By Mary Rediger

Faith Telegraph Guest Columnist

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Reality television stars Jon and Kate Gosselin are now close to finalizing their divorce, news sources are reporting. Unabashed and unashamed, they apparently bought themselves new cars to "celebrate" their divorce – then, predictably, blamed each other for spending too much money.

If you are not familiar with Jon and Kate’s unfortunate foray into the national spotlight, here’s a quick primer: Jon and Kate Gosselin have 8 children, twins and sextuplets, with some help from fertility treatments. A "reality" television series chronicling their lives,"Jon and Kate Plus 8," debuted in 2007.

The first time I watched the show, I was impressed with how well the couple parented so many children. When I noticed the Bible verses on their walls and occasional Christian t-shirts worn by Jon, I was pleasantly surprised. I hoped their marriage would be a good example of a loving Christian family.

My hopes were shattered when rumors of affairs and an imminent divorce became reality. My heart sank as I realized another marriage would bite the dust. To make matters worse, this broken marriage was of a famous couple who had even co-authored books now sitting (and collecting dust) on Christian store bookshelves. Like many non-Christian couples, Jon and Kate's marriage was torn apart by an affair that was apparently the last straw in a troubled marriage.

Watching Jon and Kate disintegrate on national television brought home a sad truth: There is a divorce trend in America. Depending on the source, 40%-50% of first marriages, 60%-67% of second marriages, and 70-73% of third marriages in America end in divorce.

Indeed, it is a challenge to find couples who stay married in this country. Divorce is becoming so common in America, that we are becoming desensitized to it. It is becoming the norm. No longer is it shocking, rare, or taboo. Our culture has embraced it and borders on celebrating it.

Divorced woman, especially, are portrayed as strong and able to stand on their own. Divorced people in America are welcomed back into the dating world, with hardly a scratch on their records, free to marry again and again, and more often than not, divorce again and again.

Today, it is not uncommon for someone to be on their second, third, or more marriage, and many give up on the concept of marriage altogether and simply choose to live together.

We know our culture accepts and arguably even promotes divorce, but what does the Bible say about this practice?

Marriage was designed to be an example of Christ's love for the church and Christ’s relationship with the church, according to Ephesians 5:22-32. Verses 28-32 say,

"...He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church— for we are members of his body. For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh."This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church."

Christ's love for the church is a love that lasts. Sadly, divorce is a far cry from God's intention for marriage, and leaves many people confused about what "love" really is, even while it leaves many family members wondering where they belong.

According to Malachi, God hates divorce! Hate is a very strong word, but it's Biblical:

"Another thing you do: You flood the LORD's altar with tears. You weep and wail because he no longer pays attention to your offerings or accepts them with pleasure from your hands. You ask, "Why?" It is because the LORD is acting as the witness between you and the wife of your youth, because you have broken faith with her, though she is your partner, the wife of your marriage covenant.

Has not the LORD made them one? In flesh and spirit they are his. And why one? Because he was seeking godly offspring. So guard yourself in your spirit, and do not break faith with the wife of your youth.

"I hate divorce," says the LORD God of Israel, "and I hate a man's covering himself with violence as well as with his garment," says the LORD Almighty.  So guard yourself in your spirit, and do not break faith."(Malachi 2:13-16)

If spouses really focused on making each other's needs their priority each day, and really worked hard to fulfill their commitments to love and care for each another, I wonder if they would have the time or energy left to invest in a romantic relationship outside of marriage.

In the New Testament, Jesus reminds people of God's design for marriage;

Some Pharisees came to him to test him. They asked, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?"

"Haven't you read," he replied, "that at the beginning the Creator 'made them male and female,' and said, 'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh'? So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate."

"Why then," they asked, "did Moses command that a man give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?"

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 marital unfaithfulness, and marries another woman commits adultery." (Matthew 19:3-8)

Thus, marital unfaithfulness is sin. Here are two truths about sin I have learned from the Bible, from my own experiences, and from watching others live:

First, one sin generally leads to another until the cycle is broken. For example, many marriages are broken due to affairs and not necessarily spontaneous affairs. Such affairs usually begin in the mind when a person decides they deserve more than the spouse God gave them, and that they aren't being loved enough or getting what they want.

If this isn't caught and dealt with, it can lead to thoughts about how someone else can do more, give more, and be better than their spouse. This inevitably leads them to seek out and begin a new relationship outside the marriage.

This often results in lies and more lies. The person begins to live a double life. Eventually, the sin comes to light and when it does, excuses and blame follow unless confession – to God and to the people involved – and repentance – asking God’s forgiveness and truly turning away from sin without making excuses – come first. If you are in the midst of such sin right now, remember: It is never too late to stop sin before it continues to produce more sin.

The second thing I have learned about sin is that, unfortunately, sin effects more than just those who are doing the sinning. For some reason, when people selfishly indulge in sin, they fool themselves into thinking that it is only going to hurt them. They are wrong. Sin always has consequences, and it does not just impact the sinner.

In the case of an affair that leads to divorce, the spouse, the children, friends, and relatives are all impacted when the marriage falls apart. I speak from personal experience: My parents’ marriage followed the model above and ended in divorce. Their divorce impacted many people.

God gave us a Savior because we are not capable of fixing the disease of sin. We know that God hates sin. And we know He hates divorce. But all too often we don’t even put "sin" and "divorce" in the same category. Too often, divorce is an easy alternative to working through disagreements and problems. Too often, divorce provides an escape from real confession and forgiveness.

Enough is enough -- no trend is irreversible, and nothing is impossible with God. Marriage should be an example of the relationship between Christ and the church, a relationship built on love and meant to last through hardships – for "better or for worse".

Let’s redouble our efforts, in our communities, churches, and in our own marriages, to stop divorce from making a mockery of what should be a beautiful and enduring picture of God’s unconditional love.

Mary Rediger is a published author who lives with her husband and son in the great state of Texas. You can follow her on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/maryrediger or email her at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

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The International Faith Telegraph
http://www.faithtelegraph.com
The latest and most unique Christian news stories from around the world. Bizarre, groundbreaking, worldchanging. Exclusive stories from a wide variety of sources. Missions news directly from missionaries and numerous denominations and organizations.

Disney Asks Children To  Pledge To Protect The Planet

By Mary Rediger

Faith Telegraph Guest Columnist

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Disney sent out an e-mail yesterday to its "insider" subscribers with the headline, "Disney Stars Join Together With Kids To Save The Environment."  The e-mail announces that:

Disney's hottest young stars are aligning to save the planet in a way that's sure to make a global impact. From Demi to Miley, young people are joining Disney's "Friends for Change: Project Green" and empowering kids to make changes and decisions, because they care and they want to make a difference.

The campaign will apparently ask children to make a "pledge" to "take action" to protect the planet:

This youth-inspired and youth-driven campaign encourages kids to come together and make smart choices within their daily lives. Kids simply register and pledge online to take action to protect our planet...

Am I the only one that finds it disturbing that Disney is registering and organizing children in the cause of environmentalism, asking them to make a sort of "pledge of allegiance" to the planet?

Don't get me wrong. We are blessed to have a beautiful environment. The earth was created by God for humans to dwell in. It is an unmatched dwelling, complete with plants and animals given to us by God. He uses His creation to reveal Himself to us and has given us the responsibility of caring for it.

Indeed, God's handiwork points us to His character:

“For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.” (Romans 1:20).

God also commanded us to be good stewards of the earth in Genesis when He established a system of authority on the earth and placed man over the environment:

“Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground." (Genesis 1:26)

Thus, those that love God should care about the environment, for it was created by God.  We are called to be good stewards of what God has entrusted to us.

However, I cringe when I hear people talk about “saving” the planet. According to the Bible, it is not in our human power to save the Earth. Perhaps we humans can prolong life and impact the quality of our environment, but we cannot save what is not meant to last. Let us not forget that in the end this earth will be destroyed.

We are given a glimpse of the future of our planet in both Second Peter and Revelation:

“But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare. Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.” (2 Peter 3:10-13)

“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.” (Revelation 21:1)

If the planet cannot be saved, why is there so much talk about saving it? The current movement to "go green" has some benefits, but there is a difference between good stewardship and trying to save what God has set to be replaced. One is Biblical; the other is not.

The non-Biblical version places "saving" the environment above helping humans. We must remember that our secular media does not present information from a correct Biblical worldview. To many, we are the problem -- there are too many of us, and we are using up too many resources and causing the climate to change with every breath of carbon dioxide we exhale.

To understand the problem with placing the environment above humans and things of eternal significance, we must remind ourselves what God values most: people. People are made in God's image and their souls will exist long after this brief life on earth. 

Time and again in the Bible, God illustrates His love for humans over nature. For example, God asked Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, but then provided a ram instead (Genesis 22). In that and every Old Testament sin offering, human life is shown to have more value than animal life. 

The world was given to us to rule, not the reverse. The Lord demonstrated His control over the weather and elements with the great flood of Noah's time in Genesis 7; causing the shadow of the sun to go backward ten steps in 2 Kings 20; and calming the storm by rebuking it in Matthew 8 and Luke 8.

Moreover, Jesus' life and ministry were focused on saving the people of this earth.  Our lives should have that same focus and drive.

Is it possible to incorporate “green” methods into our lives without losing this focus?  Of course. There is nothing wrong with “reduce, reuse, recycle.” 

But let us never put the environment before people. Our time and resources should be used in such a way as to save people, both physically and spiritually.

The Bible is very clear about where our treasures should be stored:

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:19-21).

Things of this world, including the earth, are temporal. I believe this verse is discussing more than physical treasure like gold and jewels. God is giving us the right perspective on life, reminding us that the earth is not meant to last forever but that heaven is. 

We each have but one life on this earth. Let's put our treasure where it counts, where “moth and rust do not destroy and where thieves do not break in and steal.” 

Mary Rediger is a published author who lives with her husband and son in the great state of Texas.  She can be reached via email at  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

 ______________________________________________________________________________

The International Faith Telegraph
http://www.faithtelegraph.com
The latest and most unique Christian news stories from around the world. Bizarre, groundbreaking, worldchanging. Exclusive stories from a wide variety of sources. Missions news directly from missionaries and numerous denominations and organizations.