“If it feels good do it”... That’s the unofficial motto of my generation. Casual sex was just one expression of that when it began (as a movement) in the sixties. It’s one that we are paying a heavy price for now. Divorce and it’s effects on all the members of a family, AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases, unwed and unwanted pregnancies and the resulting war over abortion, emotional pain…and even murder, these are just a part of the resulting problems from treating sex like a casual, recreational activity.
The most fundamental drive in living beings is to reproduce. It is the most powerful force among living things. Call it Libido, Ki, Chi, Prana, Orgone, L-fields or whatever you like. The sexual impulse is the life force expressing itself.
We, human beings, seem to go from one side of the road to the other, from trying to completely suppress the sex drive to letting it run unchecked. Sex is, without question, one of the greatest things in life. It has the power to heal and the power to destroy. Sexual energy has the power to bind two hearts together and the power to drive them to hate each other like no other hatred on earth. Sexual energy can build stable families and it can destroy entire civilizations. Sexual energy can cause us to love one another and it can cause us to use one another in the vilest ways. The sexual impulse can produce everything from jealousy to suicide to serial killers. There is nothing casual about sex. Those who treat it casually ultimately harm themselves.
For those who choose a faith based life like Judaism or Christianity the very heart of that faith is that our Creator knows what is best for us…His creation. Only He can dictate how we should live our lives. The ultimate authority for many people of faith is the Bible, the revealed Word of God. Just as God has laws governing His physical creation, He has laws governing His spiritual creation. Sexuality spans both realms. What goes on in the bedroom affects all of us ultimately, so our Creator has revealed His guidelines for how sexual energy should be used and directed.
It rankles many people that there is a moral code that would presume to dictate how sexual energy should be used and directed. What goes on in the bedroom is no one else’s business, they say. Human beings are a stubborn lot. We don’t like to be told what to do. For something so personal and so powerful as our sex drives we like it even less.
But the Judeo-Christian moral standard is clear…what goes on in the bedroom IS the business of everyone in a society. It ultimately affects all of society.
One can argue their case for personal freedoms. God certainly allows personal freedoms. We have the right to choose how we want to live. What God tells us is that if we want happy and healthy families and a happy, healthy society we need to obey Him. His laws are for our good. A young child may rebel against his parents’ rule that he not go out into a busy street. He may not be old enough to see the danger that his parents do. The message of the Bible is very much the same. God sees the end result of our behaviors and has given us guidelines for avoiding the dangers…if we’ll only listen.
There is no point in restating God’s laws governing sexuality here. They’re well known, even among non-believers… Suffice it to say that IF God’s laws were obeyed by mankind there would be no sexually transmitted diseases, there would be no children born out of wedlock, there would be fewer divorces and fewer genetic diseases, and there would be far fewer abortions. The gospel, the good news, of God is that such a world is coming.
Sex is a beautiful gift from our Creator. It shouldn’t be completely repressed or allowed to simply run unchecked. There is a right way to direct sexual impulses just like there is a right way to eat and to exercise. It’s time mankind grew up and began listening to our Creator.
Right here, right now…we can make our world better if we’ll only choose to obey Him.
