The Way of Jesus: Week 6
Sexualization of Society
It is often daunting and glaringly apparent how sexualized our society in the West has become in recent decades. It seems like a battle to simply go into any public space, or engage in any number of avenues for entertainment, without having to traverse the subjective and sexual nature of the content or environment. Why is it that every environment and source of engagement in our society is so saturated with some element of sexualization?
It begins with which voice is being leaned into and given ear to. In the early pages of Genesis there is peaceful communion between God and man until mankind gives ear to the deception of the devil (Genesis 3:1, ESV). Once there is a foothold of Satan in our hearts to redefine the original intent that God created us for, it all soon spirals into chaos. As scripture admonishes in 2 Corinthians 4:4, “In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” Satan wants us to redefine the source and control of our desires to be geared towards whatever we say. This is what we see when we walk out our front doors every day. We see a society keyed in on appeasing every desire they say is good, right, and moral (or not). From the passage in Genesis 3 we know that Satan disrupts and perverts what God had originally intended for our good, and he is guiding this seemingly endless onslaught of appeasing your every desire because as he wants us to believe, it is us who defines what is good and right and truly satisfying. The fruit of what we see every day in society isn’t random, but the product of cultivating perversion day in and day out by entertaining the voice of the wrong source. Jesus reminds us in John’s gospel, “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me.” (ESV) We are to hear Jesus’ voice, “take every thought captive” (2 Cor. 10:5), dwell on the real source of truth in Scripture, and live as a distinct and wholly set apart people remaining pure in thought and practice (1 Peter 2:9).
How do we do this?
We engage in spiritual practices and disciplines daily, walk in discipleship with God, and remain connected in community. Engaging in these elements rhythmically and consistently positions us to hear the voice of truth and protects us against a society that wants to dismantle every facet of our communion with God. This isn’t to say that we will all handle this struggle valiantly every day. There will be mistakes made by us all, we’re not perfect (Romans 3:23). But let us remember the overwhelming assurance of God’s grace in Jesus for us when we come to Him in repentance. There’s no limit to His grace, forgiveness, and love for us. “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” (John 3:17, ESV) And let us always remember that we don’t go into this fight alone left to our own strength, “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of Truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me”(John 15:26, ESV). We live boldly and courageously without fear in a world of seeming chaos because Jesus has brought communion with God back into reality for all of us. May we live fearlessly empowered by the Spirit to boldly be different than the world and welcome everyone into true life with Jesus.
Week 6- Sexualization of Society
Celebrate Recovery (especially for pornography addiction)