Hebrews 13:4 “Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral” – New International Version

Graca cast a perplexed look at Theo, her husband and sighed in exhaustion. They were seated at the marriage counsellor’s desk, and Theo had just been explaining to the counsellor why their marriage was not working. He had concluded his explanation by stating that Graca was boring in bed, and he no longer was interested in making love to his wife.

Turning towards Graca, the marriage counsellor sought to understand if she knew what Theo was referring to when he called her ‘boring’. With a helpless shrug, she explained that Theo would always try to get her to do some unorthodox things during their act of marriage, most of which she would be uncomfortable with.

After a moment of thought, the counsellor turned to Theo and looking him straight in the eye, asked him if he watches pornography… to which Theo  completely taken aback, shifted uncomfortably in his seat and embarassingly admitted to indulging in the vice. The counsellor understood the source of those “unorthodox things” that Graca was referring to.

Theo and Graca’s marriage are just a typification of many marriages that are plagued with the devastating effects of adultery on the union of marriage. Theo might argue that he has never been unfaithful to his wife and never actively committed adultery with another woman, but he is wrong. Pornography is a subtle form of adultery that defiles the marriage bed in so many ways than the couple would realize. It opens the door to many spiritual gateways and soul-ties which cannot all be expounded in this single post.

The marriage bed signifies the unity of two persons who become one body. Sexual sin by one or both (the man and woman) in a marriage defiles this united body as explained in 1 Corinthians 6:16 – Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, “The two will become one flesh.” But whoever is united with the Lord is one with him in spirit

1 Corinthians 6:18-20 “… All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body. Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies”

Note: The names mentioned in the above example are for illustration purpose only, and do not refer to any actual couple.