“I shall be telling this with a sigh somewhere ages and ages hence: two roads diverged in a wood, and I—I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.” ~Robert Frost
Imagine life’s road similar to the Pacific Coast Highway (Highway 1), which travels 655 miles of the California coast and through Oregon and Washington (as Highway 101). The road is treacherous throughout much on the journey along the coastline. To go over the edge in many parts of the road means certain death.
Guardrails litter the highway’s edge in a last-ditch effort to save lives.
Similarly, guardrails border life’s rough and winding road. Skeptics call them boundaries, rules, or limits; but guardrails are an act of love to safeguard God’s children from harm—often times self-induced. Andy Stanley says, “Guardrails direct and protect.” A guardrail is not a scenic byway but a protective device.
Unnaturally appearing against a natural backdrop, they serve a distinct purpose. Pick one up. You’ll be shocked at their weight. Awkward looking yet they possess more substance than you’d imagine. Choose the road you’ll travel. Choose the road less traveled, the path not taken.
The Bible will direct your steps down the narrow road of life, but the Bible is not enough. You heard me right. Knowledge is futile without action—manifested through wisdom. Wisdom is the tool God uses to establish guardrails for those grayer aspects of life.
Have you implemented guardrails to protect your marriage? Over half of all marriages in America end in divorce (inside and outside the Church). Here are Ten Marriage-Saving Guardrails I hope help protect your marriage from catastrophic events.
1. Never develop an emotional “connection” to a person of the opposite sex.
2. Never be alone with a person of the opposite sex unless at work with open door and window.
3. Never engage in any negative talk about our spouse with a person of the opposite sex.
4. Never compliment a person of the opposite sex in a way that would elicit an emotional response.
5. Never have counseling/mentoring relationships with a person of the opposite sex.
6. Never make physical contact in a non-casual way (or place) with a person of the opposite sex.
7. Never make foul, rude, course or sexual comments especially to a person of the opposite sex.
8. Never give a gift or card to a person of the opposite sex that is only from you (say “we” a lot).
9. Never have non-business related communication (real or artificial) with a person of the opposite sex.
10. Never assume your spouse is living by the by your standards! Be engaged!
Include guardrails in your marriage strategy now. You’ll be glad you did, so will your wife and children. Warning. It takes three decades to truly appreciate guardrails. It takes three years to really know a person—including your wife. It takes three weeks to completely deconstruct a guardrail. It takes only three minutes to destroy your life, and only three seconds to watch the faces of those you love start a lifetime of suffering as collateral damage from your sin.
