Shipwrecks
Posted by David Dusek in Adultery, BLOG, Divorce, Featured, History, Marriage, Movie References, News Media, Sin | Monday, January 23rd, 2012
Last week we saw a real-life “Poseidon Adventure” plastered all over the media. Okay, maybe minus Gene Hackman, Ernest Borgnine and a tidal wave, but the rescue operation seems eerily familiar to the Irwin Allen disaster classic.
As I write this, the Costa Concordia is still at a 60 degree list, after blazing headlong into a reef off the coast of Isola del Giglio, Italy. At last count, 11 people have died, a few dozen are still missing, and rescuers have been blasting holes in the hull in an attempt to reach those who are missing out of the 4,200+ passengers aboard.
Amazingly, the ship was only hours into the cruise when the captain of the vessel, Francesco Schettino, decided to make a pass a little too close to the shoreline in an effort to “salute” a retired captain friend who lived on the nearby island. I guess we should call that “Fail #1” (oh yeah, the FPH – or “Fails Per Hour,” is going to get epic on this one).
Captain Schettino stated in an interview with investigators that he knew the waters well and had done it three or four times before, but just ordered the turn “too late” (Yep, Fail #2). The ship’s owners have been reported as saying that the maneuver was not authorized, and it was done solely at the Captain’s discretion (Hello there, Fail #3).
You have heard it said, in many a cliché, that the captain always goes down with his ship. Not this guy. Schettino jumps ship, or as he puts it, “fell into a life boat accidentally” (Really? Fail #4, if you are still keeping tabs). Then, when asked by the port officers to return to his ship to help the passengers, he declined. (BOOM! Fail #5). I think if they look hard enough, Captain Schettino just may be responsible for the JFK assassination. Oh, by the way, the punishment for a Captain abandoning his ship is 12 years, not to mention the decades for multiple counts of involuntary manslaughter.
Ironically, a similar kind of shipwreck happens every day. Let’s unpack this type of “shipwreck,” using the same five “Fails” as the Costa wreck (feel free to refer back to the above paragraphs to see the similarity):
Fail #1:
A married man gets a friend request, or a text message or e-mail, from a woman. An old high school flame, the girl at the office, whatever. They talk online. He gets a little too close, but…
Fail #2:
He has talked to her 3 or 4 times before, and it’s pretty harmless. Nothing really happens when they meet, other than the conversations get a little more playful each time and…
Fail #3:
It really isn’t hurting anyone, since his wife doesn’t know anyway. Besides, he feels like he’s still got game. The more he hangs out with her, the better he feels about himself. She makes him feel good, his wife is really on him all the time and he convinces himself that…
Fail #4:
Leaving his family for the new girl is so much better for everybody. The marriage slams into a reef, and the kids are left drowning, wondering why daddy left. His wife begs for counseling and asks him to keep the family together, but…
Fail #5:
He declines reconciliation, breaks the family apart and the collateral damage is far more devastating that an actual shipwreck.
If you, or someone you know, has gotten into shallow water and want to avoid a major catastrophe, here are some urgent course corrections:
1. End it. Now. Take it from a guy who is divorced and remarried – the damage caused by a broken home is catastrophic and has a very long shelf life.
2. If you are considering leaving, tell a brother. Pray for a clean break with the “other woman.” Have him keep you accountable. Often.
3. King David paid for his affair with Bathsheba. Read 2 Samuel 12 right away. Don’t be “the man.” (2 Sam. 12:7)
4. Don’t get cocky and think you’re infallible. “And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself.” (Gal 6:1b NLT)
5. Guard your eyes. Always. That green grass on the other side of the fence is usually fertilized with manure. “I have made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a girl.” (Job 31:1)
I don’t know about you, but crashing into rocks is not on my bucket list. Let’s covenant with God and with each other to stay the course and finish the race set before us!
How do you keep your relationSHIP from smashing into the reef of infidelity or divorce?
Photo credit: policymic.com
You Might Dig These Too:
-
Tom