Is divorce acceptable in the eyes of God

Yes

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by Sandi Crain

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Does God Permit Divorce?

Perhaps one of the most difficult spiritual crises in any believer's life comes when divorce is imminent. Regardless of the institutionalized rules of the person's religious sect, one's relationship with God is a personal one and it's important for the believer to know that God is supportive of the choice. There is enough emotional guilt in a divorce. Spiritual guilt will only add to the grief.

If one is a Christian then it is the words of Jesus that holds the most weight. In the Book of Matthew, Jesus says, "Therefore, what God has joined together, let no one separate" (19:6). He then clarifies, "whoever divorces his wife, except for unchastity , and marries another commits adultery" (19:9). Although this is very clear it leaves no room for physical, mental, or spiritual abuse. Surely a merciful God would not expect a person to stay within a marriage that could end in murder or insanity. So, one is left hoping that something was lost in translation and may look elsewhere for help.

Christians will rarely look toward Jews for help in this even though the Jewish God is also the God of Abraham. Jesus points out that it was because of hard-heartedness that Moses allowed divorces to be received so easily. Whether or not hard-heartedness had anything to do with it, it is still fairly easy to attain a divorce (get) in the Jewish religion today. It is believed that divorce is just a fact of life and the rabbis tend to focus more on the reality of the situation rather than the spiritual consequences. Many Jewish sects today are working toward making divorce as easy for a woman to attain as it is for a man.

The Muslim faith is also a religion of the God of Abraham. And, according to the Quran, divorce is not taken lightly. Mohammed states that God would rather a marriage last forever. However, God is a merciful God and would not expect one to stay in a marriage where there is much suffering. Instead of attaining an easy divorce, the Quran suggests men take a four month separation to do some soul searching and be sure that divorce is what he wants. A woman must take three months to make sure she is not carrying a child from the marriage. Then, if the divorce is still wanted and she is not pregnant, the details such as support and dowries are worked out through arbitrators.

So, does God permit divorce? The answer is most likely a "yes". God knows what's in our hearts and if we are in a marriage that is so miserable that we are falling into Darkness He definitely would want us to take some initiative and reach out for the Light. Divorce is a very difficult experience and it is extremely rare for one to enter into one just because he or she is bored. For most people it is a shattering of one's soul and the next couple of years are spent just picking up the pieces. It is then that we need God the most.

God prefers that we take marriage seriously with the intention of that marriage being a lifetime bond between two people. It is good for the family and it is good for humanity. He knows there will be difficult times and He expects us to use love to overcome those difficulties. The more one overcomes the stronger the love between two people and the tighter the family bond. Sometimes, however, the difficulties are such that tough love is required and the marriage must be dissolved in order to save the family. God understands this. God permits this.

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