Is Love Enough?

Is Love enough?

It was an uneventful evening some 6 years ago, as I took a stroll to ease my worried mind; more worried was the sight I met.

I had barely basked in the aura of the evening harmattan when I saw my friend Johnson walking towards me with coal-hot tears pouring down his troubled face.

I didn't understand what trouble would make a 35-year-old man cry on the road in broad day, so I queried.

Johnson had broken his vow, he had betrayed his wife. Johnson Loved his wife and I remember praying for a Love like theirs; pretty woman his wife.

I had warned him about his closeness to his office secretary, but “I Love my wife, my secretary is not a threat” he chorused whenever I raised an eyebrow.

She would call him almost every day to find out if he was home, make video calls with him, and I learned from him that they go out for lunch together.

I was a single man, rather inexperienced in the game of marriage but something didn't seem right; “it was risky giving someone so much attention, you could get caught off guard”, I always thought. But what did I know? I was just a single guy who didn't know how marriage works.

So, it was no surprise when Johnson told me he made out with his secretary; “It happened so fast, and I couldn't stop it” he said.

But you Love your wife, I argued rather angrily, why did you cheat on her, I asked? I hated to say “I told you so” but I did. And I made sure he confessed to his wife, I bade him to be a man about it; If he had swept it under the carpet he'd not feel remorse, and would soon grow thick skin and become a master cheat, so he did. And I never asked how she took it.

You see, you can Love your partner all you want, but if you don't create healthy boundaries around yourself, there lies a pathway for infidelity.

Some cheat not because they do not Love their partners, but because they are unsuspicious to the build up, and like Lil Wayne would say, “as soon as you cum, you come to your senses” and the aftermath is always regret. 

I took permission from Johnson (not his real name) to write his story because I need us to understand that Love is not enough to ward off temptation, you need proactive discipline, healthy boundaries, moral values and self-respect to stay faithful.

Love is powerful, but if your right hand would lead you to sin, cut it off.

I am Kovu.