a hard and fast rule, or is it more of a metaphorical example Jesus provided for us, like forgiving 490 times? If I am to give 10% of my income, is that 10% of my net income or my gross income?

Personally, I think we tend to be like the Pharisees and make tithing too legalistic.

Tithing should be an act of thanksgiving for all God has provided for us, a way to humble ourselves before our Creator and Provider. It is also a way to show God that we trust Him to continue to provide for us in the future. Tithing is, in essence, one way to worship God.

If tithing becomes simply a legalistic ritual, how can we truly worship God with it?

I don’t think we need to always give exactly 10%. I think we should trust God with what He has provided for us and give as much as we can. I don’t think we need to give only to our local church either. We should give to whomever God calls us to give.

Only when our tithing becomes a true act of worship will God bless us for trusting in His provision.

Parents and Race

I remember it like it was yesterday.

When I was young and we had extended family over for holiday dinners, my dad's Norwegian family sat on one side of the table. My mom's Swedish family sat on the other side.

Sometime during dinner, someone on my dad's side of the family would tell a Swedish joke. Then someone on my mom's side of the family would playfully retaliate with a Norwegian joke. Eventually, my dad would tell a Polish joke and everyone would laugh heartily together.

Although these jokes were good-natured and just for fun, they reveal the kind of racial beliefs my grandparents and parents were raised to follow.

My grandparents grew up in an era where most people were at least slightly prejudice, especially against African Americans. On top of that, my family is from small-town america, where the majority of people are caucasian. My grandparents were good Christians and treated everyone with respect, but socity definitely had an affect on their beliefs about racial issues, which, in turn, affected on my parents' beliefs.

So, although my parents treat everyone with respect an dignity and have taught my sister and me to do the same, they would most likely be shocked if I brought home a man from a different race. In time they would learn to love him as a son, but it would probably take a while.