Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge. (Heb. 13:4)
“Don’t you know that when you sleep with somebody, your body makes a promise whether you do or not?” Cameron Diaz’s statement in the movie Vanilla Sky is quite heart-wrenching. Someone felt betrayed. Someone felt consumed. The other someone was oblivious, insensitive, and self-seeking. Yet, the prevailing thought of the day is that sex outside of marriage is OK. After all, the couple loves each other. They will get married after college. It is cheaper if they live together. There will not be any consequences because their relationship is unique.
Something in Diaz’s statement indicates that sex intertwines the cores of two individuals. If either partner is married, there was a commitment. The betrayed married partner is cut to the core, devastated. Was that act really OK? When one partner moves on to another relationship, an empty chasm is left. A connection with the previous partner transpired that cannot be denied. Guilt—denied or acknowledged—ensues. A gigantic crevice occurs in the relationship. A hardness and void sets in on one’s soul, straining his or her relationship with the loving God.
According to Hebrews, the sexual act is to be privileged, genuine, cherished, and self-giving. God asks that our lives be different than the status quo because his designs are perfect. Doing so proclaims our reliance on him and commitment to him.
Let God examine all aspects of your life: actions, thoughts, and motives.
Gena Duncan teaches Bible classes in her church. She and her husband spend summers in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and winters in Naples, Florida.
© 2019 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission.
Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.
