Ok... so the title is a little cheesy. That song popped in my head as I was logging in to blogger, though, so it became the title.
This morning I was searching for a good devotional. I'm a tech girl. I don't know much about computers, but I use them for everything. I love having so much as my fingertips. I remembered a few years ago before my husband and I started dating when I was in a bad relationship and needed a good dose of God. I got online and began searching. I found a site with a devotional that hit me where it hurt. I've never forgotten that devotional. It was just what I needed at the time.
Fast forward to today, and I decided to attempt to find that same site. I googled "morning devotional," and it was the top choice on the results list....
www.crosswalk.com. I checked out the list of devotionals available, and the words "Girlfriends in God" caught my eye. Perfect! A devotional for women.
When I clicked on the link, today's devotional was titled "Can You Love Your Husband and Brad Pitt, Too?" Sounds good. Let's see.
They started off by mentioning Proverbs 4:23 that says, "Above all else guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life." Hmmm.... Are they going to tell me to be stubborn in love, because I don't need any help with that. I can definitely be the stubborn one. I read on.
Matthew 5:27-28... "You have heard it said, Do not commit adultery. But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart."
I have probably read that verse a thousand times since I got married. I believe it with all my heart. I see these forwards that get passed around through e-mail with pictures of naked or nearly naked, gorgeous people. Typically it's women, and they get passed to men. My husband has one friend who has a tendency to send them to him frequently. One day he was in the shower and his phone went off. He asked me to check and see who it was. I opened it, and it was a slideshow of young, skinny, naked women in the most obscene positions. I couldn't understand why someone would send that to a married, Christian man. With my husband's permission I deleted it.
I feared I was being irrational, but I also knew that there was no way I would want to look at a man like that. My husband is the only man for me, and I would feel like I was committing adultery if I looked at pics of naked men spread eagle.
I continued to read, and it made me feel confident and strong. It IS wrong! It's not simply innocent looking. God tells us that, and this devotional was backing it up. Say what you may about how it's no big deal as long as you don't touch. Society says it's ok, so it must be ok, right? God puts it plain and simple in black and white. It is NOT ok. He goes on to tell us, "If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away." Matthew 5:29
I don't think he is literally saying to stick a fork in your eye and pull it out of the socket. (Ouch! That hurts me to even type!) But he is saying cut all ties that cause you to sin in this manner. If there is an old flame on facebook that you can't help but check out their page every once in a while to "see how they're doing," although you know deep down it's because you really want to feel a connection to them again or they still hold a place in your heart, don't look at their page anymore. If you can't control that, add them to your block list so you cannot view their page. If you still find ways around it, delete your facebook account. If there is a co-worker of the opposite sex who you look forward to seeing every day, get transferred to a different department or change jobs. If there is a person at the gym that you can't help but glance at every few minutes, go at a different time or find a new place to workout.
Nearly all affairs begin with what society would consider innocent, but God knows better. That's why he gives us these instructions. Work to keep your marriage happy, and you will find it makes all areas of your life better. Then you will be well on your way to conquering life!
If you would like to read the Girlfriends in God devotional, you can check it out here:
http://www.crosswalk.com/devotionals/girlfriends/
I don't think this is a direct link for the Feb.1, 2012, entry, so you may need to find that date if you are looking at it after today. And, guys, just because it's called Girlfriends in God doesn't mean you can't read it. It applies to you just the same. Simply change the gender of each pronoun as you read, and it will fit you perfectly, too.
