ROOTED - Monday, August 11, 2025

Exodus 20:14
14 … You shall not commit adultery.

Reflection: Question #65
Written By: Pastor Jesse Caro 
Question: What is the Seventh Commandment?
Answer: Exodus 20:14
Five minutes ago, I read an email from someone whose family is in the middle of a crisis. This friend’s daughter is struggling with the aftermath of her husband leaving her and her very young children. Not knowing all the details, I have been doing this long enough to take a few guesses as to how this family crisis has come to be. Not all the time, but most of the time divorces take place because another person is involved. Once again, it is not all the time, but (in my experience) it is the majority of the time. Of course, there are always factors that lead up to people being willing to commit adultery. However, adultery (the third person in the marriage) is often the straw that breaks the camel’s back.
Jesus, once again, reframes adultery in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5). Jesus says that it is not the adultery that is the core heart condition, but lust. Desire for things (or people) that do not belong to us is at the center of the adultery problem. In marriage this plays out something like this: one makes a vow to honor and cherish their spouse, until death separates. Then, circumstances happen that cause discontentment. Rather than being content ultimately in Christ, people look for ultimate contentment in other places (people). Once again, I have seen this many, many times, and I am not pretending that relationships are easy, or that staying in difficult relationships is fun. But I am certain of this: adultery (which often leads to divorce) is not the answer. This is an important command.

Prayer 
Lord, may your people be satisfied in you in such a way that we weather the storms of life, the discontentment and hurts. Keep us pure of desires that are not fitting to the child of God.