Day 11: Other Dimensions of Faithfulness: Part 2 - 31 Days: Marriage Devotionals

Scripture Focus: Marriage is to be honored by all, and husbands and wives must be faithful to each other. Hebrews 13:4

The writer of Hebrews instructs us that husbands and wives must be faithful to each other. Isn’t it revealing that this mandate is given to both genders? Both partners are charged with being faithful; neither spouse gets a free pass on affairs or wandering.

Yet in today’s values-challenged and distracting culture, being “faithful to your partner” has extra dimensions you may not have considered. We’ll look at one of those other dimensions in today’s devotional.

Have you ever thought about trying to be “visually faithful” to your life partner? Have you ever considered “visual faithfulness” as a character quality you should strive for?

 “When you look at a woman with lust,” Christ explains to His disciples, “You are committing adultery with her in your heart” (Matthew 5:28). What a high standard Christ sets for our behavior! And in a visually distracting culture like ours, can we attain it?

We are not responsible for the visual images we happen to see, as we live our normal lives in a fallen world. However, we are definitely responsible for the visual choices we make intentionally; checking out someone or lingering with a lustful view. For example, when we go on-line to deliberately look at pornographic images, we are making a willful choice. When we leer at someone in a lustful way, we are choosing our own behavior.

One husband we know has made “tunnel vision” a life goal. He literally does his best to “save his eyes” for his wife. His goal is to look at her --- and only at her --- in the type of way Christ mentions to His disciples. This husband believes in staying faithful to his wife not just sexually, but also visually. What about you?

For your personal reflection:

• Do you understand the difference between happening to see an alluring billboard or an attractive person --- and deliberately going online to look at certain kinds of pictures and images?
• While we can’t control the visual images in the world around us, we can control the visual images we choose to place in front of us.

Prayer: Lord, I am just as weak and vulnerable as any other person. Please help me guard my eyes and my focus. As You taught us to pray in the Lord’s Prayer, please “lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” Help me become much wiser and much more holy in the things I choose to view, read, and experience.