When people are bored in their marriages, they sometimes turn to the internet to find some excitement. They see it as a “safe” way to get attention and boost their mood. Many of them do not think having an online “buddy” counts as cheating or emotional infidelity.

When is Flirting Cheating?

If you feel the need to hide your interactions with your online buddy from your partner or you find yourself rationalizing or justifying your friendship, chances are that what you’re doing is emotional cheating. When your friendship with your online buddy begins to feed your sexual fantasies or meet your emotional needs, you have crossed the line.

Slippery Slope

Flirting of any kind tends to be a slippery slope and often takes on a life of its own. Rationalizing suggestive messages and inside jokes is just one step away from rationalizing a lunch date or two.

Flirting also takes energy and attention from your spouse and marriage, and weakens your marriage. You marriage cannot thrive if you are starving it and denying it the attention it needs.

Lastly, flirting puts your wife in the awkward position of competing with someone that they don’t even know exists. How is your spouse supposed to win when he or she doesn’t know there’s a competition going on?

Thinking about it is just as bad

Committing infidelity in your thoughts is just as bad as doing the deed itself. Emotional infidelity is just as sinful and harmful to your Christian marriage as sexual infidelity. Also, if your online friend is not aware that you are married, you are essentially helping them sin. That’s not something you want to be a part of.

Goes against your marriage vows

When you got married, you vowed to forsake all others. Having a flirtatious friendship with someone who is not your spouse goes against this vow.

Emotional infidelity can sneak up on your and ruin your happy marriage before you know it. The best way to avoid this is to guard your marriage and avoid opening the door to infidelity with online flirting.