1 Thessalonians 4:3-6

"For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication:
That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour;
Not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which know not God: That no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter: because that the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also have forewarned you and testified."
1 Thessalonians 4:3-6


What struck me at first about this scripture is the last verse here... that "the Lord is the avenger of all such."  If we defraud each other, the person we have to worry about isn't the person we just hurt... it is God, who takes those offenses and deals with them himself. That's scary enough as it is, but the second thing that struck me here is that they are talking about fornication... which is why I added the earlier verses.  Fornication looks to be one of the manners of defrauding your brother.  That is interesting to me, and true. When we engage in sexual activity outside of marriage, what are we *doing* but defrauding each other?  Making promises that we can't possibly fulfill... attempting a bond that will undoubtedly be broken.  That sounds like fraud to me.