Case 770

Abuse|

It all started when I was four years old. I remember my mother whipping me with a leather strap with such force that my legs would end up scarred.... The punishments were always severe, applied with rage and accompanied by threats and even rejection sometimes....   When I was alone, I would hurt myself physically, masochist style, and that would calm me down. My compulsion to hurt myself has helped me to relieve day-to-day stress [...]

Case 769

Infatuation/Falling in Love|

For a year I gave my love to a man. There is a ten-year difference in our ages. I took him to my house, and everyone knew that I was in love with him, but he never asked me to be his girlfriend. That made me break up with him, and now I feel guilty because I think that he did love me.... Do you think that I made the right decision? Dear Friend,   [...]

Case 768

Absentee Parents|

Three years ago I met a woman. We didn’t have a good relationship, but we decided to have a child anyway. Eight months after our baby boy was born, the arguments and conflicts caused us to decide to separate.... We were never married....   Later I started going out with another woman and we weren’t careful when we had relations, so she ended up pregnant. She is not a Christian and my previous partner wasn’t [...]

Case 767

Guilt, Repentance|

For the past three years I have been in a relationship with an extraordinary woman that I intend to marry. Recently I went with some friends to an erotic club.... A girl who worked there offered me a private dance that involves touching her, and I did it.... But I did not have sexual relations with her.... I only touched her body, and then ran out of there because I felt very dirty.... I’m really [...]

Case 766

Social Media/Internet|

I met a girl on an online dating application. She is six years younger than I am. In the beginning, everything was just friendly. However, within two weeks we became intimate....   One day, in casual conversation, she started telling me about her past.... Something inside me sounded an alarm, so I decided to investigate. To my great surprise, I discovered that she had told me several lies.... I have never known a bigger liar [...]

Case 765

Responsibilities of children|

My father married a young woman who is thirty-eight years younger than he. She doesn’t allow him to have any relationship with his children from his deceased first wife, that is, my mother....   Recently my youngest brother had emergency surgery.... He was in critical condition... but my father doesn’t want to go visit him.... When I learned about this, I was so distraught that my blood pressure went up and I had to get [...]

Case 764

Bad Habits|

I’ve been smoking marijuana since I was fifteen. When I was twenty-five, I accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior and Lord, and my life changed; but for some reason, a year and a half after giving up marijuana, I gave in and went back to smoking it. Since that time, I haven’t been able to quit.... I try and try, but I can’t. I’ve kept it a secret.... I go to church normally, but I [...]

Case 763

Romantic Relationships/Courtship (Chastity/Moral Values)|

I am eighteen years old... and have a girlfriend.... We both attend the university.... I want our relationship to have a purpose: to end in marriage. I don’t want to play with her feelings, but I also don’t want to do things that are immoral. My question is: What should I as a man do to avoid any temptation that could lead us to sin?   We talked about meeting in a place where we [...]

Case 762

Bad Habits|

Since his teenage years, my husband has had problems with drugs, alcohol, and delinquency.... After our daughter was born, he went into rehab and got clean. However, after our son was born, he started using drugs again and had a daughter with another woman.... He came back repentant, and I forgave him. Until some time ago he was doing well, but then he started using again and, even though he said he was going to [...]