Dwight Fletcher | Sexual consequences

SEX IS very powerful. When done right, it can have wonderful consequences. Following God’s plan for sex leads to His best. When it’s misused, however, sex almost operates like a drug with amazing potential to harm and hurt. When a sexual relationship goes wrong, it can be devastating. Many have been hurt in this area and have experienced the consequences.

The society positions sex as a free-for-all, but that plan always ends in pain. “There is a way that seems right to a person but it’s end is the way of death.” Proverbs 14:12 (NIV).

Sex, apart from God’s plan (outside of marriage, extra marital affair, not one man and one woman), can seem and feel right, but there are negative consequences. It can have tremendous physical and emotional consequences, as well as regret and heartache that scar us for a long time. There are also the mental consequences, like the pain of remembering our past sins and mistakes that haunt some of us.

SEX OUTSIDE OF GOD’S PLAN

There are relational consequences as well. Much of the problems that we deal with are the direct result of sex apart from God’s plan (adultery, divorce, separation), and some of the damage that’s done to children, or the family, are because of sex outside of God’s plan.

These consequences weren’t God’s original intent for sex. He knew when He gave us free will that we could abuse it, but He also gave us the choice to embrace His plan. When we embrace His plan, we avoid the negative consequences.

Sex apart from God’s plan has negative consequences. Proverbs 6:26-27 (NIV) says, “Prostitutes reduce a man to poverty, and the adulteress steals your soul — she may even cost you your life! 27 For how can a man light his pants on fire and not be burned?”. This verse clearly illustrates that sex is not just a physical thing. The Bible says that sex is like fire. When fire is used appropriately it can be very good (cooking, warmth), but when used inappropriately it can destroy. Sex is like that.

It’s best that we walk away from the world’s way of sex and embrace God’s plan for it. The truth is that we have sexually impure images bombarding us from every direction. Prime time television has an average of 4.4 sexual scenes per hour, music videos contain 93 sexual situations per hour, and in video games 66 per cent of female characters are considered sexually suggestive. This is a problem because the largest sex organ we have is our brain. All sex starts in the brain, so, if there are impurities going into our minds, they will occupy it, and we’ll be more likely to act them out.

Women do not think about the sex act as often as men. They only think about it once a day, but they think about sex appeal, as often as guys do. Sex starts in the brain and the Bible understands this and warns us to, “Be careful how you think; your life is shaped by your thoughts.” Proverbs 4:23 (GNT). If we don’t control our sexual thoughts, sexual actions follow. Job said, “I made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a young woman.” Job 31:1 (NIV).

Our eyes are the gateway to our brains, so we need to watch what we view. We need to challenge whatever enters our mind and ask God to help us control it. Don’t expose yourself to pornography or let those fantasies enter your mind. “Shun youthful lusts and flee from them and aim at and pursue righteousness…” 2Timothy 2:22 (NIV).