Crossing the Line of Friendship

You will know that you have crossed the line of friendship when your "friend" of the opposite sex becomes as important if not more important than your spouse. Even in the absence of any sexual relationship with the so-called friend, compromises in marriage done in the name of such friendship pose a direct challenge on both relationships. Continued compromises undermine the value of marriage and the self-worth of the faithful spouse while putting the status of the friendship in serious question.

Once the line of friendship is crossed, there can be no turning back. There is a big difference in confiding common everyday work and household problems to confiding the intimate details of one's marriage to a friend of the opposite sex. The latter encourages friends to think of each other in the sexual aspect when no malice existed before. It brings to light a totally different angle of a "friend"as presented by a deeper emotional attachment.

There are some things that we can openly say or reveal to any of our friends, whether male or female. The danger lies in developing exclusive confidantes in friends of the opposite sex. The kind of spark that can be potentially produced in an exclusive continually developing friendship between a man and a woman can never be expected from that of a group of friends who are purely enjoying each others company.

Exclusivity in friendships between a man and a woman is not a problem in itself. The problem arises from the existing complications such as the commitment of one or both to other people. A committed relationship such as marriage requires it to be prioritized over friendship and not the other way around. Marital infidelity is always a possibility once the line of friendship between a man and a woman is crossed.