Q:
My friend has gotten entangled with a married woman he met in a bar, and sooner or later it's going to wreck both their marriages. I've tried to warn him, but he just laughs and tells me not to worry. Why won't he wake up and see where he's headed?
A:
I’m thankful for your concern for your friend, because you’re right: Sooner or later he’s not only going to wreck his marriage, he’s also going to wreck his life. No wonder the Bible warns that “the lips of the adulterous woman drip honey … but in the end she is bitter as gall” (Proverbs 5:3-4).
Without exception, sin always has consequences—and they are never good. But one of sin’s most devastating consequences is that it blinds us to its impact on our lives. Instead of seeing sin as it really is—destructive and evil—we think of it as something good. We deceive ourselves into believing it will bring us happiness and security and peace. But it never will—not in the long run. This is why the Bible urges us to stay close to Christ, “so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness” (Hebrews 3:13).
Pray for your friend; only God can break through his defenses and awaken him to the reality of what he’s doing. In addition, do what you can to warn him, as God gives you opportunity—even if he doesn’t seem to listen or scoffs at what you say.
But the most important thing you can do for your friend is to urge him to turn to God and commit his life to Jesus Christ. He needs God’s forgiveness, and he also needs God’s strength to turn away from sin and begin to rebuild his life—and his marriage.