Fighting for Fidelity
Only a few months ago my wife, Rachel, who works for a sex and relationships education charity, was praising the lyrics of pop starlet Cheryl Cole's recent hit, 'Fight for this Love'. Instead of lyrics that revolved around sexual obsession or shallow infatuation, here was a love anthem about staying committed through thick and thin:
Anything that's worth having
Is sure enough worth fighting for
Quitting's out of the question
When it gets tough, gotta fight some more.
With the revelations of Cheryl's split this week from her footballer husband, Ashley, over his alleged extra-marital affairs, it was therefore inevitable that one paper ran with the tragic headline: 'Cheryl Stops Fighting For Love'.
It is a tragedy when a committed relationship comes to an end. And it appears that the demise of fidelity is something our society is no longer prepared to gloss over. When it comes to details of apparent infidelity - from the affairs of John Terry and Tiger Woods to the 'sexting' (sending texts with highly sexualised messages or images) of Ashley Cole and TV presenter, Vernon Kay - the column inches have been stacking up in recent weeks.
Are we holding sports stars to account because we perceive them to be good role models for the young? And has Vernon Kay been singled out because he hosts a show called Family Fortunes and his wife - Tess Daly - recently wrote a book on motherhood?
So, does this media witch-hunt signal a return to family values? Or is it simply an escalation of an ongoing crusade against public hypocrisy that's already confronted the politicians who betrayed us in the expenses scandal and the bankers who were unfaithful with our finances? Whatever the reason, let's not miss the opportunity to say that faithfulness clearly does matter to us as a nation.
When Moses stirred up Israel to be faithful to God with all her heart, soul and strength, he went on to say how that covenantal fidelity is to be worked out in everyday conversation and in every context of society - whether at home or whether out and about (see Deuteronomy 6:4-9).
Jesus too called on us to love God and love our neighbour - fidelity to God and integrity in every relationship - which is truly a love 'worth fighting for'.
Jason Gardner
Links
Discover how new tecnology is unwittingly enabling subtle forms of unfaithulness in this article from the Daily Telegraph...
For some interesting comments on contemporary approaches and attitudes to infidelity, click here...
Comments
The last paragraph is of paramount importance to every follower of Our Lord Jesus Christ, fidleity in all our relationships as God is faithful to each of us and his promises are true so we must be faithful to each other and this includes ALL relationships what evr their orientation, family or friends or work colleagues.
"It is a tragedy when a committed relationship comes to an end." I'm not sure we do people any favours when we replace 'marriage' with 'committed relationship'. That is the source of so much confusion today. What is a 'relationship'? When does it start? When does it end? What are the rights? What are the responsibilities? Perhaps Ashley Cole thought marriage was just another relationship, ie, "I will have sex with you - and only you - until, well, er..." If people are in a 'committed relationship' what really is so awful about having a party with friends and family; publically delcaring your intention to look after and care for each other until one of you dies; and also sorting out all the legal problems about next of kin, etc? Really, what's not to like?
Thanks for your comment Alan. There was no deliberate intention on my part to use committed relationship instead of marriage, I'm certainly a fan of the institution.
Date:
2010-03-02 15:19:45
Author:
Jason Gardner