Divorce - a Hot Potato for Believers and Atheists Alike

Reading articles from the press addressing this topic from authorities, human rights activists and Christians including pastors, I couldn’t help but feel a sense loss in my heart in that while each of the commentators were within their rights to say what they had to say, it seemed that the whole topic of divorce is far from resolved.

To me it seemed that what people were saying, just depended much on where they are in the marriage landscape. And, I thought that was tragic coming from some pastors.
To hear a pastor, or to be precise, an Apostle as he prefers to be referred to (although the difference is not appreciated by some of us) conceding that there indeed is no divorce in Swazi culture, but still continued doing it was the most tragic thing to hear. The other tragedy with the man of the cloth was that he avoided referring to the word of God on this topic, for which scripture abounds. I mean you would expect a pastor, as the custodian of God’s word in my thinking, to tell us what God says about divorce and marrying a divorcee. Whether this omission was to avoid embarrassing oneself given that he had violated the same scripture that establishes his office; and by extension, his vocation; I don’t know. Divorce in God’s law is a no go area for everyone as He says He hates it with a passion (Malachi 2:16).

In my view, pastors and those who profess to serve Him in whatever role they choose to serve Him, should be articulating and living out God’s foundational truths, instead of emphasising traditions and cultures of men, because by so doing they are elevating culture and traditions above God. That is choosing to respect traditions of men above God’s law so to speak. God again, in Leviticus 21:7 says priests; an office synonymous with present day pastor must not defile themselves by marrying women divorced from their husbands. The emphasis on divorcing women was due to the fact that it was women in those times that were put out by their husbands; not the other way round, as happens nowadays. Men initiated divorce; just as man initiated marriage.

Acceptable

Whether it is right for women to initiate or institute divorce is only a matter of human rights activists to debate, who I might add are not necessarily pursuing God’s will in their endeavour. Our Lord, Jesus also pronounced himself on this topic in Matthew 5:31-32 as he challenged the Mosaic Law of Deuteronomy 24:1 that gave men the privilege of divorcing women, saying this was no longer acceptable as by so doing these men were causing the women to commit adultery, and not only the woman is exposed to adultery, but also the man she subsequently marries after the divorce.

And the only time men were allowed to put out their wives was when the man felt he no longer liked her or after she had been defiled by adultery, and Jesus says Moses allowed that because of the hardness of the hearts of men; and Jesus for the first time introduces the topic of adultery by men that divorce and marry another; where previous wife was divorced for a reason other than marital unfaithfulness (Matthew 19:4-8). And that, by the way is God’s standard. The Man of God and  those like him (male or female) that are living under those circumstances, whoever they are married to are unfortunately committing adultery, and are considered philanderers in God’s books, period.

His Majesty articulated and pronounced himself very well on this topic, not that we heard it for the first time, but for him to emphasise it at such a time as this, when divorce has become fashionable was the best thing to happen for us. In other countries we hear statistics for divorce are as high as one in two marriages ending in divorce; and this is bad for the institution of marriage and families; particularly children. Again in the Swazi culture, while upholding the culture and refusing to embrace divorce we have relationships that look like marriages, but you find these have long ended and the product of that is immorality that continues to escalate. And the irony of our established Swazi Law and Custom is that they are not upheld by the courts. I mean how many times have we read that customary marriages have had decrees of divorce issued for them?

I mean we also read reports that applications for divorce from customary marriages (kutekana) are pilling up in courts. And the irony of this is that Imiphakatsi continue churning out/issuing out the letters in support of those applications. Well let’s see what changes after His Majesty’s pronouncement.
Human rights activists on the other hand, when it comes to this subject are adamant people have to exercise this right, and this is not surprising as human right advocacy neither seeks to align itself with Christian or traditional and customary values and ideals, but seeks activism to advance what people want; that is, whether right or wrong. Human rights activism, like proponents of political correctness supports popular opinion; and as such does not equate rational thinking. And, this school of thought is responsible for same sex marriages and gay rights that God is so clearly opposed to.

As I conclude I want to say that in order to have a healthy debate on divorce in terms of desirability or otherwise, one needs to stand back from the situation and be uninvolved in it to be able to separate the woods from the trees. But this time around, I am glad Swazi culture and God’s standard are consistent, making it easier for the Swazi nation to avoid this scourge without offending either ideal.

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