Your marriage is like a vineyard, lots of room to romp and play, the sweetest fruit, it’s a safe place of pleasure and growth. But we’ve got to guard that fruit from anything that will come against it that seeks to destroy what we’re building together with God.
Photo Credit
Then you must protect me from the little foxes, foxes on the prowl,
Foxes who would like nothing better than to get into our flowering garden.Song of Solomon 2:15
The enemy is clever like a fox. We saw in the Garden of Gethsemane that he chose to slink away to wait for a more opportune time to come against Christ. If Satan was scheming that way against the Son of God, then you know he is planning attacks on you and your marriage. Don’t think your marriage needs protection from foxes? Here are a few simple indicators that your marriage may require protecting:
- You and your spouse don’t eat dinner together regularly
- You and/or your spouse work full time
- You and/or your spouse watch a lot of TV
- You and/or your spouse don’t attend church together regularly
- You or your spouse has had an extramarital affair, including emotional affairs
- You and your spouse are human
- You are married
- You are breathing
So how do we protect our marriages from the little foxes on the prowl? Temptation has always and will always exist, so the best way to turn from it is to limit our exposure to it. Most adulterous relationships begin as friendships, as seemingly innocent business lunches or time spent alone with someone of the opposite gender. So we’ve got to protect our marriage from the fox of adultery by deciding upon the ways we will avoid being in a position to fail.
Five Things we WILL NOT do with a person of the opposite gender:
- Ride alone in a car
- Dine- breakfast, lunch, dinner, coffee, etc
- Go into the place of residence, unless spouse is home
- Meet behind closed doors or confide in a person of the opposite gender. A person of the opposite gender cannot be an accountability partner or confidante
- During business trips, no in hotel room meetings and the front desk to disable all pay movies and adult television stations. If you have to, ask to have the TV removed from the room!
It’s not just a matter of choosing what NOT to do…in the course of transforming our thinking about the vineyard of our marriage, we must chose to do things that protect, enrich, nurture and grow a strong marriage with deep roots in the Word of God.
Five Things we WILL do with our spouse to protect and nurture our marriage:
- Watch and remain guarded regarding platonic touches
- Pour love, respect and attention onto each other
- Share an email account and passwords to email/facebook accounts including work accounts
- Have accountability software on ALL computers, with a third party accountability partner and discuss computer history BEFORE deleting it
- Give each other the benefit of the doubt first, before assuming the worst
Wow, this should have been the FRIDAY TEN! Well, here’s a bonus…want to really REV UP your marriage and sweeten its fruit? Put the kids in bed, light the candles in your bedroom, get under the covers and read Song of Solomon together outloud. *wink*
Have you experienced the fruit of protecting your marriage from the little foxes? Tell us about it!
About Sherry
I like the idea of having an accountability partner. So many of us fall in to the worlds view on marriage. If only we would have had one. I guess if you let the foxes in, the last thing you want is an accountability partner or anyone to hold you accountable. At that point Only GOD can reach you or send someone in your life that is loving. caring and bold enough to lead you back to HIS will. This site is so helpful. Hopefully, people who do not understand what Gods purpose for marriage is will find this site and avoid what a lot of us gave had to learn the hard way. Keep up the good work IYs, and May GOD continue to bless your ministry.
Jeff, thanks, man, for your encouragement. We write what God gives us- usually it’s to deal with our own hearts first! So we’re grateful to God that it’s encouraging to you, too. Know that we’re praying with you, friend!