“The guilty walk a crooked path; the innocent travel a straight road.” (Proverbs 21:8 NLT)
The meaning seems pretty clear...if you do right you have nothing to hide ("a straight path"). If you do wrong or things that can be considered questionable, you are walking a "crooked path." It's similar to saying you have to cover your tracks so you don't get caught. Guilt causes people to lie, to hide, to masquerade, to fear, and to act deceitfully (all indicating a "crooked path"). When we apply this truth to marriage it's clear that a relationship can't thrive when the road we're on is a "crooked path." We must never forget that trust is a basic building block of all good relationships...especially marriage! For instance, when you hide things from your spouse or have to cover your "path" so you don't get caught...you are headed toward the tragedy of broken trust. Trust can be rebuilt, but it always takes longer and is harder than the first time around. We want to live so that anyone can check any "path" we are walking and find it's the "straight road." There's no need to cover up anything because we've done exactly what we should have done. One of the best ways to protect trust in our marriages and prevent being approached by unsavory people trying to lure us into illicit conversations/actions ("a crooked path") is to talk openly about how much we love our spouses and children. It is so important that we guard our lives by avoiding even the "APPEARANCE of evil!" Any violation of trust in marriage is a sin against the covenant we made before God with one another! “Give honor to marriage, and remain faithful to one another in marriage. God will surely judge people who are immoral and those who commit adultery.” (Hebrews 13:4 NLT)
