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Making the right choices – Ten Words
Word # 7: Loyalty!
“You shall not commit adultery.” (Exodus 20:14)
A strong relationship does not come automatically and we all know it is subject to temptations and tough circumstances. It takes investment to grow a strong relationship. Investing time means to be there for one another, to actively listen to one another, share experiences and learn from each other. Investing could also mean going to a marriage conference, getting professional counsel, and spending on the other’s welfare and growth.The English word adultery means to ‘make something weaker or of worse quality by adding something of inferior quality,’ and stems from the Latin adultere, which means ‘to corrupt.’
In sexuality, this leads to seriously weakening of the relationship to a breaking point. In our relationship with God, adultery means to choose the temptations from other gods or idols above the principles of the Bible.
If there is one word which stands out as a banner flying over relationships, that would be loyalty. The word loyalty brings to mind a powerful sense of belonging and solidarity coupled with unswerving devotion and duty. In the Bible, the concept of loyalty is purely relational. This means our whole being is thoroughly committed to someone. Such loyalty is expressed to us in both the divine and human realms as given to us in the great commandments: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength,” and “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
God established the very essence of loyalty through His covenant relationship with His people: “Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who maintains covenant loyalty with those who love Him and keep His commandments, to a thousand generations.” (Deuteronomy 7:9)
In our relationships with one another we are called to steadfast loyalty, not just in our marriage relationship, but also at work with our employers, employees, colleagues, customers, and suppliers.
An important verse to claim in marriage is Proverbs 5:18: “May your fountain be blessed, and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth.”
About this Plan
One of the most famous sections in the Bible can be found in Exodus 20, often called the Ten Commandments. The Bible does not call them ’the Ten Commandments,’ but ‘The Ten Words.’ These ‘Ten Words’ or instructions God gave form the basis for making right choices, the foundation on which to make good practical, moral, and ethical decisions, personally and for your family, business and society.
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