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Difficulties in marriage

arunangelo

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Because of our sinfulness, we will always have problems and painful situations in marriage. However, if we imitate Jesus, by not thinking about our own feelings or interest, and think about others, especially our spouse, we will find peace and healing. Furthermore, if we truly believe, that God can heal us, we can be absolutely sure that our inequities that prevent us from getting along with our spouse can be overcome. We will then find hope in hopeless situations, love where there is hate, peace where there is discord, and see the face of God in the pain and suffering of our spouse. This means that, if we let true love govern our thoughts and actions, we will love and forgive our spouse unconditionally. This will free us of hate, and heal our relationship with our spouse. Sometimes, the stresses of marriage may seem unbearable, especially if our spouse is alcoholic, abusive, mentally ill or unfaithful. In such situations, we can stay faithful to our commitment; by remembering, how Jesus compensated for our wrong doing, when we were unfaithful to him and wronged him. We should continually pray and make sacrifices for the conversion of our spouse. In our prayers, we should surrender ourselves completely to God’s will, and ask Him to be our thoughts, feelings, desires and actions.



Since divorce is rejection of a union of love (who is God), it produces hate, bitterness, hurt, hopelessness, revenge, rejection and anger. It leads to eternal unrest in the spirits of the couple and affects everyone around them. When we try to justify divorce based on what we call “bad marriage”, and even say that there was no real marriage; we increase divorces; because, people can justify divorce by claiming that there was no real marriage. Furthermore, since people know that they can always get out of a marriage by claiming that the marriage was not real, they enter into marriages without truly believing that it is permanent. Since true love is unconditional, it is always permanent. Therefore, entering a marriage without accepting its permanency makes it devoid of true love. Furthermore, since, there can never be peace without true love, there can never be peace without accepting permanency in marriage.


Since love is total surrender of one self to serve the other, conjugal union becomes an act of love only when the involved parties have totally committed one’s entire life to serve the other, and together as a couple have surrendered them selves by leaving their union open to accepting new human beings. Since total and unconditional surrender of one’s life to another human being occurs only in marriage, for it to be an act of love it must be within a marriage. Since conjugal act is procreative, those involved in this act must accept procreative responsibility. Procreative responsibility is to accept and raise children (that are procreated from such acts) in a family. Children need a father, and a mother, that are united to form one unit of love (which occurs only in marriage), for them to experience love. Without love, their spirit suffers immense trauma; because, love is the very basic need for human beings. When divorced parents try to express love to their children, they do not feel loved, because, in their parents’ disunity they see lack of true love. Deep in their heart they know, that, true love (which is unconditional) never dies, and does not accept one and reject the other. When parents, who are not married (to each other), try to express love to their children, they do not feel loved, because, parental love is experienced only in union, and never in solitude. Love between husband and wife is reflection of God’s love, because we are made in the image of God. God is not solitude, but a family, in which the Father and Son offer their lives to each other, completely, with the Holy Spirit as the love, that binds them. In a human family, husband and wife offer their lives to each other, completely, with Holy Spirit as the love that binds them. Children feel very insecure and broken, when the two people, who brought them into existence, are not united, because, they see their own existence in their parent’s union.
 

Svt4Him

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Since divorce is rejection of a union of love (who is God), it produces hate, bitterness, hurt, hopelessness, revenge, rejection and anger. It leads to eternal unrest in the spirits of the couple and affects everyone around them

What about if God commands a divorce?
 
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babyangel

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I stayed in an abusive situation for 9 years. It never got easier I begged for him to get help. I finally asked him to leave, I feared for myself and my kids. Because I wont give him sex he needs it and says he will divorce me so he can get it. I have no control over the divorce and I feel I am complety innocent. (stated in other posts) Every situation is different. The ironic thing is he is Catholic and went to church every Sunday. I was not Catholic and well at that time an unbeliever. I have since turned to the bible he would never switch to my religion. I have prayed for help and all my husband has done was makes things worse and more unbearble. My comfort is some passages I have read in the bible and the couceling I have been getting.
 
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arunangelo

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We can control, only our own thoughts and actions. We can not change others. We can however, help them to change by our prayers, practice and advice. Sometimes, this is a long process. St. Monica prayed for her son (St. Augustine) for 30 years, before he changed. She did not reject him ,because he was her son. We too have to pray for our spouse, because, he/she is our spouse (who is more than a son or daughter)
 
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Romans5

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arunangelo said:
...if we imitate Jesus, by not thinking about our own feelings or interest, and think about others, especially our spouse, we will find peace and healing.


I truly believe in that statement...and have throughout my marriage! However, we have been married over 7 years and by NOT thinking of my own feelings and interests, I feel as though I've done more harm than good! I'm sure I could have done it in a less co-dependent and enabling way, however so much damange has been done already. Throughout the 9 year span of our relationship I have allowed him to get used to the things that make our relationship so dysfunctional that he is unwilling to change or do his part to make our marriage work.

My faith makes him miserable! The fact that I've found true happiness in serving our Lord makes him depressed because he doesn't have that happiness and the peace associated with it. He has tried going to church and I have tried discipling him, however he continues with the "that just isn't me" attitude.

The fact that I am not in a rage because he wants to leave makes him upset! The fact that I am calm in explaining to him that "I'm sorry" when he feels there isn't anything for me to be sorry about..."I will do my part in making this marriage work" when he feels that I've done more than my part..."I'll pray for you and for us" when he doesn't believe hurts him!

So, what it boils down to is this:
If I get mad - he gets upset...
If I remain calm and patient - he gets upset...
The closer I get to the Lord - he gets jealous...
If I put my foot down and be assertive - it hurts his ego...
When my paycheck arrives and I pay the bills with barely anything left over - I crush his manhood because he "can't find work"...

It takes two and I am only one (and my faith, of course)...So, what do I do then???

(For more info, I've spelled out my situation in the "Unequally Yoked - Spiritual Maturity vs General Beliefs" thread).

In His Most Precious Name,
~lei
 
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Living Stone

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Since divorce is rejection of a union of love (who is God), it produces hate, bitterness, hurt, hopelessness, revenge, rejection and anger
This is, how you say...kookytalk.

My ex wife cheated.
I dont hate her.
I wanted to fix things.

She refused to give up her lover
I dont hate her
I wanted to fix things.

I told her wed take a break till she gave this man up.
I dont hate her
I wanted to fix things.

She moved in with him and now shes remarried.
I dont hate her.
Its a little to late to fix things.

Why do people alwasy assume they know that hate and anger are in every divorce?

I dont hate her, nor she me.
She harloted around and then refused to quit.
No anger, no hate, complete forgiveness.
Im just not going to end up with aids being with a woman whos going to keep having sex with another man when Jesus said I could put her away for her harlotry if I had to.
 
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I

InTheFlame

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Hi arunangelo,
I guess the one issue I have with your post isn't the content, but more that you don't clarify how to apply these guidelines in a person's life. For example - is it more loving to see a spouse's sin and simply forgive it, or to see a spouse's sin, forgive them, gently rebuke them, and set a consequence if they don't change their ways? It seems to me that the latter is more in line with the bible... but I got a sense while reading your words that you are encouraging the former method? The reason I think the latter is more loving, is that it helps the spouse back towards God, rather than helping them move away.

What do you think?
 
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