IS MARRIAGE LEGALLY PROTECTED?
According to the Bible, marriage is a covenant – a sacred promise. But according to the laws of the United States, marriage is a contract.

In fact, the marriage “contract” is one of the easiest to break because the legal system has made the divorce process relatively easy.

So when an unhappy husband or wife want to call it quits, little remains in the way of ending their marriage.

It seems that the one of the most important contracts in our lives is not protected by the legal system today.

MARRIAGE LAW VERSUS BUSINESS LAW
Compare marriage law to corporate law.

Lawyers will do anything to defend and protect corporations, or to make sure that we fulfill our legal/financial obligations to our landlord or the bank who holds our mortgage, or the dealership where we bought our car, even to our doctor or mechanic – lawyers will do everything possible to enforce these “relationships” but very little to keep a husband or wife from breaking their sacred promise to each other.

Think about it. It is lawful for a husband or wife to break their marriage contract at any time for any reason and not be held responsible. How much can a spouse do legally who actually wants to save his or her marriage and keep their family together?  Very little.

HOW MUCH DOES DIVORCE COST (Financially)
Divorce will hurt far more than a person imagines and cost much more than he or she ever planned.

Divorce creates economic hardship and devastation for the couple and the state. Consider these numbers:

The annual cost of divorce is estimated to be over thirty billion dollars, costing local and federal governments $30,000 per divorce annually on average in law enforcement and government assistance programs.

On average, divorce will cost the typical couple $18,000 because of time away from work, relocation/moving expenses, and legal costs, all of which can vary greatly depending on the financial situation of the couple.

In our next Stop Your Divorce And Save Your Marriage Part 3 post, we will consider the emotional cost of divorce. The emotional costs are much more expensive than the financial costs.

My goal in writing this series isn’t to make you feel guilty or bad. On the contrary. I really want to encourage you to give your marriage a second chance and to do whatever it takes to keep your family together. The pain of divorce is much worse than the pain of confronting your marriage problems and resolving your relational issues.

My deepest desire is for you to be mad about marriage again because you deserve to be happy. And with just a little bit of effort you can have the marriage of your dreams. Others have done it. So can you.