Lesson 33

What causes husbands to sin?

We all sin. There is no easy answer as to why our husbands got into sexual sins. There are many possibilities: the enemy wants to distract us from pure and holy lives (1 Peter 5:8); men are very visual by nature and they are drawn to real or fantasy images of women (Matthew 5:28); and curiosity, boredom, anxiety, and other factors can contribute to impurity (1 Timothy 2:22). Men frequently describe a childhood event involving pain, fears, or rejection as contributing to their involvement with sexual impurity.

The Bible offers a way out of sin through confession and forgiveness (1 John 1:9). It also warns all believers to stay away from temptation, be alert, and pray (Matthew 26:41). Any sin separates us from God, but the effects of sexual sin are far-reaching because of the impact it has on marriages and families.

Kristi didn’t discover her husband’s history of sexual sins until she was faced with some strange phone calls on their 20th anniversary. “As the truth unfolded, I learned of his affair that had been going on for several months. He had been living separate lives as a Christian husband and father, and as a man cheating on his wife. The more he tried to cover it up, the worse it got.” Their journey to wholeness and recommitment was a windy, bumpy road as the sin was brought to light and they dealt step by step with the issues they faced. “With our foundation in our Christian faith and the Word of God, we worked through things. I would always point people to Jesus Christ as the way out of the dark pit of sin.”