What if you caught them creeping out?

The solid truth is that nobody, after investing their time, emotions and trust into a relationship wants to be cheated on, ever! The shock and horror involved in catching your partner cheating leaves no room for grey areas or reasonable doubt; Rumors or suspicions suddenly become a reality, leaving you feeling overwhelmed, frustrated and angry. In a nut shell, betrayed. So what would you do if you caught your partner cheating? Perhaps you are the type of person who, after catching a cheat, will retaliate by finding other ways of inflicting physical or emotional pain? Initially this may give you a sense of closure and personal gratification, but in the long run, it will not change the sad fact that you have been cheated on! If you ever find yourself in such a situation, before you do anything you may regret, take time off to calm down and get your thoughts in line, then talk about it with your partner. There are two ultimatums to choose from when it comes to cheating. The first one is to forgive your partner and give him/her a second chance. On the other hand, as the popular saying goes “once a cheater, always a cheater,” so why bother taking your partner back? The way I see it, like everything in life, it is dangerous to generalize. Some people cheat once in their lifetime and through guilt, and sincere remorse never do it again. While others will cheat over and over again; even getting caught will not change their devious behavioral patterns. So if your partner is genuinely sorry and wants to save the relationship, consider going through counseling together, whether it is with a person who is mature in this area whom you can both trust or a pastor. Staying in the relationship doesn’t necessarily mean that you are condoning misbehaviour from your partner, for demand an explanation for this conduct, and unravel whatever issues in your relationship prompted him or her to cheat. The second ultimatum is to end the relationship. People opt for this option either because they were totally taken aback because they didn’t consider their other half to be the cheating type, or they have been cheated on one too many times and are simply fed up. Unfortunately, the miserable reality is that we live in a world where unfaithfulness is commonplace. Man has created his own moral standard for life, thereby ignoring God’s teaching and advice not to experiment with adultery. The consequences of this have been detrimental, some of which are the spread of HIV/Aids and STDs, emotional distress, family split-ups and a lot more. So you see, the commandment not to commit adultery wasn’t for our punishment, but actually was in our best interest! The hurt and betrayal involved with infidelity is unfathomable. When people cheat, they break the boundaries of trust; ultimately making it difficult to be with them. However, whatever you decide to do, remember to act in accordance to your own interests and that of your children, if you have any. ms.efuahagan@gmail.com