Friday, July 9, 2010

Tell It Not In Gath

Tell it not in Gath, publish it not in the streets of Askelon; lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, lest the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph. 2 Sam 1: 20.

I recently noticed a new buzz on the internet, especially in the Christian blogosphere. Everywhere I looked it seemed another Christian couple was giving up on their marriage. I saw it in my daily devotionals, in my weekly newsletters, in Christian e-magazines; everyone talking about and analyzing the whys and wherefores of different ministers’ divorces- Pastors Paula and Randy White divorcing after 18 years (each for the second time, they all echo), the end of Prophetess Juanita Bynum’s marriage to Bishop Weeks (her second too, they are quick to remind us), the Kimberly and Fred Hammond divorce after 20 years of marriage, and most recently, Suzanne and Benny Hinn’s divorce after 31 years of marriage. And while we are at it, they urge on, let’s not forget the end of Yolanda Adams’ (2nd) marriage, or Amy Grant’s divorcing her husband of 16 years to marry country singer Vince Gill, or Jaci Velasquez’s divorce after being married for only 2 years.

These writers and bloggers have no idea just how much the constant repetition and recycling of all this wonderful “news” makes me want to dash to the altar and pledge my unending love and faithfulness to someone till death do us part.

Why do the salt of the earth and the light of the world do this? It is bad enough that the words of Jesus concerning grounds for divorce now seem to mean nothing, and we can now divorce and remarry citing “irreconcilable differences” once, twice, and even thrice. But must we broadcast it? Must we wash our dirty linen in public? Have we nothing better to do on the internet than provide “Christian divorces” results for search engines?

We should be hanging our heads in shame and pouring our hearts out in prayer. But no, we’d rather prattle on and on about how our divorced brothers and sisters have sinned, how they’ve let us down (ha!), how they are accountable to us and owe us an explanation, etcetera, etcetera…

Yes, it is disturbing that Rev John Hagee divorced the wife of his youth, Martha, and has been married to his present wife Diane for 34 years, and puzzling that God hasn’t struck them both with thunder. But isn’t it beautiful that Cece Winans & Alvin Love, Kenneth & Gloria Copeland and Mark & Darlene Zscech have been married for decades despite the inevitable friction that comes with marriage? Isn’t it noteworthy that Joni and Rod Parsley have kept their promise to never to mention the “D” word in the now 23 years of their marriage? Doesn’t Paul Adefarasin’s passionate love for Ifeanyi, his wife of 15 years, inspire hope? Does the magic that Fela and Tara Durotoye are still making 9 years on count for nothing? Isn’t it wonderful that Serita is still the first lady of TD Jakes’ heart after 29 years of marriage? Why can’t we write about that instead? Maybe we take it for granted because “that’s how it should be anyway, so what’s the big deal?” If this is the case then I recommend that we all just shut up and mind our own business.

If I open my email box and see another Christian divorce story, I just might pull out all my hair, God have mercy on me! Whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report, if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, let us think, publish and blog about these things.