Politically correct ministers think marriages must be severed, even when children are involved, unless previous marriages ended because of cheating spouses. To summarize the PC view, “God hates divorce, so let’s have another one.” Is hard-heartedness behind this thinking?  Politically correct Christian college professor J.D. Thomas harshly wrote: “We do not get too excited about the harm to children if the father [goes] to the penitentiary.”

Widespread prison ministries prove Thomas is wrong, and Christians I know care deeply about the incarcerated and their families. More important, Christ cares. Matt. 25:36-40 says, “…I was in prison, and you came to Me…” Jesus further explained,  “Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.” PC thinking crosses faith boundaries. A book, Marriage Divorce and Remarriage, by a minister of a denomination with strong family values, wrote, “What if there are children? The adulterous relationship is wrong. It must be discontinued.” While the harsh PC theory is not clear in the Bible, it is clear God requires each of his children to “put on a heart of compassion….” (Col 3:12).

Jesus loves all children. Luke 18:16 says, “Permit the children to come to Me… for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.” Yet a broken home is a child’s worst nightmare. Couples with children, consider three points before submitting to a confused minister’s quack prescription to leave your spouse.  

First, the cost of two households, his and a second for his ex and the children, cripple a man’s ability to obey 1 Timothy 5:8: “But if anyone does not provide for his own… he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever” (that is, worse than an atheist!).  The father is not around his kids often enough to raise them in the “training and admonition of the Lord” (Eph. 6:4), or to “train them up in the way they should go” (Prov. 22:6). Before we go further, please select “subscribe,” the “thumbs up” icon, and the notification bell. Your help is appreciated more than you likely know.  Homewrecking preachers say in essence, “Stop what I think is a sinful marriage, and trade it for the sin of not being able to care for your family.” Jesus never commanded anyone to trade one sin for another. He said, to the woman caught in adultery, “Neither do I condemn you. Go your way and sin no more” (John 8:11).

Second, divorce robs youngsters of their sense of well-being. The absence of a parent is damaging. Glenn T. Stanton wrote:

Children need two parents…[for a sense of] well-being. Divorce affects this because [it] decreases the…time a child spends with both parents due to separated living arrangements. The quality time with the custodial parent often decreases… because of increased stress and household duties….

Researcher Angel Worobey, in Single Motherhood and Children’s Heath, wrote “Children of divorced parents are fifty percent more likely to develop health problems than children in two parent families.” A 1991 journal article, “Long-Term Effects of Divorce on Children,” concluded even after six years, children of divorce were still lonely, unhappy, anxious, and insecure. Other research found adult children of parents who split up are almost twice as likely to attempt suicide.

Third, divorce repercussions, including homes broken to satisfy stone-hearted church leaders, sometimes last generations. Research in a May 30, 2019, article in The Atlantic, “Children of Divorce,” found those from broken homes are more likely to themselves get divorced. Marital breakdown sometimes starts a domino effect of divorces shaping the future of descendants for many decades. Psychologist Dianne Medved observed that staying together for the sake of the kids is not a bad reason.

In their zeal to enforce a minority and unlikely view, leaders assume alarming responsibility. Wouldn’t it be prudent to consider the wisdom of David before imposing a dubious, damaging doctrine, labeled by the Bible a doctrine of demons in 1 Timothy 4:1 with far-reaching effects? Psalm 131 says “Nor do I involve myself …in things too difficult for me.” Thank you for viewing. More videos are at WeldonLangfield.com. © 2022 Weldon Langfield

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