Russell Wilson, the Christian quarterback of
the Seattle Seahawks announced recently that he and his wife of two years are
divorcing and that he would appreciate “prayers and understanding and privacy
during this difficult time.” The divorce saddens me and adds to my frustration
with people who give up so easily on their marriages. Two years? They hardly
even know each other! It’s like they said, ‘We tried this out, and it’s not
working for us.’ What happened to their vows of ‘until death do us part?’ What happened
to the commitment they made before God, family and friends?
On one of the blogs talking about this someone
raised the ‘don’t judge, lest you be judged’ card. Another “reminded”
Christians to not throw stones from glass houses. Another said, ‘hey, 50
percent of marriages end in divorce, what’s the big deal?’ Mr. Wilson proclaims
to be a Christian and Galatians 6:1 does admonish us; “Brothers, if someone is
caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently.” Divorce is
sin and it is not a private matter. The
Seattle times stated that Russell Wilson might well be the most prominent
citizen in Seattle. He’s demonstrating to those tens of thousands of kids (and
adults) who look up to him that a promise, a commitment can be broken if it
gets tough, if you just can’t work it out. What if he walked away from his
contract with his team? The ‘judges’ would be out in force then!
There is a catch here that the media does not understand. Christian marriage is a covenant and not a contract. A covenant is unbreakable; the commitment is for life – period. Life might be tough for Mr. and Mrs. Wilson and things might not have gone the way they had planned – welcome to the real world. If he was injured in a game, he would do the work to heal and restore to get back into playing shape to fulfill his commitment to his team. Paul wrote in 1Corinthians 7:28 that those who marry would have trouble. It is a part of life! Everyone has problems in marriage – divorce is not the answer to pain and damage in marriage. Getting the help to heal and restore is the answer! Please Mr. Wilson, get the help to restore your marriage. Be a testimony that couples can work through their difficulties without calling it quits. You might want to check out the book Can My Marriage Be Saved?
