Committing Adultery [Part 2 : Careless Whispers]

WARNING

READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED...

I HAD AN INTERESTING EXPERIENCE many years ago, January 1990. I had been invited to speak in New Orleans at the Super Bowl breakfast sponsored by Athletes in Action. En route from Los Angeles to New Orleans, I had to change planes in another city. The connecting flight was packed, naturally, and there was a festive spirit on board since everyone was headed for Super Bowl XXIV. I noticed an empty seat behind mine… the only empty seat on the plane. Only minutes before we backed away from the terminal, one final passenger hurried on board. Her plane had been late in arriving, making it questionable if she could make her New Orleans connection. She did. As she hurried on, a bit harried, she immediately broke into a broad smile as her eyes met those of the man sitting next to the sea she would occupy. She didn’t simply sit down—she fell into his arms as they kissed, giggled, and embraced for the next ten minutes.

My immediate thought was, Now there’s a happily married couple! How wrong I was. They were both married . . . but not to each other. Because they sat right behind me, I got the full scoop. I must confess to some eavesdropping. Their carefully arranged plan was to rendezvous on the plane, then spend the weekend together in New Orleans. Their conversation, mixed with frequent kisses, included all kinds of comments about the fun they had in front of them, the intimate ecstasy of being together for a couple of nights, along with attending the Super Bowl. Both laughed and joked as they talked about how each other’s mate knew nothing of it. I might add here that neither made any mention of the possible consequences—the loss of reputation, of the depression that was sure to follow, the possibility of unexpected pregnancy, the embarrassing humiliation when their mates (not if, but when) would find out. Why, of course not! This couple was on fire. Their full focus turned to the delightful time they would have together. They just couldn’t talk about anything else.

All the while I’m sitting there in front of them, working on a chapter on sexual temptation, thirty-six inches behind me is a living illustration of lust in action. There flashed through my mind these words Solomon once wrote: “Stolen waters are sweet.” No doubt about it. Unbridled, blinding lust is running over with the sweet ecstasy of sensual pleasure—at least for a weekend. Laughter, creativity, and excitement abound in such sexual escapades, It is not until later that the fog lifts and reality returns with its Monday-morning-depression.

--C.S.

Proverbs 9:17 . . . Stolen waters are sweet . . .