Adultery - 7th Commandment
“You shall not commit adultery.” Exodus 20:14
If you take water and combine it with Kool-Aid, they become something completely different than they were before: a clear liquid and a colored powder.
When God created Eve, he did so because Adam was alone, and God didn’t pronounce his creation on the sixth day “good” until after he created Adam and Eve in his image and for each other. His good creation is pure. No other man or woman was needed to make the relationship between Adam and Eve good. If another were added, then the relationship would no longer be good- it would be contaminated or adulterated; like mixing water and Kool-Aid.
This is the way God created the world, and His good design continues to be true today. When something is adulterated, or contaminated, it ceases to be pure. The institution of marriage can easily be contaminated. In fact, it can be contaminated before you ever even enter into it.
The world tries to tell us differently. It tries to tell us that ideas like these are old fashioned and obsolete, but God is not old fashioned and obsolete. We also have to remember that the 10 commandments are just those- commandments. Not suggestions, and they don’t have an expiration date. They still apply- all 10 of them.
It is possible to contaminate a marriage physically, but it is also possible to contaminate it mentally. If we are spending lots of time dwelling on a 3rd person, our minds can become contaminated.
The things going on in our minds and hearts usually inform our actions. In Proverbs 6:27-29 it says “Can a man scoop fire into his lap without his clothes being burned? Can a man walk on hot coals without his feet being scorched? So is he who sleeps with another man’s wife; no one who touches her will go unpunished.”
It is true- if you play with fire, you’ll be burned. We are to take every thought captive as we follow Jesus Christ. Yes, this is a hard command to keep. Ask God to help you obey it.
He says “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Cor 12:9) And when you are wondering if what you are filling your mind with is contaminating, remember “whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable- if anything is excellent or praiseworthy- think about such things.” (Philippians 4:8)
What do you fill your mind with?