John & Kate Plus 8

Great weekend that I plan on blogging some thoughts about, hopefully tomorrow. Until then, a friend of mine made some good comments about John & Kate Plus 8 that I thought were worth passing along. To be honest, I've never watched the show - but this a good word:

John & Kate Plus 8 - by Chris Carr
Last night I happened to catch the end of a rerun of the season premier of the show "John & Kate Plus 8." If you are unfamiliar with the show it is a reality (or unreality) show featuring a married couple (John & Kate Gosselin) with eight children -- 7 year-old twins and 5 year-old sextuplets (that's six!).

The premier drew a cable record 9.8 million viewers, mostly due to the fact that the Gosselin's are rumored to be heading towards a divorce. While there is a lot that could (and perhaps needs to be) addressed here, it's obvious that the Gosselin's and many in our culture just don't get what marriage is about.

The last 7-8 minutes of the premier focused upon John & Kate and their collective and individual responses to where their marriage was headed. They both essentially shared that whatever happens, they are going to make sure that they will do what is best for their children.

What they don't get is that (1) it isn't about the kids and (2) the best thing for the kids is for it not to be about them.

Why? Because marriage at it's foundation is about the vows -- the covenantal life-time commitment that husband and wife make to one another. When those vows aren't honored, everything else in a family falls apart. What the Gosselin kids need the most is John & Kate to reconcile and faithfully carry out their God-ordained and sanctioned roles as spouses and parents.

I have no idea if the Gosselin's are believers or not, but that is besides the point. If they really want the best for their kids, they will work this out and remain faithful to the commitment they made to one another and to God. Only then can they work towards what is best for their children.
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Interestingly enough, another friend also wrote about the show. Darren's entry is longer, an actual open letter to John & Kate, and is on his blog: Christos Kurios