Is divorce right or wrong?

Matthew 19:8-9
"Jesus replied, "Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning. I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery."

 This passage is a hard pill for a lot of modern day Christians to swallow. I see many marriages ending because they cannot get along, they are unhappy, or because they are not "in love anymore." Do I believe some marriages are a mistake? Of course, when the couple does not consult God before entering that sacred and holy covenant, I am sure you can make a mistake. 

 But, does that mean you can just get a divorce and nullify that covenant because you are not happy? No! You make some mistakes that biblically you literally have to live with.  The only exception is sexual immorality. Another pill that is hard to swallow is earlier in Matthew 5:32 "But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife except for sexual immorality, makes her the victim of adultery, and anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery."

 So not only are you not supposed to get a divorce but you should not marry anyone who has been divorced either. I know a lot of people who have been divorced for one reason or another, but when anyone comes to consult with me about it I let them know what the scripture, what Jesus says about it. 

 I would go to the extent of saying, even after sexual immorality you should try to forgive and work things out. As an example, we can look at Hosea in the old testament and how he was commanded to take Gomer as his wife.  We are also as husbands and wives to love the other as Christ loves us. And we are like Gomer, prostituting ourselves to the world rather than being faithful to Jesus. Yet he forgives us and takes us back. His love for us is so strong there is nothing we can do to break it. 

 Challenge:
As a Christian consult with God before entering into the covenant of marriage. If you are married, stay faithful, spend time together, put in the time and effort to make the relationship work. Do not try to find happiness in marriage, happiness comes from the Lord. Most importantly, spend time in the Bible together, praying together and in church together.

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