Another marriage may have permanently ended last week when a husband and father of four boys recently flew down to Argentina for a five-day fling with a woman who was not his wife.
If you follow the news, you know I’m referring to South Carolina’s governor, Mark Sanford.
If that wasn’t enough, the event happened over Father’s Day.
Married to his wife Jenny for 20 years — yes twenty — Mark is yet another example of our vulnerability as men in the area of sexual temptation.
Last year, I wrote about then-governor of New York, Eliot Spitzer, a husband and father of three daughters, who was publicly exposed for involvement with a woman who was not his wife.
These men’s appetites for sensual pleasure controlled their hearts to the point that it ultimately resulted in acting out their thoughts and fantasies for a brief episode of physical pleasure at the expense of their family.
They betrayed their wives… their children… their grand-children… and more.
This area of temptation probably trips up more dads than any other single issue. Why? Because it is so attractive, so alluring, so provocative, so accessible, and so seemingly easy to keep secret.
Dad, maybe you’re not governor of a state. It doesn’t matter. Whether or not you have public leadership obligations, know this…
Our families are DEPENDING on our loyalty.
Our wives are DEPENDING on our faithfulness.
Our children are DEPENDING on our integrity.
They need our loyalty, faithfulness, and integrity, whether they express it to us or not.
Unfaithful behavior has repercussions that are NOT limited to you alone. They touch many areas of your life… your relationship with your wife, your children, faith, friends, co-workers, work productivity, leadership status, finances, and more.
If you struggle in this area of temptation and have not shared it with another man whom you trust for accountability, you need to take that first step.
Find another man or small group of men with whom you can meet regularly to expose your heart, your thoughts, and your actions. Someone you trust enough to share honestly with.
Use to protect your marriage.
In this day and age of “anything goes” morals, we must be loyal to our family with our eyes, our thoughts, our actions… our hearts.
Remember this strategy each time you are tempted: “What I feed grows; what I starve dies.” 
Joey Watkins is the father of 3 children (with the fourth one on the way)! He and his wife Judy live in Atlanta, GA. As founder of FamilyDads.com, Joey’s vision is to help fathers of all ages discover their “father power,” which is the level of influence, or importance they have in the lives and destinies of their children, and to effectively lead, love, serve, and bless their family.
Joey, very poignant and well written.
I have to ask: how did you make the image of Sanford’s family behind broken glass?
That would be the wonders of Photoshop! An image of a broken pane of glass as a layer over the family photo, using the “screen” layer setting if I recall correctly. Then a bevel & emboss effect to get the semi-reflective look for the surface.
Good article. It brings to mind a problem that most people do not want to talk about and an issue that many refuse to recognize – sexual addiction. I don’t pretend to know if that was the case in Gov. Sanford’s problems, but it is a real problem. If guys think they might be suffering, you might want to check out http://www.sexaa.org/.