Public Service Announcement:
The marriage vow of “forsaking all others” excludes emotional affairs, too!
I say this to emphasize the need to take emotional affairs seriously. When a spouse cares more about how a third party partner feels than their own spouse, they are breaking their sacred marriage vows. They have given their heart to another.
Whether or not they have given their body to this person (yet) is immaterial.
They are already breaking their vows. Given enough time and opportunity, the likely outcome is both an emotional and physical affair as that is how these things naturally progress in adults.
Remember, as well, that the affair is about the character deficit of the cheater. It is not about the marriage or the affair partner or the faithful spouse. Sinners sin from the overflow of their own hearts (see Mark 7:21-23).
A godly person when faced with the temptation of an emotional affair would recognize the temptation and resist. That is not a door that a righteous person opens.
Take emotional affairs seriously and remember that they are already major violations of the marriage vows!
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*A version of this post ran previously.
