The Affair

Well, South Carolina made national headlines again! And as seems to be the case more times than not, it was for something negative. Our governor was caught having an affair. This is not a democrat or republican issue, it is not a male or female issue, it is simply a sin issue. This is not something that has just recently started happening, it has been going on for thousands of years. II Samuel 11 tells us about David affair with Bathsheba, Judges 16 tells us about Samson giving in to the deception of Delilah, I Kings 11 tells us about Solomon and his desire for women other than Pharaoh's daughter. Genesis 39 tells us about Potiphar's wife desiring to sleep with Joseph.

I believe that as married couples we have to work hard at our marriages. We can easily fall in to a ho hum mentality that begins to send us farther apart rather than closer together. I am not sure if you read any of the governor's e-mails to his mistress but as I read them I wondered what may have happened if he sent these types of e-mails to his wife! Look at this exchange between the governor and his mistress:

Governor - “I could digress and say that you have the ability to give magnificently gentle kisses, or that I love your tan lines or that I love the curves of your hips, the erotic beauty of you holding yourself (or two magnificent parts of yourself) in the faded glow of night’s light..."

Mistress (talking about a gift he was sending her) - It will be great finding it at home once I am back, whatever you send me, I’ll keep it near my bed so as to feel you nearer. Miss you so much... love you from the deepest of my heart. Sweet kisses.

What if we as men said these types of things to our wives! When is the last time you or I said something like this to our wives? What if wives made their husbands fell like what they did was special, no matter how small the gesture. This exchange between the governor and his mistress sounds like something from the Song of Solomon.

Song of Solomon 4: 3, 4 3 Your lips are like a scarlet ribbon; your mouth is lovely. Your temples behind your veil are like the halves of a pomegranate. 4 Your neck is like the tower of David, built with elegance; on it hang a thousand shields, all of them shields of warriors.

Song of Solomon 5: 14 His arms are rods of gold set with chrysolite. His body is like polished ivory decorated with sapphires. 15 His legs are pillars of marble set on bases of pure gold. His appearance is like Lebanon, choice as its cedars.

I believe that God wants us to speak to our spouses like this. It may be awkward and you may not need to word it just like this but I think that if we sent our spouses e-mails like this or made a special phone call in the middle of the day to say something nice to our spouse it would make a big difference in our relationships. Marriage is of God so Satan is against it. Satan wants nothing more than to destroy what God has ordained. The very first thing Satan did in the garden was to plan a seed of doubt.

Genesis 3: 1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?"

Satan does the same thing today - "He really doesn't appreciate you, I am sure someone else would"; "She focuses so much of her attention on the kids now, surely there is someone who will focus more attention on you!"; "Did God really say divorce is wrong, even when there is no love left in the relationship?"

I think the statement from the governor's wife says a lot about her and her faith in God.

Jenny Sanford - "I believe wholeheartedly in the sanctity, dignity and importance of the institution of marriage. I believe that has been consistently reflected in my actions. When I found out about my husband's infidelity I worked immediately to first seek reconciliation through forgiveness, and then to work diligently to repair our marriage."

Wow!

Pray for each other, ask the tough questions and work hard at your marriage.