Volume 39 Number 12                                                                                     August 1997

The Lord loves His children and only wants the best for them. This is what we believe about our heavenly Father, and as long as we are persuaded of his care for us, we have little difficulty in carrying out His commandments. No wonder the devil attacks this conviction by making sin appear to be what is best for us. He did it in the beginning with Eve; and his modus operandi has not changed very much since the fall.

A classic example of this is the sin of adultery. This evil "adulterates" a marriage and damages the first and basic institution of God on earth. Far from being good for us, this awful sin does untold harm to the perpetrators and to their families. Remember David & Bathsheba? Yet our adversary, Satan, has done a masterful job of portraying adultery as one of life's most exciting events. It is portrayed in the media as thrilling and enjoyable; something committed by beautiful people. Pornography enables a person to commit the sin in their mind. The devil says we don't know what we are missing if we don't have a little "affair" now and then. But if we allow the commandment of the Lord to enlighten our eyes, we will be wise enough to see exactly what we are missing by not committing this iniquity: a lot of shame, regret, dust, and ashes in the mouth over our utter stupidity.

Jesus taught us that there is more than one way to commit adultery. In Matthew chapter 5, He taught us that the physical act between a man and a woman who do not belong to each other is a sin. Probably the Savior's hearers were well aware of this truth, but how astonished they were when he made the point even sharper by teaching that adultery can also be committed by those who lust after women in their own heart! He further tells us that a divorce and remarriage (except for fornication) is considered adultery by God, no matter how legal it may have been in the court. Doesn't this show us how much God cares about protecting marriage?

It has been said that the sin of adultery will usually turn a person into a liar. The most common lie is "We love each other." Unfortunately, love and lust are just being confused; the Deceiver has actually deceived two more souls.

One man said after he had cheated on his wife, "I guess I was just looking for something I already had." It sounds foolish, but it is true. "I gave her everything, but she wanted more", say the lyrics to a song. Adultery is the result of covetousness, which is condemned by both Moses and Christ. Why can't we be content with such things as we have, including our own mates?

Let us put faith in God and in His Word. He really does know what is best for His children. Don't learn the hard way by experience. Let us keep marriage honorable and pure (Hebrews 13:4).