Step 9: Faithful
. Matthew 5:27–32 (NIV)
27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.
31 “It has been said, ‘Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.’ 32 But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, makes her the victim of adultery, and anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
To have and to hold from this day on… til death do us part.
It has become a cliche that communication is the most important part of a good marriage, I would disagree; the most important thing is trust. When we get married, we entrust the care and keeping of our heart to another. That’s a scary thing to do. Can I trust you? Will you keep it safe? Will you care for it til death do us part?
Perhaps the only thing scarier than entrusting our heart to another is knowing that they have entrusted their heart to you. Can you be faithful to care for it? Are you the kind of person that someone could entrust with their heart for as long as you both shall live?
Jesus doesn’t mince words and gets right to the heart of the matter. Every fantasy you play out in your mind fractures the heart of your beloved. Every lustful gaze at the screen gouges the heart of your beloved. Every time you linger at the thought of the fruit of another you lose grip of your beloved’s heart and it falls to the ground. Eventually the fractured, gouged, bruised heart of your beloved will remind you of your failures and you will be tempted to return it to them. It is hard to love something that you have mistreated.
So, are you faithful? Are you a safe place for the caring of someone’s heart? Is there anything in your life that tempts you to be unfaithful? Do whatever it takes to remove it from your life.
Your Turn:
This week’s invitation is a little different for those who are married and those who are single.
Singles: Being single can be a beautiful gift and calling from God. As a single person, you have the capacity to care for many people’s hearts. This world is filled with people who have nobody to care for their hearts.
Every day you see people who are desperately lonely with nobody to share their heart with. Start by inviting them to share how they are doing this week.
Listen to people who are willing to share their story with you, it is a form of sharing their heart. Be faithful to care for the piece of their heart that they are willing to share with you. Listening is loving. You don’t have to have any answers, you don’t have to give any advice. Just listen.
Married: You have been tasked with the responsibility of caring for the heart of God’s beloved son or daughter.
Ask your spouse if there is anything you could do, or stop doing, to make them feel like you are caring for their heart better.
Plan a special time together to focus on your marriage, a special date night or a night away. Take some time to write out new marriage vows for one another now that you have lived some life together. Make sure they are vows that you are both willing to live up to and can honestly commit to and that you both agree are valuable.
If there is any unfaithfulness in your marriage, do whatever it takes to deal with it immediately. Flee from sexual immorality and get help.