I'm not married, nor have I ever been. As a matter of fact, at the ripe old age of 33, I've never even been engaged. I humbly agree that I have no idea what it must really be like to be married and not experiencing the height of wedded bliss.

Whether your spouse is unkind, doesn't share your favorite hobbies, is selfish, or drinks too much, or cheats, or abuses you in any way...all these things I readily admit to no material understanding of how it might feel.

From another angle, I also see that divorce is spoken of pretty clearly in Scripture, in most cases, as a sin. It is not the worst sin, nor the unforgivable sin. I don't think it needs to be separated out so that those who commit it can be publicly chastised and ostracized. Gossiping is just as "bad" a sin. So is dishonoring your parents. Or having pre-marital sex of the homo- or hetero- variety. Sin is sin.

With that said, I do find it disturbing to watch the ease at which our society rips apart the one flesh for any and all reasons. You can now apply online for a divorce in Broward County. Austria recently was the scene of the first ever "divorce fair" where you could speak to lawyers, hire a private detective or submit to a paternity test to make sure you haven't been conned. One attendee, a divorcee already in a new relationship said:

"I just wanted to get some information ahead of time, just to be prepared for the eventuality that such a terrible thing could happen again."

Nothing like hoping for the best! 

These articles reminded me of a Time Magazine op-ed I recently read, entitled "An Evangelical Rethink on Divorce." The author puts forth the idea that a biblical stand against divorce is inconvenient and inhumane, and because evangelicals are divorcing at as great a rate as the rest of the world, they're rethinking the interpretation of such basics as Matthew 5:31-32:

"But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, causes her to become an adulteress, and anyone who marries the divorced woman commits adultery." 

Maybe Jesus used some quotation marks that we don't necessarily see in today's translations, which means you can change the interpretation to say He just meant you shouldn't have no-fault divorce, but if you had any good reason at all...like the guy at work is nicer to you than your husband...then it's ok.

The op-ed ends with, I think, the whole point the author was trying to make. If those pesky evangelicals would just rethink their old-fashioned ideas on divorce, then they can rethink their close-minded opinions on homosexuality -- and by gosh -- while they're at it they can cast their Presidential vote for a twice-divorced, adulterous former mayor.