Flirting with Sin

Do you flirt? Flirt with your husband? Flirt with other men? Flirt with sin? Flirting is fairly obvious to the one who is doing it, subtle to those around them at times. Very obvious at others.

Flirting is dangerous if you're married.

I don't want to talk about the flirting we all think of - the light touch, intimate looks and getting closer to the one you probably shouldn't be that close with. I want to talk about flirting in a much more secretive way. The way of the internet.

When I was a teenager and dating, once a relationship was over, especially if you weren't around that person on a day to day basis, it was over. It was as easy as you wanted it to be to detach yourself from the person, get the closure you needed and move on without further interference.

Now that is not such a reality. Facebook, white pages and google searches make it all too easy to find a long lost love. And all too dangerous.

A friend of mine shared a relationship with me that was very difficult to disassociate herself from. It took years for her to finally get over the guy once the relationship started deteriorating. She has since married and has a beautiful family and is very happy in her marriage and with what she has been blessed with. Something as simple as a dream made her look up her ex-boyfriend though. It took less than 5 minutes to find him - where he lived, his phone number, his church and place of employment - even his picture was readily available.

And she started to struggle.

All the "what ifs" started coming right back to her. All the good things that had existed in that relationship started popping up in her mind, especially on those "not so great" marriage days. And the old relationship started to erode the solid, God given marriage she enjoyed.

Thankfully, after a little while she, through prayer and perseverance, was able to shut that person out of her life again, but not without consequence. She wishes now that she didn't know all the information she learned that day because it makes him so easily come into her mind still. And that will continue threaten her marriage if she doesn't keep a close eye on it and take the accountability she needs.

Flirting with danger. Flirting with sin. These subtle ways can be so dangerous.

Keep a close tab on what you are doing in relation to the opposite sex this week. Make sure those old relationships stay old and do NOT bring them into your present because they have great power to destroy.