Category: Emotional Affair

Unpunishable or unsafe? Bethel and Ben Armstrong Case

Bethel Church of Redding, California is currently embroiled in a leadership scandal. Once their poster child for a restored leader following moral failure, Ben Armstrong (BA), is back in the spotlight for alleged lies and Clergy Sexual Abuse allegations. To Bethel Church’s credit, they have put Ben Armstrong on administrative leave as they investigate these … Continue reading “Unpunishable or unsafe? Bethel and Ben Armstrong Case”

Reality Validation. A Sane Voice.

Reality validation. This is gift others can give to a faithful spouse. Sometimes we need someone to tell us the simple but hard truth. The adultery happened. And–no–we are in no way responsible for the infidelity. It was wrong. No justification for the cheater cheating exists. I think these messages are especially important for the … Continue reading “Reality Validation. A Sane Voice.”

Guilt, not shame

Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. -2 Corinthians 7:10, NIV When trying to determine real repentance, I recommend watching for a guilt-response as opposed to a shame-response from the cheater. What do I mean by a “guilt response” versus a “shame response?” A “guilt … Continue reading “Guilt, not shame”

Warped Sense of Reality Vortex

There is more hope for fools     than for people who think they are wise.  –Proverbs 26:12, NLT They traded the truth about God for a lie….   –Romans 1:25a, NLT Cheaters can come across as so confident in their lies. This confidence has the power to make even the most stalwart faithful spouse second-guess their instincts, hard evidence, … Continue reading “Warped Sense of Reality Vortex”

On oversharing

Some people just cannot handle the souls of others well. The conversation where a faithful spouse spills their grief and pain results in a shaming exercise where the Christian listener warns the faithful spouse about bitterness and God’s hatred of divorce. I know I fell into the “oversharing trap” early in my marriage’s dissolution. Too … Continue reading “On oversharing”

Emotional Foreplay aka Emotional Affairs

But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. -Matthew 5:28, NIV We ought to treat and think of emotional affairs like emotional foreplay. Emotional affairs are leading in a certain direction. Like foreplay, the point is to culminate in full-blown sexual contact. … Continue reading “Emotional Foreplay aka Emotional Affairs”

NOT a side issue!

 Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge. -Hebrews 13:4, NKJV Cheating is NOT a side issue to marriage issues! It cuts to the core of the relationship. In fact, you have no marriage to even consider really as long as one partner is cheating. The cheater has decided to … Continue reading “NOT a side issue!”

PSA: Insisting affair ends is NOT abuse!

Public Service Announcement (PSA): It is not abuse to insist the cheater end the affair! Someone needs to see this. Cheaters will pull out all stops to make the faithful spouse look like the bad person. Insisting the affair end is a healthy boundary. It is respectful. You are simply refusing to accept ongoing abuse … Continue reading “PSA: Insisting affair ends is NOT abuse!”

An excuse to abuse? No, none.

I am convinced adultery is always abusive. Always. You cannot cheat on a spouse without abusing their trust minimally. Plus, I have yet to discover a story involving adultery where a period of deception did not take place–however, brief. In addition to that, I believe based on my reading of Scripture that adultery is soul … Continue reading “An excuse to abuse? No, none.”