Recession and Divorce

A recent front page Wall Street Journal story is titled "What God Has Joined Together, Recession Makes Hard to Put Asunder."  Writer Jennifer Levitz details the ways in which couples on the verge of divorce are coping with the fact that...they just can't afford to split.  She reports that "many couples are delaying the decision to dissolve marriages" because they've run the numbers and they simply see no way to fund two households. This results in situations like that of the Brewster family, where "mommy lives upstairs and daddy lives in the basement."  Not exactly ideal, but in some cases the delay is forcing couples to communicate.  One Nashville couple, Randy and Lori Word, are waiting for a court date. Randy's sleeping in the study...his clothes in boxes.  He says, "We've actually developed or redeveloped a friendship that I think had gotten lost a little bit."  Will they reconsider their divorce?  We can only hope so.

Ms. Levitz cites a poll of 1600 attorneys, members of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers.  These divorce lawyers reported that in the six months through March 2009, there were 40 percent fewer divorce cases than they normally handle. Courts in major population centers like New York and LA say divorce filings are way down.  Some divorce-minded couples will just gut it out until their finances improve. But, the head of a national divorce support group told the Journal that couples who find it necessary to postpone their divorces, may be able to work through their problems and reconcile. 

 This trend suggests a silver lining to the recession.The downturn in the economy is making divorce a "luxury" some people feel they cannot afford.  Perhaps this will prompt some consideration of the reasons for marriage...and for staying married. In its July 2^nd issue, TIME magazine addressed the question, "Is There Hope for the American Marriage?"  Author Caitlin Flanagan concludes that that depends on our answer to another question: "What is the purpose of marriage?" "Is it," she asks, "simply an institution that has the capacity to increase the pleasure of the adults who enter it."  Or, she wonders, "Is marriage an institution that still hews to its old intention and function-to raise the next generation, to protect it and teach it, to instill in it the habits of conduct and character that will ensure the generation's own safe passage into adulthood?"

 Most Christians would give the latter answer. But Christians are breaking their marital vows at the same rate...some studies show at a higher rate... than the world.  Efforts to stop the deterioration of marriage ought to start with the Church.  Throughout Scripture we are taught to 'love one another.'  Jesus said, "By this all men will know that you are my disciples..."   Kingdom unity is evident when believers exhibit a love that "bears all things."  That's best practiced first in our marriages.