Where do affairs get started? Affairs are not what either spouse wanted. They got married because they loved each other and wanted to spend their lives together. They vowed their love and fidelity to one another before God and family. They surely never thought it would come to this point with one spouse cheating on the other, violating the sacred union.
So where do affairs start? Here are some places that affairs start. Those who want to have an affair-proof marriage need to be on guard when you are at these places.
- The Office. Statistically co-workers are the most common source of an affair. Workplace romances are legendary and common. Our co-workers see us at our best and often spend more hours with us than our spouses.
- The Gym. No surprise that the gym is a common place for affairs to start. Gyms are focused on building our bodies. People wear immodest work out clothes and often train together. It is an opportunity for shared recreation and relationship building.
- The Ballpark. With recreational sports and travel teams growing over the last two decades, we see the ballpark as a common place where affairs start. One parent takes a child for a weekend trip, the trip involves hanging out with other spouses or single parents. With all the social time, it is easy for friendships to lead to an affair.
- Online. The smart phone and social media have combined as a devil’s cocktail to lure many into adultery. Through social media we present our best self and can easily communicate with those we are not physically present with everyday. Facebook has been a leading source of affairs!
- Church. It may be shocking that this last one even made the list, but Satan loves to go into holy places and make a terrible mess. Close churches have lots of fellowship and friendships. Burdens are shared and love is given appropriately to one another. But if we are not on guard, Satan will use these same friendships and burden sharing times to destroy a family and rock a church.
But isn’t there more to this than just the physical place? While it may be wise to avoid certain places, we cannot stop going to these places in the course of life.
Ultimately the physical place is not the real cause. Jesus nails it for us when He says they start in our heart (Mat. 5:28). The heart is the seat of our affection and desire. The heart is symbolic with our love and loyalty. We must guard our hearts (Prov. 4:23). God told the Israelites to “guard yourselves in your spirit, and let none of you be faithless to the wife of your youth” (Mal. 2:15). We cannot avoid going to these locations listed above. We can’t avoid being around other people besides our spouse. But we must constantly guard our hearts. We have to be aware of the danger in these locations and with relationships. We must be vigilant in keeping our hearts (Prov. 4:23).
