People don’t always like rules and regulations. It feels as if our freedom is taken away and our free will bound in chains. But rules and regulations are necessary for a healthy society. If everybody did what they wanted, it would lead to overall chaos.

Well, some places in our society are fairly chaotic. Just look at the families around us. Look at statistics around marriage. Many spouses and children walk around with scabs and scars.

I suspect it is because many people chose freedom and didn’t want to listen to the rules for keeping a marriage healthy. I suspect they read right over this verse in the Bible: ⁴Honor marriage, and guard the sacredness of sexual intimacy between wife and husband. God draws a firm line against casual and illicit sex.

I know it’s not always that simple. Maybe you couldn’t put up with it anymore and your marriage also ran aground. I’m very, very sorry about that and I hope and pray that you will heal again, be able to find normality again, and somewhere along the way find true love.

There must be guidelines. There must be boundaries within which one can keep a relationship safe and both parties must keep to those guidelines. Both spouses must be able to trust the other one hundred percent.

When I look at the two guidelines set out in the verse, I suspect people’s sexuality is one of the major reasons why marriages fail. It’s as if it’s a soft target that the devil can hit easily, with terrible consequences.

I heard about a group of divorced people who met once a week in town. Most of them weren’t sure with whom they would end up in bed on those evenings. And then they don’t understand why they can’t find true love.

This is what happens if you don’t follow the guidelines. God is serious about this and does not leave this stuff unpunished. Do not mess up the beauty that God has created for people to enjoy.

The second warning is that we shouldn’t do wrong sexual things within (and obviously also outside) marriage. Immediately pornography comes to mind. This is such a soft target that is such a major reason why many marriages are hanging by a thread or have already broken up.

These are red danger signs that keep flickering. The net effect of pornography on relationships is negative. It paints pictures in your head, it takes away love and emotions, and forces enormous expectations on your spouse.

Take care of your marriage. Make sure that you get rid of all the bad stuff in your life. Confess where you did not follow the guidelines. Get help, if necessary, and ask God to heal the pain.

Scripture
Hebrews 13:1-8

Reflection
How healthy is your marriage?
Where do you have to follow the guidelines?
Do you need to get help?

Prayer
Father, I realise how important it is to work on my marriage and my relationships. I realise they are soft targets. Help me not to allow bad things into my relationships. Show me what I’m doing wrong. I want to live within Your will. In Jesus’ Name, amen.