WHY MUST I BE FAITHFUL?
The text was simple, “I just walked away from a chance to commit adultery and what is annoying is I am actually regretting it!” Such was the sentiments of this recently married lady whose marriage was crumbling around her. For years she had waited, casting off a riotous youth, she’d gone celibate and highly spiritual as she waited for the man of her dreams to materialize. As the years went by, her patience stretched to unbearable limits, along came this guy who ticked some boxes but not all she’d long waited for. The choice before her was to wait even longer or grab hold of this one who’d given an ultimatum for marriage even though they’d barely spent months together. She’d chosen the latter for age no longer seemed friendly to her.
At the crux of her pain was a firm belief her husband was cheating on her and revenge was in her mind. As I stared at the message, something my wife said came to mind, her grandfather had said many years ago to be prepared in marrying that you had different types of men, those who will cheat every day and those who will do so once a week. You have those who find a need to cheat every month and even those who will only do so once a quarter. Then there are men who do so on an annual basis or bi-annually as the case may be and then you have the ones who cheat once after a decade. Should you ever be concerned over the man you marry, he’d said, then this last group is deadliest of all for they are likely to abandon their wives for the one who got their attention.
The thought didn’t give me much comfort on what to tell her so I sought wisdom from the God of All Creation for answers to why men cheat frequently and more women are these days driven to do so also. The reasons eluded me as it probably has others for many millennia however one thing did bring peace. That some did exist who stay true to each other all the days of their lives. Our God knowing the absolute devastation a cheating partner brings into the home, regardless of how frequent or infrequent such escapades may be, advocated severally the virtues and sanctity of marriage. Only where unconditional love and a deep respect for each other exists, a willingness to sacrifice selfish pangs for the upliftment of the other prevails coupled with a healthy fear of and obedience to God, can couples stay faithful, one to the other. What category of man are you? May God give us the grace to honour the beauty in our homes daily.