Divorce not an option?

"The key to a good marriage is to say that divorce is not an option" proclaimed Will Smith recently on TV. As many people know Will Smith has been married to his wife, Jade Pinkett, since 1997. Eleven year of marriage in Hollywood is like celebrating 50 years for most people! It is fascinating that Will Smith from Hollywood knows a secret that many in the church do not...divorce is not an option.

During our pre-marital coaching sessions here at St. John's, the first page of our series is titled, "Options for divorice." The rest of the page is empty. Not a single word. Why? Because, when you go up to the altar and proclaim, I Will, you are doing it for life.

The first reaction I get from people is, what if....1) One of the spouses cheats, 2) The husband is abusive, 3) One of the spouses leaves the other. Those are extreme cases that do happen, more than we want to admit. But we should not focus on the minors, because most peope get a divorce out of frustration and even more so because they didn't take it serious to start with.

Are there exceptions, of course there is! But I would argue that our main problem is that both spouses are not take their vows serious and many people get hurt in the process.

So how can we help save marriages? That is next post! Give me some thoughts!