The plain truth is that we human beings have appetites and urges. We hunger for carnal things. You don’t have to look far to realize what a powerful force sex is in our world. Pornography is a multibillion-dollar industry. Human trafficking and the so-called sex trade is a global scourge. Sexual harassment, misbehavior and abuse have been all over the news. But you don’t have to go to such dark places to realize the larger truth. Open many magazines, watch a music video or most films and it is very clear that sex sells. Why is that? Have you ever wondered?

Sure, human sexuality is a gift from the God who created us. And it’s a very powerful force. But our cravings and our culture, both good and bad, cannot be explained away by talking about hormones. There is something else, something deeper but equally as basic going on. We want to be fully human; we want to love and to be loved. When our sexuality is exploited, cheapened or abused those deep yearnings have been misdirected and misused.

I Corinthians 6:19 reminds us that our bodies are temples that we have received from God. They are precious and worthy of respect, women, men, children, the aged. There is nothing wrong with our urges and appetites. What we do with them, how we act of them is another matter. As we spend these weeks in the wilderness with Jesus, I invite all of us to take an honest look at ourselves, our hungers and our world.

Larry Lenow