Doubt

Makes you question God's Word and his goodness

Discouragement

Makes you look at your problems rather than at God

Diversion

Makes the wrong things seem attractive so that you will want them more than the right things

Defeat

Makes you feel like a failure so that you don't even try

Delay

Makes you put off doing something so that it never gets done

Parallels

The danger

Both spiritual and physical adultery are against God's law.

When we break God's law in full awareness of what we're doing, our hearts become hardened to the sin and our relationship with God is broken.

Both spiritual and physical adultery begin with disappointment and dissatisfaction - either real or imagined - with an already existing relationship.

The feeling that God disappoints can lead you away from him. Feelings of disappointment and dissatisfaction are normal and, when endured, will pass.

Both spiritual and physical adultery begin with diverting affection from one object of devotion to another.

The diverting of our affection is the first step in the binding process that leads into sin.

Both spiritual and physical adultery involve a process of deterioration; it is not usually an impulsive decision.

The process is dangerous because you don't always realize it is happening until it is too late.

Both spiritual and physical adultery involve the creation of a fantasy about what a new object of love can do for you.

Such fantasy creates unrealistic expectations of what a new relationship can do and only leads to disappointment in all existing and future relationships.