Some people think that when a married couple can't really get along well with each other it is much better for them to just part ways and stop fighting rather than stay together just for the sake of their children.
However, Pastor Rick Warren of Saddleback Church does not believe this is the right thing to do. He considers it "narcissism" for couples to only think of themselves and leave each other without giving much thought to their children's welfare.
"Can you sometimes do something that's best for somebody else? For someone who's more vulnerable than you are? That's called maturity. That's called unselfishness. That's called love," he writes on his website.
Warren says that children who grow up without both parents have an increased risk of failing in school, getting involved in substance or alcohol abuse, experiencing depression, and attempting suicide.
"On the other hand, statistics say that children who live with their own two parents growing up will enjoy better physical health than children living in any other family form. Every single study done has proven that kids develop best with a mom and a dad," he says.
Basically, says Warren, when people do God's way of living a married life, things will work out better in their lives and their kids' lives. "Kids grow healthier and stronger when they grow up in a stable family, with a mom and a dad in a stable marriage," he says.
Warren says children are completely helpless when they are born, so they need their parents to protect them. God knew that children would need a safe environment and somebody who will feed, dress, nurture, train, and care for them.
"That's what every child needs growing up — a place of refuge and security, where they don't have to worry if mom or dad is going to walk out," he stresses.
Even the Bible verse Proverbs 14:26 says so: "Whoever fears the Lord has a secure fortress, and for their children it will be a refuge."
