Is it right for cousins who are married to other people to lay and act like they are lovers? When I said it is wrong they made out like I was dirty. They also go out to eat a lot alone and hold each other’s hands. I have been with my husband for 15 years and this just started about 3 years ago. Her dad is the preacher and makes all the rules. He brags about how older men are interested in his daughter.
Listen: 52 Question 2
This doesn’t sound like a good situation. At the very least, it gives the appearance of a sinful lifestyle. Those who profess to know the Lord Jesus Christ as their savior should live lives that are above reproach. Ephesians 5:2-4 says, “And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour. But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints; Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks.” There is a behavior that is proper for a saint. Let’s read Titus 2:3, “The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things.” While this second verse refers to the older Christian ladies in the church, the principal is for all believers: our behavior should be that which is proper for holiness. As believers on the Lord Jesus Christ, we are saints and we have been made holy. The lives that we live should reflect our position in Christ.
The Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 6:4-6, “Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.” To the new converts that were being baptized, Paul encouraged them to “walk in newness of life.” In other words, their lifestyles should reflect the fact that they were new creatures in Christ as we read in 2 Corinthians 5:17 which says, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”
Whether these two are cousins or not, it seems their behavior is inappropriate. I would suggest that you speak to your husband privately and express your concerns to him. Let him know how their behavior appears to others. Encourage him to consider his testimony for the Lord and be careful about the things he allows in his life. Speak to her, also, saying the same things you say to your husband.
You say that her dad is the preacher and he makes all the rules. That should not be so. It is the Lord that establishes what is right and wrong. It is the Word of God that He uses to teach us about proper behavior. In your appeal to these two, use the Word of God to show them that their behavior in improper. Matthew 18:15-17 gives clear instruction on how to deal with believers that continue to live in sin. It says, “Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican.” Remember, your goal should be to get them to stop this behavior and have a testimony that pleases the Lord.