Greatest Hits: Is It OK to Get Divorced?

The answer to this question comes from the lips of Jesus, the most compassionate person ever to live.

Marriage is a covenant you make with your spouse before God. God created it in Genesis 2 as a union where two literally become one, and death is the only thing that can dissolve that covenant (with a couple of death-related exceptions which we’ll talk about).

So, is it ever OK to divorce? Jesus says in Matthew 19 that you can do it in the case of adultery. Paul, in 1 Corinthians 7, is going to expand that to say desertion by an unbeliever. Why are those exceptions?

The logic is very important. In the case of both desertion/abandonment and adultery, they both kill the covenant. That’s why I called them “death-related” exceptions earlier.

So, you say, what about the case of abuse? Or what if the spouse is involved in some illegal activity that they refuse to stop and it’s putting our family at risk?

First, if you are in an abusive situation, you need to get yourself to a place of safety immediately. Talk to your church, let them help, or if you’re not feeling safe reach out to the Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-SAFE.

Second, I would argue that the logic of Paul and Jesus’ exceptions applies also to divorce in the case of a spouse who is doing something that makes them unable to be lived with and puts the family in danger. Creating in abusive environment also kills the marriage covenant, and you are no longer bound to it.