The pretty ladies in their Asoebis were busy pouting and taking selfies, of course instagram must be flooded today, naija weddings and bellanaija must be tagged. The handsome gentlemen on suit were looking dapper and feeding their eyes, you know what I mean, pretty ladies everywhere. The parents were dazzling in their traditional outfits. The esctatic expression on their faces couldn’t find a hiding place.
Who doesn’t love a Saturday? What are Saturdays for? WEDDINGS! And on that faithful sunny beautiful Saturday morning , Bayo and Ada exchanged marital vows. The young tall ebony Barrister had just tied the knots with his dream lady, a beautiful light skinned stylist. The wedding was a glamorous one which featured in all top blogs. The likes of lindaikeji, bellanaija, owelafrik, newsflashngr and .
Six Years Later. The couple was blessed and had all they wished for. All but except one vital thing, they were yet to have a child. Ada had tried everything humanly possible to conceive but all efforts were to no avail. Bayo had lost his patience and had turned to a beast towards Ada. A babymama had already given him a beautiful baby girl the previous year. His parents were fully in support of his actions. Ada became a victim of domestic violence. Bayo had tagged her a witch and beats her to a pulp anytime he so desires. Ada’s friends and family were displeased about the ugly development . Everyone close to her were persuading her to get a divorce. Now here’s a question I throw to you the reader, if you knew Ada what advice would you give to her, to leave or to stay? I would suggest you digest the complete content of this write up before answering.
Remember that six years back, they both made a VOW in the presence of GOD and Man. Here’s a few important lines from the content of that vow.
FOR BETTER FOR WORSE
FOR RICHER FOR POORER
TO LOVE AND TO CHERISH
TILL DEATH DO US PART
Take note of the last phrase in the marital vow “till DEATH do us part”. Note also that this vow was made in the presence of God and Man. Biblically, bear in mind that Malachi 2:3 says “I hate divorce, says The Lord Of Israel”. Furthermore Matthew 19:6 says “therefore what God has joined together, let Man not seperate” . However, God knows that since marriages involves two sinful humans, divorces are going to occure.
According to my findings in the Bible, there are only two grounds for divorce inwhich the Man and Woman involved are not enslaved. These are :
Marrying an Unbeliever. As written in 1st Corintians 7:5 which says “but if the unbelieving partner seperates, let it be so. In such cases brother or sister is not enslaved. God has called you to peace”

Death. As written in Romans 7:2 which says “for a married woman is bound by law to her husband while he lives ,but if her husband dies she is released from the vows of marriage.

From my findings, all that was said about divorce in the Bible revolves around the fact that when there’s a divorce, both parties involved should not remarry. For doing so is considered Adultry.
Now here’s my arguement:
Its no longer news that the institution of marriage has almost turned to a failed one. The saying is justifiable by the increasing number of divorces and failed marriages we see these days. The Church frowns against divorce and doesn’t encourage it yet the rate of divorce in the society is steady on the increase and rebels all attempts to be tamed like a mad Bull at loose.
The world has changed and is still changing. These days one can look into a lot of unions and cite more than a hundred reasons for annulment. But why annul a union when both parties involved swore an oath before GOD and Man to live in good and bad conditions till DEATH seperates them? Hmmm!
There is a serious disregard for the vows of marriage with the rate of divorce in the society. As it stands at the moment DIVORCE has come to stay. It has erected a great fortress in the society. One which can withstanall forms of attacks. The steady growth of moral decadence and irresponsibility contributes to it’s strength. In this dynamic world of our’s, like it or hate it, DIVORCE has come to stay.
My candid suggestion:
I believe it’s high time the Church made an ammendment to the marital vows. The clause in that vow makes it difficult for me to accept the dissolution of the union of marriage. In the marital vow the ONLY accepted ground for dissolution is DEATH. With the present state of things, I suggest some other grounds be added to the marital vow. If the Church opposes this, then the Church is wrong in remarrying a divorcee, something we see a lot these days. One would argue that the Church has no such power in making such ammends. That’s quite a solid arguement but come to think of it, If thesame Church could change the Sabath day, then making ammends to the marital vows shouldn’t be a difficult task.
On a Final note, THE MARRIAGE VOW IS BETTER NOT SWORN THAN BROKEN by just signing on a mere piece of paper.
Emebo Anthony
emeboanthony@gmail.com