Let’s make sure this is stated first. Â I love Va. Tech. Â Not just love it, I LOVE it! Â I am an alumnus, and I have served God here for the past 16 years.
Love Va. Tech, love Blacksburg, love Montgomery County. Â The whole bit.
But I have really struggled with the Victoria’s Secret Pink Party that was held last night on the Drillfield. Â Possibly for some reasons you think, and maybe for others that you don’t.
Remember, I went here. Â I get it. Â A huge concert/party/Va. Tech community event like this? Â I like some of the stuff from Gym Class Heroes, and the chance to hit up a free concert and likely have a blast? Â I really do get it.
I certainly don’t object to students being able to decide whether or not they can attend the show.
What concerns me is how this impacts an already typically unhealthy sexual ethic. Â Please stick with me a bit here and try to ignore how poorly the last sentence was constructed. Â The healthiest development of our sexuality I believe is stated in the scriptures. Â Not arguing for prudishness (although some will undoubtedly disagree) here, just more reflection and restraint than I think we typically see. Â Allowing God to show us how to express our sexuality in the manner that he engineered it.
One final word, friends. We ask you – urge is more like it – that you keep on doing what we told you to do to please God, not in a dogged religious plod, but in a living, spirited dance. You know the guidelines we laid out for you from the Master Jesus. God wants you to live a pure life. Keep yourselves from sexual promiscuity. Learn to appreciate and give dignity to your body,not abusing it… Â 1 Thess 4
Please keep in mind that Jesus spent most of his time removing the extra rules that had been added by his religious compatriots. Â He seemed to want to free the pursuit of God from many of the restrictions that were squeezing the life out of that very pursuit. Â But in the Sermon on the Mount, probably in my opinion the most clarified teaching that he gave and the one that most helps me to understand the heart of God towards us, he actually tightens up the understanding of what sexual purity meant. Â He said it was not just about what you did, but about what was in your heart in the first place.
Now if Jesus was the prude that I thought he was up through my last year a Tech, that wouldn’t surprise me a bit. Â But he wasn’t. Â He was accused by the religious elite of being a drunk. Â Of hanging out too much with prostitutes, the untouchables of his day.
So, I guess my concern is that his concern just isn’t getting much play in our culture today. Â I don’t say this because I want to be seen as right or in the majority. Â More and more I wonder if followers of Jesus do better when we are the minority. Â I say this because I talk to hundreds of people each year and many have been hurt greatly by the sexually free culture we experience. Â That in our freedom we actually lose access to a part of who we were created to be.
As I am reading a bit of Socrates recently I will use his preferred method… Â Likely poorly 🙂
That is why I have struggled so much with this one…
Peace, Jim
Michael DuVal said...
1I appreciate your thoughtfulness, friend.
09/14/12 9:26 AM | Comment Link
Sarah said...
2Where in the bible does it teach how you give your body dignity and respect? I ask not because I’m trying to be on the offensive, but rather because in my generation (the one that you seem to be targeting in this blog), we are learning more and more to hate our bodies if we don’t fit the criteria that magazines/TV/music tell us fulfill, and the overly-active sexual behavior goes hand-in-hand with this because if you hate your body, why would you pass up someone else appreciating it for you? I think that this problem would go down more if the focus was more on learning to love yourself no matter what people/media say about it, primarily because if you love yourself and your body, you respect it more and guard it more for God. I am not saying that our behavior is excusable, but I am saying that things have changed in our culture that lead us to this and it is a harder fight now than it ever was before to keep God in and the bad influences out. **Remember: it’s only an opinion. Not trying to offend anyone.
09/14/12 9:59 AM | Comment Link
Sarah said...
3*sorry about any bad spelling/grammar as well. I don’t really edit on blogs and/or facebook posts.
09/14/12 10:03 AM | Comment Link
RobS said...
4I think your question is very timely and a smart one though. Definitely, culture attacks our looks and shape constantly. 2 Corinthians 6:16 might be a small piece of what you’re thinking about Sarah — where Paul writes, “we are the temple of the living God.” I guess one still has to think about what a temple is, the purpose, the way a temple is kept and cared for, etc, to really drive home and understand the point.
Some people today certainly spend more time at Crossfit “doing the WOD” instead of at church or praying to GOD… I’m just pointing out we can obsess about extreme solutions as well.
I think under all these ideas, Jesus looked at the well clothed, under clothed and all in between & approached with an attitude of love and didn’t seek to condemn anyone on their looks or health.
But your points are really good. The bad elements of culture need to be redeemed (or rejected if they can’t be redeemed) for God’s glory.
09/14/12 1:13 PM | Comment Link
Sarah said...
5I mean, I know what I am asking is more of a psychology request. However, I think if we are going to be told what to do with our bodies and ourselves and have a certain guideline for it, maybe there should be a way for everyone to understand that. If you only give us verses and references that just simply say to love and respect your body, well… it’s easier said than done for some people due to today’s society, and maybe giving us verses that will help us learn how to love ourselves would be the most helpful. I’m sorry and I don’t mean to offend, but the simple command to give your body dignity and respect doesn’t help if you don’t know how. I do want to put as a sidenote that I do love God and I want to put him at my highest priority. I am not trying to rebuttal any arguments. However, I wanted to write this because it’s hard to love others when you don’t love yourself first.
09/14/12 3:13 PM | Comment Link
said...
6Love the conversation here! Sarah I do have some additional thoughts to add to your well stated question. I just cannot post now :). Prob Sunday? Rob, good as always to hear your thoughts, you are a wise friend. Peace.
09/14/12 5:17 PM | Comment Link