Jon & Kate and other marriage thoughts...

I know, I know, I'm not married so my first-hand knowledge on this topic is limited. But, I am a Christ-follower and there are several Biblical points that will follow my opinions.

Unless you've been under a rock for the last six months, you know who Jon and Kate are. Sadly, as of Monday, their 10-year, 8 kid marriage is over. I don't even begin to think I know who is at fault or what the whole story is. But, I know from watching their specials and then "Jon & Kate plus 8" that they are not the same couple who started the specials. It really appears on TV that the money, fame and hassle of TV changed them. It would be so nice if they had told TLC at the very beginning of the trouble that they were taking a break from the show to work out their marriage difficulties. Instead, they let it play out on national TV and the marriage suffered fatally. It's doubly sad because they professed to be Christians and couldn't make it work. It's just so sad.

And then today comes the bombshell that the idiot governor of SC, Mark Sanford, a Republican darling, disappeared to Argentina to consummate an affair with a mistress. Seriously!? What the heck was he thinking? He violated his wife, his children and his mistress. Hopefully the family can work this out and this marriage can be saved.

This all leads to interesting thoughts on marriage. Satan is wily and knows full well how to attack a marriage. What I don't understand is how people can put themselves in situations like the governor of SC did. Isn't marriage sacred? Again, I'm not married so I can't speak fully but I know plenty of men and women who care enough about their marriage that they protect themselves in a variety of ways. They have internet filters to protect against porn,are never alone with a person of the opposite sex, avoid questionable movies/shows, etc. and have open, accountability partners to help keep them in line. Why don't more marriage counselors recommend this sort of thing, especially Christian counselors?

I know there are times when divorce is inevitable but I also know that all too many couples, Christians included, get out of a marriage the minute things get tough. Umm, excuse me, but don't the vows say "for better or for worse?" I lost a friend because I couldn't support her decision to divorce her husband. There was no cheating, no abuse, just a desire on her part to not be married. I just couldn't support that. It was one of the hardest things I've ever had to go through but I know it was the right stand to take.

All in all, it's just sad to me that so many couples are struggling with divorce. God hates divorce for a reason. As the whole world is seeing through Jon and Kate, no one "wins" in divorce. I think the best course of action for Christians is to pray for each other, pray for marriages (your own and others) and pray that we as Christians would learn to support those struggling in marriage to help prevent more statistics.