The marriage of Khloe Kardashian and Lamar Odom. Love or Tragedy?

Almost every wedding is an occasion for celebration. It’s the uniting of two people. Depending on your denomination the vows can differ, but they are essentially the same.

Basic Protestant Vows

“I, ___, take thee, ___, to be my wedded husband/wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part, according to God’s holy ordinance; and thereto I pledge thee my faith [or] pledge myself to you.”

Episcopal

“______, wilt thou have this woman/man to be thy wedded wife/husband to live together after God’s ordinance in the Holy Estate of matrimony? Wilt thou love her/him? Comfort her/him, honor and keep her/him, in sickness and in health, and forsaking all others keep thee only unto her/him as long as you both shall live?”

“In the name of God, I, ______, take you, ______, to be my wife/husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and health, to love and to cherish, until we are parted by death. This is my solemn vow.”

Methodist

“Will you have this woman/man to be your wife/husband, to live together in holy marriage? Will you love her/him, comfort her/him, honor, and keep her/him in sickness and in health, and forsaking all others, be faithful to her/him as long as you both shall live?”

“In the name of God, I, ______, take you, ______, to be my wife/husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, until we are parted by death. This is my solemn vow.”

Presbyterian

“______, wilt thou have this woman/man to be thy wife/husband, and wilt thou pledge thy faith to him/her, in all love and honor, in all duty and service, in all faith and tenderness, to live with her/him, and cherish her/him, according to the ordinance of God, in the holy bond of marriage?”

“I, ______, take you, ______, to be my wedded wife/husband, and I do promise and covenant, before God and these witnesses, to be your loving and faithful husband/wife, in plenty and want, in joy and in sorrow, in sickness and in health, as long as we both shall live.”

Lutheran

“I take you, ______, to be my wife/husband from this day forward, to join with you and share all that is to come, and I promise to be faithful to you until death parts us.”

“I, ______, take you, ______, to be my wife/husband, and these things I promise you: I will be faithful to you and honest with you; I will respect, trust, help, and care for you; I will share my life with you; I will forgive you as we have been forgiven; and I will try with you better to understand ourselves, the world and God; through the best and worst of what is to come, and as long as we live.”

Catholic Wedding Vows

“I, ___, take you, ___, for my lawful wife/husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and health, until death do us part.”

“I, ___, take you, ___, to be my husband/wife. I promise to be true to you in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health. I will love and honor you all the days of my life.”

The main idea of a Christian marriage is that two people become one, and that they’ll care for one another in good times and bad. Right now there is a good lesson about this going on with Khloe Kardashian and Lamar Odom. Now before we go any further I want to clarify something. I’m talking about Khloe and Lamar as a husband and wife, not Khloe and Lamar the reality television characters that we saw. (Well some of you saw. I couldn’t stand the show.) So who are we talking about specifically?

Khloe Kardashian…

She’s the California girl born in Los Angeles in June 27, 1984. She’s generally considered famous for being famous, but she owns a clothing boutique D-A-S-H. She also markets products like teeth whitener, fake tanner, and a fragrance called Unbreakable. She’s also done television…a lot of television…no, seriously…A LOT OF TELEVISION.

Khloe isn’t perfect, who is. In 2008 she was arrested for DUI, and she was sued for assaulting a transsexual woman. This is just the highlights. Obviously covering her whole life would be far too extensive.

Lamar Odom…

The six foot ten inch New Yorker was born November 6, 1979. He was a highly successful basketball player who bounced around the NBA in his last years, and he was trying to resurrect a career derailed by drugs. He’s a two-time NBA champion and 2011 NBA sixth man of the year. He was originally drafted by the Clippers, but violated the drug policy twice before leaving to the Miami Heat. He played one season before being traded to the Los Angeles Lakers. He spent seven years with the Lakers before being traded to the Dallas Mavericks. His career went off track during this time, and after one year he was traded to the Clippers.

Lamar Odom came from a tragic life. At twelve his mother died of colon cancer, and his father was a heroin addict. Mildred Mercer, his grandmother, raised him. When he got to college he was taking money from a booster. Because of this his coach was fired, and he had to transfer to another school. It took Odom two years before he’d be allowed to play basketball again.

Odom isn’t just a basketball player however. He owns a production company, Rich Soil Entertainment. He’s a father of three children, but one died at six and 1/2 months from S.I.D.S.  and so he’s no stranger to tragedy. He’s been arrested for DUI and obviously had issues with drugs. It was the drugs that caused Khloe to finally demand a divorce. That leads us to our situation. That being that Lamar was found unconscious on October 13, 2015 at the Love Ranch.

So what was this, a tragedy or a love story?

The truth is that it was both, but at the same time who knows how it will all end. Yes Khloe has filed for divorce, but at the same time she’s currently the person making all the decisions for Lamar. She loves him, and she’s never been shy about that fact. She’s been a good and loyal wife despite all of Lamar Odom’s problems. She’s tried to be there for him. She’s tried to be understanding, but sadly Lamar Odom has a mistress, and that mistress is drugs.

Lamar Odom really didn’t give his wife any choice. She has an obligation to care for herself, and at the point Odom chose drugs over her he then became an anchor that could only drag Khloe down. Of course maybe he’s hit rock bottom now, and if so maybe he’ll lean on God and change course. Khloe loves him, and has made several statements about taking him back, and if there was ever an opportunity for the man to repent of his ways and change direction, now is that time.

I once wrote a question about where were all the Christian women. Let me tell you, Khloe is a good Christian woman. She’s loved Lamar in spite of himself, and even now she’s caring for him when many women might have turned their back on him. Regardless of what you feel for the reality show version of her, you can’t deny that she’s been an amazing wife in regards to this whole situation.

She was confronted with her soon to be ex-husband’s adulterous behavior, and put any pain that might have caused away while she cares for her husband. She should be applauded. Adultery is a terrible thing., and she should be given as much support as possible. Lamar probably has a long hard road ahead of him, and whether Khloe will be with him or not is up in the air, but regardless of what might be, what is going on right now is an example of an amazing loyalty by a wife.

So is the marriage of Khloe and Lamar a love story or a tragedy? The truth is that we may have to wait and see.