There are a lot of dangers for a wife who gives into the temptation to look backward.   Allow me to reveal two specific ways in which we tend to look backward, as well as the resulting danger.

1)  Since almost the beginning of creation, we’ve had a tendency to want to look back at our past.  I think of Lot’s wife who looked back at Sodom and Gomorrah and suffered for that decision by being turned into a pillar of salt!  God may have asked us to move forward in serving him, or perhaps we’ve entered a new relationship, but we tend to look back with longing at how things used to be.  In modern day, many wives are tempted to “look back” at their old high school boyfriend by checking them out on Facebook.  But that is dangerous.  It opens the door to make a connection that can slowly develop into something that pulls you away from your husband. 

2)  As wives, we also tend to “look back” at the past failures or sins of our husbands.  We often replay the hurtful incident over and over again, even 10 or 20 years later!  That always ends badly.  Resentment rises up again and causes continuing damage in the relationship.  We need to have a forward gaze.  Philippians 3:13-14 says, ” Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”   Deal with any sinful behavior going on today, but let’s decide to leave the past in the past.