Fasten Your Seat Belts
The debates over human sexuality and marital constructs are increasingly and ubiquitously being played out (and have been for some time) over the airwaves and tv screens, on book and magazine covers, in newspaper articles, on billboards, social media platforms, protest placards, and even in classroom curricula.
The debate has even increasingly made its way into product and company advertising.
One such example was from a KLM Airlines ad campagn from 2017. The banner read, "It doesn't matter who you click with," and was accompanied by a series of rainbow seat belt pairings.
But the ad was met with some pretty tough push back as confused viewers noted that two of the three "pairings" would not prove to be realistic or operational.
Once commentor observes:
While more than a few observers pointed at the ad's obvious demonstration of biological realities (eg, which parts fit with which parts), there was a sadder, far more serious, far more important truth being unintentionally revealed by the ad.
The purpose of a seatbelt is to keep the individual safe, secure, and free from harm. Without complimentary latching parts, however, a seatbelt is at once useless and counterproductive to achieving that objective. Ironically, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines' own operational policies forbid pilots to even depart the gate until all passengers are properly restrained by functional belts.
Should a passenger attempt to tie two "female" ends or two "male" ends together as a substitute, they would be reprimanded and, depending on their stubbornness, denied the opportunity to fly.
He goes on to ask:
Are the executives, pilots, and flight attendants at KLM bigots for their intolerant belief that one type of seatbelt arrangement is superior in functionality and safety? Are they discriminators for requiring customers to abide by their narrow-minded view of the "appropriate way" to fasten a belt? Or are they merely expressing a self-evident truth that all of us know, even if we want, for whatever reason, to deny?
God's design was intentional, and His moral guidelines for sexuality were given to us not to deprive us, but to defend us.
"Then the Lord God said, 'It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.' ... Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh" (Genesis 2:18, 24, ESV).
"Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous" (Hebrews 13:4, ESV).
Can A Man Walk On Hot Coals ....
Perhaps you heard about the 30 “followers of motivational speaker Tony Robbins” who “were burned while walking on hot coals” in Dallas, Texas (nbcnews.com). Mr. Robbins should have heeded Solomon, who wrote, “Or can a man walk on hot coals and his feet not be scorched?” (Proverbs 6:28).
This statement comes as part of Solomon’s warning about “the evil woman” and the “adulteress” (cf. 6:24). He warns about her alluring beauty and ways (25), showing the consequences that one may miss when driven by lust rather than law: one is reduced (26), destroyed (32), wounded and disgraced (33), reproached (33), and repaid with revenge (34).
One of Solomon’s two metaphors to depict adultery’s repercussions is feet being burned by walking on hot coals (the other is taking fire in his bosom and his clothes being burned).
Countless men and women have been deceived by the seemingly harmless effects of allowing attraction for someone other than their mate to grow in their hearts and minds. One may let admiration and attraction for this other person to take root in their hearts. Defenses are lowered and lines begin to be crossed. The thrill and excitement of the prospective relationship can come to eclipse rational thoughts about the negative consequences, and the fallout in the lives of all the people affected.
When David gazed at Bathsheba from his rooftop, he saw a beautiful, naked woman rather than murder, death, humiliation, dysfunction, loss of influence, and agonizing heartbreak. His unlawful desire for her prevented him from seeing past what he wanted in the moment.
God’s laws are immutable. One cannot flout them without the fruit that follows. So many who have crossed that line have desperately wished they could go back to the other side of that firebed and taken the righteous path. May each of us have the wisdom to see that pursuing a person who is not your lawful mate is like playing with fire! Don’t get burned.
The Profound Consequences of Unsanctioned Sex
Ask your congregation to go back in their minds to the last time they scratched their ear. Ask, "Can you picture it? Can you feel it? How about the last time you brushed a crumb off your laps?" Ask, "How did that make you feel? Where were you? What were you eating? How about the last time you took a sip of water? What was the occasion for needing a drink? How did it taste. Seriously, take a moment to ponder and place yourself back in those moments. Tough, right?"
Then ask, "How about this: When, if ever, did you engage in a sexual act with someone other than your spouse? Whoa … a different reaction, huh?! Memories just came flooding back to you. Where were you, whom were you with and why? How did you feel in the moment?"
Why is that? Why are our sexual memories—specifically our sinful sexual memories—so vivid and lingering?
Darren Ether, Assistant Pastor at Waterloo Pentecostal Assembly in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, has some keen insights:
“[Sex] brings a husband and a wife together in not just a physical way but also in an emotional and spiritual bonding. Sex is far more than just physical. That’s why you remember it. If you drink a glass of water at the wrong time you don’t remember it in three minutes, much less three years. But you never forget sex in a wrong circumstance. Even 20, 40 years later you can still go back to that thought. Why? Because it’s more than just a physical event. There is an emotional and spiritual bonding that takes place and leaves a part of you in that situation. It’s very profound in its consequences.”
"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).