This post is a little out of the ordinary for me, but God has laid it on my heart today so I thought I would share it.  In my research for DivorceMinistry4Kids.com I come across a lot of research about divorce.  Much of that research deals with the devastating effects of divorce on kids, but much of it also includes more general information on divorce and some on the cause of divorce.  I came across a statistic recently that stated that Facebook usage was cited in 20% of all divorce cases in the United States (http://www.thetelecomblog.com/2011/03/08/facebook-will-ruin-your-marriage/).  I don’t know if that’s true.  I did not check it out or verify it for myself because the actual statistic is not a salient part this article.  It did get me thinking though.  I do believe that Facebook and the relationships formed on Facebook are becoming an increasing problem for marriages in our society.  Before I get into that, though, I feel like I should lay a couple of things on the table:

1. I am not anti-Facebook.  I believe Facebook, and other social networks can be a useful tool.
2. I have been on Facebook and Twitter for several years and find both very useful.
3. I do believe there is a danger in social networking just like any other circumstance you can put yourself in.
4. I believe that Facebook allows you to put yourself in danger more easily than in the past because it’s ready availability and the fact that you can use it in the comfort of your own home.
5. Whether the number marriages destroyed, at least in part, is 20%, 10%, 5% or 2% does not matter.  What matters is your personal circumstance.
6. I do not believe that, in all cases, Facebook is the sole contributing factor to the demise of these marriages, but it can serve as the proverbial “straw that broke the camel’s back.”
7. I believe that there are marriages that might otherwise have survived which are destroyed by relationships of opportunity that were formed on Facebook.
8. My concern is for marriages (and ultimately for protecting the kids that so often suffer when those marriage break up).
9. My purpose in writing is not to condemn you, but to warn you.
10. I believe that marriage is a covenant between and man and a woman and God, and it is a covenant that must be carefully guarded and protected from external and internal forces which seek to destroy it.
11. For those marriages where children are involved, the risks are even greater because the result affects additional people.
12. I believe that all marriages are salvageable, no matter how desperate they might seem, because I believe that our God can do anything.

So, the question we want to ask today – the question you need to address head on, is:

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