Above Rubies Daily Encouragement Blogs
UNDIVIDED LOYALTY
I have been thinking more about the Scripture I posted below. God is a jealous God. He commands: “Thou shalt have no other gods before me” (Exodus 20:3). He wants our undivided loyalty. Look at this example of those who went after other gods (Deuteronomy 13:13-18).
We are to portray this same relationship in our marriages. We know that God planned marriage to be a picture of the relationship between Christ and the church ((Ephesians 5:22-33). Therefore, as we picture this, we should have no divided loyalty in our marriages.
I was amazed some time back to read a Facebook post from a wife asking if it was okay to have a special friendship with another male. I answered in the negative but was surprised to read many answers from “Christian” wives that it was totally okay. “What’s wrong with your husband that he won’t let you have a friendship with another male?” “What’s wrong with going out to lunch and enjoying friendship with another male?”
However, this is totally foreign to God’s plan. When a couple get married, that is the end of any other “personal” friendship with another male! Period. Do you remember your marriage vows when the minister asks: “Will you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife? Will you love her, honor and keep her in sickness and in health and FORSAKING ALL OTHERS keep her only unto you so long as you both shall live.”?
By the way, the marriage of the wife that asked this question ended. Always the end result of divided loyalty. Of course, you can have friends of the opposite sex that you enjoy together with your husband, but never separately from your marriage. This is divided loyalty.
God does not want us to be “two-souled” in our relationship with Him or in our marriages.
Be blessed,
Nancy Campbell
