Tuesday, November 08, 2011

The lure of illicit sex

Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral (Hebrews 13:4).

One of the most powerful forces at work in our lives is sexuality. God made us male and female, and installed the desire to pair up and start families. Sex is a wonderful gift from the Almighty that gives special joy and satisfaction to married couples. But sexual desire has been twisted by sin into something dark and ugly. Prostitution turns sex into a business transaction, thereby cheapening it. Rage can turn sex into a weapon called rape. The craving for sexual intimacy leads men and women into straying from their marriage vows. Sinful desire makes some men crave the company of other men for sexual gratification—and the same happens among women. Deviant sexual urges lead some adults to prey on children. Even the beasts of the field are not immune to human abuse.

Such behavior strikes most people as repugnant—and well it should. But sexual misconduct is widespread. Our society tolerates much more than it should—to the point where some misbehavior is no longer regarded as sinful. Viewing pornography is one example; as an industry, it generates more dollars than any other type of Internet business. Viewers claim that it’s harmless, a victimless crime. But pornography has many victims. There are the models who degrade themselves in prostitution, risking infection with AIDS and other terrible diseases in order to make a product for others to watch. Also victims are the children who stumble across x-rated websites while surfing the web; they are exposed to images that have the power to permanently change how they think about human sexuality. Many viewers become addicted to Internet porn, wasting loads of money that could be better spent on other things, and leaving the person they married sexually neglected. Worst of all, pornography encourages the viewer to think of others as objects to be used and played with, not as individuals who need to be loved and respected.

God provided sexual attraction to draw couples into the life-long partnership of marriage, an arrangement where husband and wife find special joy in each other’s company, a passionate connection that can lead to the birth of a family. Any other use for sex is misguided and unproductive. When sexual desire tempts you to ignore God’s intentions, remember that the Bible says honor God with your body (1 Corinthians 6:20).

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