Turn around and run

God's escape route from sin

by R. Douglass Mahaffey

 
        Every day we are faced with opportunity to choose to either cross the line, or turn around and run toward God’s sheltering arm. Sadly, in America only 45 percent of all marriages are successful in lasting until “death do we part.” The courts have made it easy for couples to get divorced and try for a do-over with someone new. 

I, for one, was in such a marriage for over 10 years. It had the making of a story-book romance at first. I was 25, she was 27. Both of us thought we were “of age” to marry. That term “of age” is relative in the sanctity of marriage. Unfortunately, there are children caught in the middle that learned first hand how reconciliation shouldn’t go. 

Just when two people who think that they are in love, believe they have all the answers, here comes the main stream media changing all the questions. Things can get way out of hand when a contributing partner to the marriage hears on television often enough that there is someone out there who will be much better than the person they’re with. They say it doesn’t hurt to weigh all your options as far as your romantic happiness goes.

After all, people break promises all the time, it’s no big deal these days. Those same people see nothing wrong with terminating an unwanted pregnancy either. After all, it’s only a fetus until it’s actually born, right? Not so, according to the Bible. Jesus told his disciples and the Jews that terrible things will happen to anyone who so much as harms one hair of the littlest of the children. Those so called “Fetuses” count in that too. As soon as the cell splits and turns into what scientists call a zygote, life is born. 

But that’s another topic for another article. This one is about the sanctity of marriage and the vows exchanged between a man and a woman who are supposed to love one another. I recently saw a post on Facebook that I shared. It said that cheating didn’t have to involve kissing, flirting, sharing or having sexual relations with someone. As soon as you start deleting messages that you don’t want your spouse or partner to see, you’re already there. 

The Bible says that it is better to never vow, than to vow and not pay. That means that once you make a promise to another person to forsake all others and keep themselves solely unto their spouse, you owe that person, as well as God a debt to keep every word of that promise. Once you decide to go sneaking under other fences to find out how green the grass is, there is no way back without causing hurt. 

God says that there is a way out of temptation. Turn the computer off if you get a mysterious message or friend request from someone you don’t know, or haven’t seen in a long time. Tell your partner, or spouse about the near encounter. Be honest and forthcoming from the get-go and you won’t have to back track with lies later. 

If you get a text from a co-worker or friend of the opposite sex, delete them, but show your significant other the message first, to let them know that it was unwelcome, and was not responded to. Then the two of you together confront the person sending the texts. 

If you have snuck, you will cause hurt. But, there is forgiveness where God is in the midst. There can be rebuilding of bridges and there can be full restoration. It doesn’t have to end in pain. It can end in victory, as long as both parties of the incident realize that neither are perfect and can fall into temptation just as easily as anyone else, because the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. 

Turn to God in your times of temptation. Open His Word and read it. Ask Him to guide your path as you guard your heart and turn the other way and run!

R. Douglass Mahaffey - Founder and Publisher of The Wise Conservative.