{"id":4565,"date":"2024-01-22T15:38:52","date_gmt":"2024-01-22T23:38:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thegateway.press\/?p=4565"},"modified":"2024-01-22T15:38:52","modified_gmt":"2024-01-22T23:38:52","slug":"fidelity-matters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/raincrossdev2.com\/gateway\/fidelity-matters\/","title":{"rendered":"Fidelity Matters"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Despite the claims of many, younger generations (in fact, all generations) still value fidelity in romantic relationships. Free love, open relationships, friends with benefits, and multiple partner relationships might make for titillating television but they are not what people are looking for in real life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As an example, testing fidelity is big business, driven by social media sites like TikTok and Instagram. People have started web-driven companies to test relational loyalty through what has been described as a modern version of a \u201choney trap.\u201d The testers are paid by one person in a relationship (who either suspects their partner of cheating or just wants to test their loyalty) to entice the other person in the relationship to be unfaithful. And, it&#8217;s big business. One account has had 3.6 billion views. Another tester has had 557 million. One tester reported doing about ten loyalty tests each day \u2013 charging for her services and making a very comfortable living in the process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">What strikes me as most interesting about this is not the business model or practices, but the underlying issue \u2013 the desire by people in relationships (mostly women, according to the demographics of the primary users) to have someone who is really committed to them. They want this so much they are willing to pay to have it verified.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">God designed relationships to work this way. One man commits to one woman \u2013 in marriage, not in some ill-defined domestic partnership. When that design is marred \u2013 no matter the reason &#8211; it always results in interpersonal conflict and personal emotional damage. Even when one person is clearly victimized and the relational breakdown is understandable, the aftermath is painful and recovery takes time. God designed us for fidelity \u2013 genuine, lasting commitment to one person for life. Meeting this standard requires self-sacrifice and self-control \u2013 two qualities in short supply today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Relational selfishness is accentuated by cultural arrogance in defining modern romantic relationships. Influencers strive to convince us that relational fluidity is acceptable, or even desirable. They are lying to us and doing immeasurable damage in the process. Reject these lies. Embrace fidelity in relationships, monogamy in marriage, and durability of commitment to these ideals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n    <div class=\"post-grid columns posts-row-block  gateway-block\">\n            <div class=\"post-grid-item card span-4 span-12-on-small\">\n        <div>\n            <a class=\"image\" href=\"https:\/\/raincrossdev2.com\/gateway\/excerpt-the-complete-works-of-andrew-fuller-volume-10-apologetic-works\/\">\n                <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/raincrossdev2.com\/gateway\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/StockSnap_6YKYJTMGYA-scaled-1.jpg\">\n            <\/a>\n            <div class=\"content\">\n                    <div class=\"post-meta inline\">\n        <div class=\"category-tag\">\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/raincrossdev2.com\/gateway\/category\/theology\/\" class=\"tag \">\n        Theology\n    <\/a>\n        <\/div>\n        <div class=\"byline\">\n            <span class=\"author\">Posted by: Chris Chun<\/span>\n            <span class=\"sep\">|<\/span>\n            <span class=\"date\">March 21, 2025<\/span>\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n                <h3 class=\"title\">\n                    <a href=\"https:\/\/raincrossdev2.com\/gateway\/excerpt-the-complete-works-of-andrew-fuller-volume-10-apologetic-works\/\">Excerpt \u2014 The Complete Works of Andrew Fuller Volume 10: Apologetic Works<\/a>\n                <\/h3>\n                <p class=\"excerpt\">In Dr. Chris Chun&#8217;s newest publication, he provides commentary for The Complete Works of Andrew Fuller Volume 10: Apologetic Works.<\/p>\n                <div class=\"bottom\">\n                    <a href=\"https:\/\/raincrossdev2.com\/gateway\/excerpt-the-complete-works-of-andrew-fuller-volume-10-apologetic-works\/\">Read Article<\/a>\n                <\/div>\n                <div class=\"author-info\">\n                        <div class=\"author-grid-item mini\">\n            <div class=\"name-tag \">\n        <div class=\"photo\"><\/div>\n        <div class=\"text\">\n            <a href=\"https:\/\/raincrossdev2.com\/gateway\/author\/chrischun\/\" class=\"name\">Chris Chun<\/a>\n            <div class=\"role\">Professor of Church History | Director, Jonathan Edwards Center<\/div>\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n        <div class=\"bio\">Dr. Chris Chun is the professor of Church History and the director of Jonathan Edwards Center at Gateway Seminary. Chris&#8217; doctoral research at St. Andrews University was focused on the eighteenth-century Edwardsean Baptists in Britain. He also has served as president of The Evangelical Theological Society (Far West Region).<\/div>\n            <div class=\"socials \">    <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gs.edu\/academics\/faculty-directory\/member\/1348362\/\">\n        <i class=\"fas fa-globe\"><\/i>\n    <\/a><\/div>\n        \n        <div class=\"footer\">\n            <a href=\"https:\/\/raincrossdev2.com\/gateway\/author\/chrischun\/\" class=\"author-link\">\n                Read more by Chris\n            <\/a>\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n                <\/div>\n            <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>    <div class=\"post-grid-item card span-4 span-12-on-small\">\n        <div>\n            <a class=\"image\" href=\"https:\/\/raincrossdev2.com\/gateway\/excerpt-integrating-theology-church-and-ministry-in-a-chinese-seminary\/\">\n                <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/raincrossdev2.com\/gateway\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/StockSnap_GWHPDXEM5L-scaled-1.jpg\">\n            <\/a>\n            <div class=\"content\">\n                    <div class=\"post-meta inline\">\n        <div class=\"category-tag\">\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/raincrossdev2.com\/gateway\/category\/theology\/\" class=\"tag \">\n        Theology\n    <\/a>\n        <\/div>\n        <div class=\"byline\">\n            <span class=\"author\">Posted by: Kevin Chen<\/span>\n            <span class=\"sep\">|<\/span>\n            <span class=\"date\">February 21, 2025<\/span>\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n                <h3 class=\"title\">\n                    <a href=\"https:\/\/raincrossdev2.com\/gateway\/excerpt-integrating-theology-church-and-ministry-in-a-chinese-seminary\/\">Excerpt \u2014 Integrating Theology, Church, and Ministry in a Chinese Seminary<\/a>\n                <\/h3>\n                <p class=\"excerpt\">In Dr. Kevin Chen&#8217;s new book Integrating Theology, Church, and Ministry in a Chinese Seminary, he and his coauthors explore how to integrate theology, ministry, and cultural awareness in seminary education, particularly within a Chinese diaspora context.<\/p>\n                <div class=\"bottom\">\n                    <a href=\"https:\/\/raincrossdev2.com\/gateway\/excerpt-integrating-theology-church-and-ministry-in-a-chinese-seminary\/\">Read Article<\/a>\n                <\/div>\n                <div class=\"author-info\">\n                        <div class=\"author-grid-item mini\">\n            <div class=\"name-tag \">\n        <div class=\"photo\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/raincrossdev2.com\/gateway\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/kevin-chenheadshots02sq500.jpg\"><\/div>\n        <div class=\"text\">\n            <a href=\"https:\/\/raincrossdev2.com\/gateway\/author\/kevinchen\/\" class=\"name\">Kevin Chen<\/a>\n            <div class=\"role\">Professor of Old Testament<\/div>\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n        <div class=\"bio\"><\/div>\n            <div class=\"socials \"><\/div>\n        \n        <div class=\"footer\">\n            <a href=\"https:\/\/raincrossdev2.com\/gateway\/author\/kevinchen\/\" class=\"author-link\">\n                Read more by Kevin\n            <\/a>\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n                <\/div>\n            <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>    <div class=\"post-grid-item card span-4 span-12-on-small\">\n        <div>\n            <a class=\"image\" href=\"https:\/\/raincrossdev2.com\/gateway\/a-love-for-scripture\/\">\n                <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/raincrossdev2.com\/gateway\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/pexels-pixabay-260259-scaled-1.jpg\">\n            <\/a>\n            <div class=\"content\">\n                    <div class=\"post-meta inline\">\n        <div class=\"category-tag\">\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/raincrossdev2.com\/gateway\/category\/voices\/\" class=\"tag \">\n        Voices\n    <\/a>\n        <\/div>\n        <div class=\"byline\">\n            <span class=\"author\">Posted by: Damaris Scrima<\/span>\n            <span class=\"sep\">|<\/span>\n            <span class=\"date\">January 31, 2025<\/span>\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n                <h3 class=\"title\">\n                    <a href=\"https:\/\/raincrossdev2.com\/gateway\/a-love-for-scripture\/\">A Love for Scripture<\/a>\n                <\/h3>\n                <p class=\"excerpt\">Damaris Scrima, MTS student, shares the importance of cultivating a love for God&#8217;s word.<\/p>\n                <div class=\"bottom\">\n                    <a href=\"https:\/\/raincrossdev2.com\/gateway\/a-love-for-scripture\/\">Read Article<\/a>\n                <\/div>\n                <div class=\"author-info\">\n                        <div class=\"author-grid-item mini\">\n            <div class=\"name-tag \">\n        <div class=\"photo\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/raincrossdev2.com\/gateway\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/IMG_4167-scaled-1-200x300.jpg\"><\/div>\n        <div class=\"text\">\n            <a href=\"https:\/\/raincrossdev2.com\/gateway\/author\/damarisscrima\/\" class=\"name\">Damaris Scrima<\/a>\n            <div class=\"role\">Student | MTS<\/div>\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n        <div class=\"bio\">Damaris Scrima holds a bachelor\u2019s degree in Applied Theology from California Baptist University. She is currently pursuing a master\u2019s in Theological Studies with a concentration in Biblical Studies at Gateway Seminary.<\/div>\n            <div class=\"socials \"><\/div>\n        \n        <div class=\"footer\">\n            <a href=\"https:\/\/raincrossdev2.com\/gateway\/author\/damarisscrima\/\" class=\"author-link\">\n                Read more by Damaris\n            <\/a>\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n                <\/div>\n            <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    <\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Despite the claims of many, younger generations (in fact, all generations) still value fidelity in romantic relationships. Free love, open relationships, friends with benefits, and multiple partner relationships might make for titillating television but they are not what people are looking for in real life. As an example, testing fidelity is big business, driven by [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":4566,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[459,86,405],"class_list":["post-4565","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ministry","tag-fidelity","tag-marriage","tag-relationships"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/raincrossdev2.com\/gateway\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4565","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/raincrossdev2.com\/gateway\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/raincrossdev2.com\/gateway\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/raincrossdev2.com\/gateway\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/30"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/raincrossdev2.com\/gateway\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4565"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/raincrossdev2.com\/gateway\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4565\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/raincrossdev2.com\/gateway\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4566"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/raincrossdev2.com\/gateway\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4565"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/raincrossdev2.com\/gateway\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4565"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/raincrossdev2.com\/gateway\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4565"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}