adultery

Reading through Proverbs this morning, I ran across this...a sidebar in my Bible (the Strive edition for Men). It talks about the dangers of adultery...something every man has struggled with, struggling with or will struggle with at some time in their marriage. It was an issue back then, it is an issue now...check out the warnings below (first the scripture, then the sidebar):

Wisdom will save you from the adulterous woman, from the wayward woman with her seductive words, who has left the partner of her youth and ignored the covenant she made before God. Surely her house leads down to death and her paths to the spirits of the dead. None who go to her return or attain the paths of life.
Proverbs 2:16-19

If you've ever toyed with the idea of having an affair, you know how strong the allure of a new sexual conquest can be. That thrill of erotic pursuit can have a hypnotizing effect on guys - to the point that we block out all else, including common sense.
If you're under such a spell, this passage in Proverbs should act as a slap in the face. Something to wake you from your fantasy world.
Regardless of how smooth or calculating you think you are, you can't pursue an affair without destroying what you have with your wife. That's a given. Experts may tell you that relationships can be pieced back together after an affair. But things can never be the same as they were before. There are no 'do-overs' where faithfulness is involved.

-r