A heavy rain had been falling as a man drove down a lonely road. As he rounded a curve, he saw an old farmer surveying the ruins of his barn. The driver stopped his car and asked what had happened.“Roof fell in,” said the farmer. “Leaked so long it finally just rotted through.”
“Why in the world didn’t you fix it before it got that bad?” asked the stranger.
“Well,” replied the farmer, “I just never seemed to get around to it. When the weather was good, there weren’t no need for it, and when it rained, it was too wet to work on!”
This post is about taking the necessary steps before something catastrophic happens to your marriage.
THE PATH OF AN AFFAIR
1. We get LAX with the RIGHT things. (Proverbs 7:1-9)
2. We get FIXATED on the WRONG things. (Proverbs 7:10-21)
3. We get CAUGHT doing the BAD things. (Proverbs 7:22-27)
THE PREVENTIVE STEPS TO AVOID AN AFFAIR
1. Make a commitment to God’s standard of morality.
Psalm 119:9 (NIV) “How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word.”
Ecc 5:4-5 (NIV) “When you make a vow to God, do not delay in fulfilling it. He has no pleasure in fools; fulfill your vow. It is better not to vow than to make a vow and not fulfill it.”
2. Manage your mind.
Romans 12:2a (NIV) “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”
Romans 13:14b (NIV) “…do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature.”
3. Monitor your media intake.
Psalm 101:3a (NIV) “I will set before my eyes no vile thing...”
Romans 16:19 (NIV) “…I want you to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil.”
4 Minimize opportunities to be tempted.
Proverbs 4:14-15 (NIV) “Do not set foot on the path of the wicked or walk in the way of evil men. Avoid it, do not travel on it; turn from it and go on your way.”
1 Cor 10:12 (NIV) “So, if you are thinking you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!”
5. Maintain proper relationships.
1 Cor 15:33 (NIV) “Don’t be misled: ‘Bad company corrupts good character.’”
1 Timothy 5:1-2 (NIV) “Do not rebuke an older man harshly, but exhort him as if he were your father. Treat younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters, with absolute purity.”
6. Maintain your marriage.
1 Cor 7:3 (GNT) “A man should fulfill his duty as a husband, and a woman should fulfil her duty as a wife, and each should satisfy the other’s needs."
Song of Solomon 8:6 (GNT) “Close your heart to every love but mine; hold no one in your arms but me...”
7. Magnify the consequences.
Proverbs 6:32 (NIV) “...a man who commits adultery lacks judgment; whoever does so destroys himself.”
Proverbs 6:26 (GNT) “…adultery will cost him all he has.”
Hebrews 13:4 (GNT) “Marriage is to be honoured by all, and husbands and wives must be faithful to each other. God will judge those who are immoral and those who commit adultery.”
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