Fear of failure

The other day a friend related a story to me of a man he knew who had been caught cheating on his wife. And not just any man, but a priest (in a denomination that allows marriage, of course).

The idea of infidelity has always bothered me. Now that I’m in a serious relationship, it bothers me even more.

I wonder how many of the men who cheat on their wives once thought what I do: that I’d never cheat and don’t know how anyone ever could.

I’m not suggesting that I feel like I’m unaware of how capable I am of cheating. But it does scare me. What slippery slope do these men go down that leads to dirty deeds behind their wives’ backs? Certainly something else had to come before the cheating. And, of all people, it seems as though a priest should have the character of passion, fervor and devotion that would hold him back even more so than many people.

I don’t have anything else to say, really. I guess I’m just shocked that this happens, and probably more often than I’m aware of. The more I grow, the more I realize how different we are from each other. Much like with murder, it’s clear that we all have different shortcomings that we struggle with.