Stay vigilant in your desire to help others

Galatians 6:1 (NIV)

1 Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted.

The apostle reminds us that as Christians we are brothers and sisters; for we have been adopted into the family of God through Christ. As a family we are to help others in the family. When trapped by a sin we are to gently help remove the sin from their lives. We must remain vigilant in our efforts to help; for if we get to close to the sin we may also be tempted to partake of the sin.

In a Los Angeles Times article – The roots of temptation, published October 20, 2003, written by Benedict Carey conveys the following: A simple plea for reassurance -- You'd tell me, wouldn't you? -- is about all the discussion many couples can manage on the topic of marital infidelity. It's rarely a genuine request: Everyone knows it could happen, but very few of us would really want to know that it did. The topic of infidelity is off limits for most couples.

That's one reason social scientists have left the study of hidden love largely to novelists and poets. "Although we can describe sexual desire, we don't know how to measure it scientifically," said Dr. Stephen B. Levine, a psychiatrist at Case Western Reserve University's School of Medicine and co-editor of the Handbook of Clinical Sexuality, a guide to help doctors address sexual concerns.

For many years, most of what scientists knew about infidelity came from marital therapists' interviews with clients or from psychologists who asked men and women to answer questions about hypothetical affairs. In the last few years, however, researchers have finally begun to conduct larger, more rigorous surveys, asking about real experiences. The evidence has contributed to an emerging body of thinking about who cheats, when and why.

Contrary to one commonly held view, many people who report being in happy marriages commit adultery. Their yearning for variety warps their judgment, even when they fully appreciate the risks of infidelity. For when an affair is revealed, clinicians report, the impact on the marriage is usually catastrophic.

"Those who assume that only bad people in bad marriages cheat can blind themselves to their own risk," said Beth Allen, a researcher at the University of Denver who, with colleagues David Atkins, of the Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, and the late Shirley Glass, a Baltimore family psychologist, recently completed an extensive review of infidelity research. "They're unprepared for the risky times in their own lives, the dangerous situations when, if they aren't careful, they'll suddenly be very tempted," Allen said. ["The Roots of Temptation," L.A. Times (10-20-2003)]

1 Peter 5:8 reminds us, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” One moment you may think you are living a happy marriage, ready to give advice and the next moment find yourself trapped by sin. Stay vigilant that you may not be trapped by another’s sin.