Locker Room 101
Bible Reading: Romans 13:10-14
Let the Lord Jesus Christ take control of you, and don’t think of ways to indulge your evil desires. Romans 13:14
SO HAVE YOU picked up any sex smarts in a locker room or at a slumber party?
You probably know how quickly guy-talk and girl-talk about sex can slide into the category of rudely crude. Some of the jokes are funny, but saying “I love Jesus” and “Did you hear the one about …” in the same breath just doesn’t go together very well. Even saying “sex is a beautiful gift” doesn’t jive with many of the gestures and jokes about sex.
But the knowledge of sex you pick up from your peers is often way worse than disrespectful humor. The jokes and dirty language leave you messed up about what makes great sex-and may even find you buying some outright lies. Ifyou listen to a lot of people, you might begin to think that God is down on those who enjoy sex. Nothing could be further from the truth. Besides, most talk by guys and girls seems to say that great sex is determined by how many times, how often, and with whom you “score.” That too is a lie.
For starters, most people don’t realize that God is the one who thought up sex. The Bible says that God made man and woman (see Genesis 1:27). That fact alone drops some huge clues about whether he thinks sex is a good idea-and it leaves no doubt about who knows best how to help you get the most out of his gift. God didn’t declare his laws to limit what you can do but to provide what you truly need for a fulfilled love, marriage, and sexual relationship-and to protect you from the things that could keep you from having all that God intends.
True, one reason God made sex was to populate the planet. Let’s face it, without sex you wouldn’t be here! But there’s another reason why sex between married people is so great, and this is even more important. Sex is God’s wonderful way of allowing a husband and wife to express the depth and intensity of their commitment to each other. And they do this in an emotional and spiritual way that is so fulfilling and so full of excitement that it never gets boring. It just gets better and better.
That’s God’s plan. In a marriage based on commitment and love, sex produces something beautiful for people to enjoy all their lives. But outside this special union of marriage, the sinfulness of people always turns sex into something ugly.
You probably won’t hear this fact in a locker room: A lifetime commitment is what makes for great sex.
REFLECT: What false facts have you learned about sex that you need to unlearn?
PRAY: Ask God to change any misguided ideas you have about sex.