Fifth Day in Lent- The Sixth Commandment

" You shall not commit adultery"

As with all of his explanations of the commandments, Luther expands the meaning from the letter of the law" to the "spirit of the law."  Adultery is certainly a bad thing.  It violates the wedding vows.  It breaks the trust couples have in one another.  It can ruin other lives and relationships.  But Luther wants us to look at  our whole selves, which may or may not include marriage.  He writes that we should all live "pure and decent lives in word and deed."  So, respect one another, male or female.  And then he adds, "and each of us loves and honors his or her spouse."

An important part of living pure and decent lives and loving and honoring our spouse, is listening.  The devotion has a dialog between a couple doing an exercise called "active listening."  One person makes a statement.  The other person does nothing more than reflect back what the other has said.  There is no defensiveness, no attempt to find a solution to what the other says.  There is only a statement about what the person heard.  "I heard you say..."  Awkward? Yes.  But how often do we really listen to what another person is saying.  In our over connected world, where we're always checking our devices, this is harder than ever.  But the very best way to honor and love another is to listen to what they've said.  In our long term relationships this can easily be forgotten.  But it can also be refreshed rather easily.  Turn off your devices.  Listen.  Love.