What happens when sex is misused

Perhaps all the recent allegations of sexual misconduct provide an opportunity to reexamine what we believe to be right and wrong about sexual behavior and why?

The current outrage seems to indicate some standards about right and wrong, but what are these standards?

Is mutual consent the main criteria for declaring sex acceptable? Does the relationship of the participants matter? Does their age matter? Do modesty and self-restraint have a role to play? Does sex have a more noble purpose than gratification?

Perhaps we could start to answer these and other questions by remembering that, inherent in its very nature, sex has the purpose of bringing children into the world.

Our sex drive is strong because sex is the means for creating future generations. And perhaps we could also remember that, in its nature, sex creates a powerful physical, emotional, and spiritual bond between the participants. For a husband and wife, this bond helps strengthen their marriage and helps provide a robust family structure for if/when children do result.

We are seeing in the news almost every day what happens when sex is misused. It’s self-centered and ugly.

But when sex is practiced in accord with its nature, it can be sacred and beautiful.

A husband and wife who give themselves to each other totally and unconditionally, and who unselfishly welcome and love any children that come as the fruit of their love, can provide an example to the world of what true love really looks like.

John DeLaat North Ridgeville