Dead Marriages

[farouk]

17 hours ago, Coruscating said:

Annette, depending on your definition of "dead marriage", the text you quote as your signature may help with the answer to that question.

 

There is a lot of talk habitually about feelings and so forth; but so often what Scripture says about marriage is treated as irrelevant.

[Coruscating]

2 minutes ago, farouk said:

There is a lot of talk habitually about feelings and so forth; but so often what Scripture says about marriage is treated as irrelevant.

God's Word gives us knowledge and calibrates our feelings. Feelings matter, they can lead us in the wrong way, but when we keep connected to God, He puts His Law in our hearts. The disconnection between feelings and knowledge is an old problem of the fallen Man.

[farouk]

5 minutes ago, Coruscating said:

God's Word gives us knowledge and calibrates our feelings. Feelings matter, they can lead us in the wrong way, but when we keep connected to God, He puts His Law in our hearts. The disconnection between feelings and knowledge is an old problem of the fallen Man.

I was speaking specifically about marriage; there is a lot of talk about wanting to get divorced, but often seemingly little effort to see what the Bible actually teaches.

[Coruscating]

18 minutes ago, farouk said:

I was speaking specifically about marriage; there is a lot of talk about wanting to get divorced, but often seemingly little effort to see what the Bible actually teaches.

I am also including marriage. I spoke more broadly, because I can't speak about marriage to married people. I am celibate. I only posted because I thought it was interesting the contrast between the question and the signature of the OP.

You are right. People do use "feelings" to justify their choices, when choices should be about what is right vs what is wrong. Before indulging a sentiment, we should search the Bible, praying for discernment. The right feeling should come from that. But people do depart from a feeling and then go around looking for approval. (I'm not saying this is the case of the OP). God doesn't like divorce — this should be the first feeling that matters when the topic is divorce (without adultery).

I just wanted to write about how God's Word does take care of our feelings. About that I can talk. About marriage and divorce, I don't dare.

[TrueFollowerOfChrist]

8 hours ago, Coruscating said:

God's Word gives us knowledge and calibrates our feelings. Feelings matter, they can lead us in the wrong way, but when we keep connected to God, He puts His Law in our hearts. The disconnection between feelings and knowledge is an old problem of the fallen Man.

To a point maybe, but when we KNOW what God says about something and we KNOW what God wants us to do, our feelings are irrelevant. Obedience is the only Godly response, no matter how we feel about the situation. Abraham is a great example. He did the hardest thing a person could do because obedience was the only thing that mattered, not how he felt about something.

[farouk]

15 minutes ago, TrueFollowerOfChrist said:

To a point maybe, but when we KNOW what God says about something and we KNOW what God wants us to do, our feelings are irrelevant. Obedience is the only Godly response, no matter how we feel about the situation. Abraham is a great example. He did the hardest thing a person could do because obedience was the only thing that mattered, not how he felt about something.

@TrueFollowerOfChrist Good point. I am reminded of the words of the Lord Jesus in Luke 6.46:

"And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?"

[Coruscating]

1 hour ago, TrueFollowerOfChrist said:

To a point maybe, but when we KNOW what God says about something and we KNOW what God wants us to do, our feelings are irrelevant. Obedience is the only Godly response, no matter how we feel about the situation. Abraham is a great example. He did the hardest thing a person could do because obedience was the only thing that mattered, not how he felt about something.

You say "To a point maybe", but my view in no way prevents yours, more than that, it includes yours too.

I wrote "Knowing God calibrates our feelings", but I'm not saying "Wait until you feel good, so you can move on". No, I'm saying "it doesn't matter the feeling from where we depart when we are obeying God. It is by living that Law that we experience true good feelings." 

I believe that Abraham's walk would be impossible, if He didn't have faith in the God He knew. Nothing good we do here is our own merit. We may be blind to God's plans, we may be confused/worried/sad because of that, but we are not blind to Who He has revealed us to be, as we walk with Him, and this supports us emotionally too.

When people say things that can be translated to: "God doesn't want me to be unhappy, so maybe He does allow me to go around His will, for it is following His Laws that is between me and my happiness", they are living as if we could feel anything good away from God's ways. This is more than a problem of obedience, this is lack of knowledge of Who God Is.

 

 

Edited May 8 by Coruscating
typo

[farouk]

2 hours ago, Coruscating said:

I believe that Abraham's walk would be impossible, if He didn't have faith in the God He knew. Nothing good we do here is our own merit.

 

 

@Coruscating It all indeed goes back to the principle of faith. Ephesians 2.8-10 (often 9 and 10 are omitted in quotation but they are all part of the passage...)