So sex is a complicated thing in our lives. It's a great gift from God. He decided to make the marriage act very pleasurable! And being humans, we took that pleasure and we ran with it.
Who doesn't struggle with sexual sin? It's a burden that pretty much everyone has to deal with. If you're married, you have to deal with temptation of other people you're not married to. If you're single, you're tempted to sleep with other people, whether you're attracted to the same sex, to the opposite sex, or have disordered attractions of one kind or another. Regardless of who you're attracted to, you have to control those desires. If you decide to just sleep with whoever you want, it's not going to end well for you. The consequences are serious. Unplanned pregnancies, STD's, and, worst of all, alienation from God.
And so many people avoid sexual immorality with other people, but become addicted to pornography. So many people today find themselves struggling with the addiction to porn. It's so easy to find, and so difficult to avoid. What is a person to do?
So on the one hand, our sexuality is a great gift that God has given us. But with this great gift comes the very great responsibility of acting appropriately in regard to that gift. And we will, most of us, mess up from time to time. Some of us mess up every day. But God is merciful. If we mess up 10 times per day, He will forgive us 10 times per day. He never gives up on us. He never tires of forgiving us and helping us to try again. The only way we can fail is if we give up trying.
Ezra talks about sexual sin today. 1 Corinthians talks about sexual sin today. And even the Proverb says it's better to do what God wants than to bring Him sacrifices. So it was inevitable... I had to talk about sex today.
If you find yourself in a rough place today, take heart. God loves you. He forgives you. He wants you to get your life straightened out, put your sexual sins aside, and live a happy and healthy life that you're proud of. As with all things, just ask His help. He will help you. Maybe He'll get your focus off of yourself and onto helping others. Maybe He'll give you some project to work on. Maybe, like me, He'll help you become really busy so that avoiding sin is easier because you just don't have the time or energy for it.
In any case, don't give in to despair. Don't worry that He'll give up on you. He loves you more than you know, and He will help you to find your way.
God, thank You for the great gift of our sexuality. Please help us to live in that gift responsibly.
1 comment:
Nothing I can add, you really expounded on the readings completely and it is so needed in today's world, as pleasure and what we want is so out of control instead of focusing on what God would have us to be.
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