Separated

ByHal Hammons

My second-favorite television couple is splitting up, it seems.  Tarek and Christina El Moussa, of Flip or Flop fame, have been separated for eight months now.  They have no plans to divorce yet, but they are in separate houses and likely to stay that way for the foreseeable future.

It’s not all bad news.  They plan to keep the business going, and the burgeoning TV empire; they’ve filmed several episodes since the split.  So they are capable of coexisting, it seems.  Just not as a family.  That’s weird, since they say their children, 6 and 1, have been the most difficult part about the separation.  “We want the best for them,” they told People magazine, “and we’re doing everything we can to ensure that.”

No, you’re not.

If Dad doesn’t live in the house and only sees the children a couple times a week, that is not “the best.”  If the children see Mom and Dad dating other people, that is not “the best.” 

“The best” is for families to stay together.  Period.

I realize Matthew 19:9 provides a loophole to the Matthew 19:6 law of staying together for life; if this situation fits the loophole, I apologize for assuming otherwise.  But to the casual observer, it looks like the El Moussas are willing to fight for their careers but not for their family.  That says something.

Parents, enough with the excuses.  If you believe the Bible enough to submit to Jesus Christ, submit to what it says about marriage.  Read Matthew 5:31-32.  Read 1 Corinthians 7:3-5.  Read Ephesians 5:22-33.  Then do what God told you to do.  If it’s difficult, try harder.  Lots of needful and worthwhile things are difficult.

And if you’re using “it’s best for the kids” to rationalize your unlawful separation, shame on you.  You know what’s best, and you’re refusing to do it.  Quit lying to yourself.

 

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