Boundaries in Marriage by Henry Cloud & John Townsend
Week 8: Chapter 7 — Guarding Your Marriage: Protecting It from Intruders
Read Chapter 7 of Boundaries in Marriage. Key passages: Song of Solomon 2:15; Nehemiah 4:9.
Previewing Week 8 of Boundaries in Marriage
Read 3 of 8 discussion questions below. Unlock the complete 12-week guide when you’re ready.
A marriage is not just a private relationship — it exists in a world full of people, pressures, and patterns that can threaten it from the outside, and Cloud and Townsend challenge us to take the work of protection seriously.
Discussion Questions
8 questions1.Cloud and Townsend use the image of 'little foxes that ruin the vineyards' (Song of Solomon 2:15) to describe the small but persistent intruders that erode marriages over time. What are some of the 'little foxes' you can identify in your own marriage or in marriages you have observed closely?
2.The authors discuss the threat posed by outside relationships — including friendships, especially opposite-sex friendships, that gradually shift emotional intimacy away from a spouse. Where do you draw the line in your own friendships? Have you and your spouse talked explicitly about those limits?
3.Cloud and Townsend address the threat of family of origin — parents, in-laws, or siblings who have not fully released the spouse from their primary loyalty, or whose influence regularly destabilizes the marriage. Have you and your spouse successfully 'left' your families of origin in the way Genesis 2:24 describes? Where is that leaving still incomplete?