"Furthermore it has been said, 'Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.' But I say to you that whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery.”
Matthew 5:31-32

The common practice in Jesus’s day was that a man could divorce his wife for virtually any reason (real or made up), so long as he did the proper paperwork. He had merely to give her walking papers. This mentality reveals a sinister mindset regarding loopholes.

Take this simple test to see if you are one in whom this mindset resides: Am I more likely to evaluate every situation by asking “How holy can I possibly be?” or “How close may I get to sin and get away with it?”

Stated another way, which best describes your heart toward making decisions in life: (1) Do I get to please God with righteous living?” or (2) “Have I got to do certain things to be OK with God?”

So before commenting on marriage in particular, where is your heart regarding living for Jesus? Is it a matter of get to or a matter of got to? Honestly.

The mindset in Jesus day regarding marriage was, “Thank God for the loophole demanding a bit of paperwork that will allow me to divorce.” Among many who claim to be Christians today, the same loophole mindset pervades just about any and every area of life.

Dear God, change our hearts that we would want to follow You no matter the cost, instead of rejoicing that we can sin, and still be saved.