Before we begin, let me quote Mt. 19:9, "And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery". It is verses like this that turn people away from God. It is this very hard-nosed, unbending language that led people away from the church. However, since these papers are not designed to identify sin, but to point out why they are sin, I won't bother dealing with the solid, no-nonsense approach Jesus had concerning divorce. Instead, I will simply explain what is wrong with it, why it happens and how to prevent it.

I don't think there is much argument about the dangers of divorce. Many people may try to downplay the effect divorce has on people, but just about any thinking person admits that divorce is a painful and scarring event. As a teacher, I see the effects of divorce every day. Students feel unlovable, dirty, angry, spiteful and apathetic about and to everyone else. Their pain is only compounded by the fact that they do not understand the event, nor do they understand their own emotions involved. Students of divorce generally do poorer on tests, sports and career achievement and areas of high divorce rates usually have higher crime and drug use. The list goes on.

If divorce is such a dangerous and painful thing, why do we have so much of it? I would say that the main cause is the same cause for most of our problems. Too many people in the US do not have a strong faith in the Lord. I can already hear the cries of anger from divorced readers. You may be thinking, "Who do you think you are, judging me!? You didn't know my spouse. Divorce was my saving grace!" However, if divorce was such a saving grace, why did our savior speak out against it so strongly?

Before I anger people into not reading further, allow me to say that I know many Christians that are divorced, my parents included. It does not take a heathen to get divorced, nor does it take a weak faith to. Instead it takes a weak faith to marry the wrong person. Divorce is caused by two byproducts of weak faith. Number one is a lack of devotion to a spouse, and number two is a lack of patience in finding that spouse.

I know too many high school girls who have bad boyfriends. They complain about how selfish, controlling and angry they are. When I ask these girls why they date them, they answer: They're cute, or I love them, or You just have to have a boyfriend. Not only are they dating these boys, but often they are sleeping with them. This can be another great source of divorce (see my paper on Sex). Why are so many young girls making poor choices in their future spouses, because they were not taught a biblical model of marriage and husbands. As for the guys, they were not taught how to treat a lady, or how to be a good husband. Since no one knows what they are doing, they marry the wrong person (who turns out to be abusive, or an alcoholic) and then get divorced years later with bitterness and pain.

No matter how you slice it, divorce is someone's fault. It is usually the fault of both people; one for being a jerk, the other for choosing a jerk. If we are to stop divorce, we need to stop bad marriage choices and raise our children so they know how to choose a good one. If you are divorced, perhaps you can look at your past and see a poor choice you've made. If you can't, then perhaps you aren't looking hard enough.

So, to conclude, Divorce is a terribly dangerous monster, not only for families, but for a society. It is caused by a lack of faith in God and it can be prevented by better educated children and a good deal more patience in choosing your spouse. If you want to save this country and save yourself from a terrible marriage and future sin, choose wisely and slowly. Only this way can you listen for the voice of God to tell you whom to marry.