State of Affairs

There are some very good reasons not to have an affair.

My definition of affair would be this:
Loving another person in the way I should only love my spouse.

Perhaps, I will gain something if I have an affair. Perhaps I will gain some excitement and affirmation. Perhaps I will gain a second-chance and get to have two families. Perhaps I will gain some sort of disease. Perhaps I will gain the whole world...

But perhaps,
and most likely,
I will lose my soul.
I will break covenant with the spouse of my youth.
I will lose the trust that they gave me.
I will lose the right to say,'Follow me as I follow Christ.'
I will lose the right to speak into my children's lives.
I will lose love.
I will lose fellowship.
I will lose positions of respect.
I will lose the right to enter into my own house.
I will lose my good name.
I will lose companionship.
I will no longer be able to look God in the eyes.
I will lose road trips, and birthday parties, and graduation celebrations.
I will lose the shared joy at the births of grandchildren.
I will lose the sweet fruit of being faithful in spite of the hard times.
I will lose my reward.

I will devastate people who trusted in me.
They will feel betrayed.
Others who are trustworthy will have to work harder to gain the trust of others.
Some people will turn away from God because I represented Him, and now, I am an offense to His name.

I will have gut-wrenching regret when I come to my senses.
I will grieve every day when I stop playing the game of 'Now you have me-Now you don't' with hell's flames.
Even if my marriage would be restored, I will carry the sorrow of my betrayal every day of my life.

And this is the truth.
You do not have an affair with someone you truly love.
Instead, you love them more.
You love them enough to back away.
You love them enough to pray.
You never ever want them to lose the precious words of Jesus,'Well-done my Good and Faithful Servant. Enter into the joy I have prepared for you.'
You push them towards their family and turn your heart towards your own.
And you trust in God's grace to be sufficient for you, for you, for you.