Since the 1970s, millions of children have been caught in the middle of the divorce wars. After the then Governor Ronald Reagan signed the No Fault Divorce decree divorce in 1969 divorce has been rampant. Most recently the divorce rate has slowed down but that might be because the co-habitation rate is up.
Adult children of divorce, you know those kids whose parents divorced back in the 70s and 80s, will tell you they don’t trust marriage so they choose to cohabitate. The problem with cohabitation is the children still suffer because most cohabitation situations eventually break up. And to the child it is still the death of the once intact relationship of their parents. Makes no difference to a child if it is called divorce or break up – it still hurts.
It is no wonder in Malachi 2:16 that God says He hates divorce. The heavenly Father knew what divorce would do to people.
- He knew that the act of divorce could be passed down through generations. Adult children of divorce are more likely to divorce than adult children from two-parent families.
- He knew that divorce is the death of a once intact family and that there would be grieving that accompanies this death. Children grieve, parents grieve, grandparents grieve, friends grieve and God grieves.
- God knew the children would hurt and they would hurt for a lifetime.
- Malachi 2:15 tells us that God “made them one” and that He did this because “he was seeking godly off spring.” Most divorcing families drop out of church after the divorce. The children are not given a chance to become “godly offspring”.