Even Kings and Queens...

The announcement of the royal divorce between Diana and Charles provides an example of how not to stay married. Most would think that to be rich and famous would be a pretty good start to a successful union.

It is sobering to not that even those with privileges cannot have healthy marriages unless they include the three necessary ingredients that all marriages need to succeed:

1. COMMITMENT

The initial concept of marriage requires the vow to a life-time commitment, not just an agreement to remain during the easy parts. Accepting that divorce is a way of solving marital problems is like owning a gun. You rarely buy one unless you plan to use it.

2. CHASTITY

An old fashioned word that means sexual purity. Most marriages can survive the adversity of illness, money, and disagreements. But even Jesus declared that marriages assaulted by sexual infidelity would have trouble surviving - Matthew 19.

3. CHRIST

The only one who could have saved this marriage was never mentioned. Christ-centered marriages provide not only purpose and direction for this life, but the motivation to prepare ourselves and each other for life in the world to come.

If this marital failure teaches us one thing, it is that the ingredients for successful relationships are necessary for everyone - even kings and queens.