Well I've been thinking again. Yeah…scary sometimes. But it seems to me that we miss the
point on a lot of Scripture. And what comes to my mind now is one that will
probably be met with a bit of controversy mixed with offense. In the Gospels of
Matthew and Mark, Jesus quotes Genesis 2:24 saying, “and the two shall become
one flesh; so they are no longer two, but one flesh” (Mark 10:8 NASB) (Also see
Matthew 19:5). Well the legalists use this to say that it is a sin for a couple
to get a divorce. First let me say that I agree that marriage is a serious
matter that should not be entered into lightly. And divorce should be
considered carefully and never be used as a casual exit to a relationship just
because we get bored with each other. God takes marriage seriously. But this
leads me to another point. Who said that just because two people get married
and have sex God must automatically consider them “one flesh”? That term is not
a term for the consummation of vows. Nor is it a term for the physical act of
sex (contrary to what some teach). It is a description of something that God
causes to happen in the Spiritual realm. Now, being that we know God takes
marriage seriously, and knowing also that we are in no position to tell God
what to do, how do we know God joined the two and made them one flesh? Isn't this a decision for God to make in His sovereignty? So just because a couple
gets married and has sex does not automatically mean that they are joined
together by God, even if the priest says they are! (Want to argue with that?
Then tell me your fundamental view on gay marriage.) So isn't it a possibility
that there may be married people whom God has not joined together? If so, and
one is willing to put his/her relationship with God first, and the other is not…then
could a divorce be an option for the believer to protect his/her relationship
with God? That’s a stretch maybe…but worth thinking about.
But don't get hung up yet. None of that was my point. Forgive me for taking you down that
little side road. But that is the train of thought that led to this one: If we
truly are one flesh (person) in the eyes of God, then we should act just as
unified in the way we let others see us. Now I’m stepping on some different
toes. I know couples who insist on keeping everything separate. They have
separate bank accounts, separate vacations, even separate churches! How healthy
can such a relationship truly be? Well now I have to get even more picky. What
about separate social media accounts? I know…My wife and I have them too. And
to be honest, I kinda wish we didn’t. How many times have you ever had that little
suspicious, jealous voice in the back of your head find its way to your mouth
and ask your spouse, “So who is that friend?” “When did you meet that person?” “Who
are you chatting with?” All are innocent questions in and of themselves. But
can you see what kind of trouble it can lead to? Can you read those and see the
beginning of an argument?
And what
about being “one”? If we are no longer two individuals in God’s eyes then why
are we two individuals in the world’s eyes? And you know what makes it even
worse? We are two individuals in each other’s eyes! I’m not just picking on
social media. This mindset creeps over to other areas of our lives as well. But
the illustration of social networking sites just makes the picture seem much
more clear to me the more I think about it. So what am I going to do? Well…I
think the first thing is get rid of some of those accounts I don’t need. I should
also sort through my “friends” list. But it seems another good idea is to talk
to my wife. We actually have a joint account we don’t use. Maybe we should open
it back up? Maybe we should invite our actual friends to that account and get
rid of the individual ones? I’m not sure myself at this point. But this much I
do know; it needs to be bathed in prayer. What do you think? I hope this was
good food for thought. I got some praying to do.
Peace and
blessings, Shannon
