This CoffeeBreak is not warmly inspirational. It wasn’t fun to write. But, like Ezekiel of old, I feel a call to be a watchman, to issue a warning.
American culture has so blurred the lines of morality that many are confused about what is wrong. Even among Christians, many are ignorant of God’s demands of His people. So, let me talk frankly today. Are you married? Then, you are in a covenant that includes Christ as the third Person who stands as the witness to your fidelity to your spouse. God calls us to keep our hearts exclusively for our spouse and our bodies only for them, as well. It has been this way from the very first. The Creation account teaches us: "Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is just right for him.” … So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep. While the man slept, the Lord God took out one of the man’s ribs and closed up the opening. Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib, and he brought her to the man. “At last!” the man exclaimed. “This one is bone from my bone, and flesh from my flesh! She will be called ‘woman,’ because she was taken from ‘man.’ ” This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one." (Genesis 2:18-24, NLT)
There are numerous reasons for preserving fidelity in marriage, not the least of which is that the marital covenant is a living illustration of God's relationship with His people - the Church. Through the grace of Christ, we are married to Him, His beloved Bride, called to spirituality fidelity. The expectation of faithfulness to God precedes Christianity. Moses told Israel that the LORD wanted an exclusive relationship with them. "Be careful not to forget the covenant of the Lord your God that he made with you; do not make for yourselves an idol in the form of anything the Lord your God has forbidden. For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God." (Deuteronomy 4:23-24, NIV) The Decalogue begins with the stark and clear command - Exodus 20:3 "You shall have no other gods before me." When Israel strayed to follow other gods, the Lord called it spiritual adultery.
Our marriages are to reflect God’s grace and wholeness. We read this in Ephesians: “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church." (Ephesians 5:31-32, NIV) A Christian who does not honor his or her vows not only dishonors the spouse, they dishonor God. But, where love is deep and disciplined with fidelity, God is revealed before the world, for He is love!
Adultery is a word loaded with pain! When a spouse discovers that the person they love has become involved emotionally and/or sexually with another, it causes deep sorrow, a sense of terrible loss, and sometimes even murderous rage. Why? Because adultery is a basic betrayal. The pain it causes rips through families like a tsunami bringing devastation. The story of David, a man who loved God and wrote some of our best worship songs (the Psalms) includes a sordid episode of infidelity. One night this king allowed himself to entertain a friend’s wife for dinner. His sexual desire overcame his self-control and Bathsheba became pregnant. When the whole thing was over, Uriah, Bathsheba’s husband, was dead. David’s sin was forgiven when he finally confessed, but Nathan, God’s messenger, warned him that he had destroyed the trust of his sons and as a result, "your family will live by the sword because you have despised me by taking Uriah’s wife to be your own." (2 Samuel 12:10, NLT)
David ignored the lesser boundaries that were in place to protect him from his lust. Because he ran through those stop signs, he found himself in a situation where he was overcome by desire. John Mayhall describes the choices that are made before adultery actually happens as ‘leaks.’ He writes: The “leaks” leading up to sexual infidelity include:
• a feeling that you can talk to a particular person of the opposite sex more freely—and with more understanding—than you can talk with your spouse
• a stirring of the senses when you think about or anticipate seeing a particular person
• an interest in pornography
• unhappiness and dissatisfaction with the physical side of your marriage.
-(Discipleship Journal : Issue 75. 1999)
Here’s a word from the Word. May the Spirit cause it to take root in us, guiding our choices for the glory of our God.
"Run from sexual sin! No other sin so clearly affects the body as this one does. For sexual immorality is a sin against your own body. Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body." (1 Corinthians 6:18-21, NLT)
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God, our Husband and our Lover,
we pray for a true heart that loves You.
As a sin-filled world and
the Devil sing their seductive songs,
help us to hear Your song of love alone.
In a culture that worships sexuality,
We pray for protection, and
For the clarity of the Spirit to keep us
From deception.
Lord, as you love us deeply,
Help us to love.
Teach us to cherish our marriages,
To love even when it’s hard,
To forgive often,
And to go home – with our heart and body.
We pray this in the Name of Jesus, that You will be honored by our lives.
Amen.
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