[Sensitivity Warning: If sexual sin is a serious problem for you, or could be, don't read this post or do any related thing.] Yeah, you read that right. And I guess I should say that some of you are too young to even know who George Michael is. When I was a kid, he was a massive star. In some ways, when cultural critics complained about the degradation of our culture, they were blaming this guy. Fair enough; he deserves some of that.
Sex was/is a big part of what he sang about. And it could be blunt ("I Want Your Sex") and disturbing in many ways ("Father Figure") but even here, it is not without insight. When you listen to this, listen to how he describes what he wants, especially in the first verse. Friends, we shouldn't be afraid to say that total openness and intimacy is what we should experience in the marital act. Vulnerability, even. The culture's problem isn't that it doesn't see the power of eros; we definitely do, at least at first. The problem is that it never becomes anything else.
The picture of Christ's love for the Church in Ephesians 5 has to be an effective one if we are to understand. That's why the feelings and the pleasure are so powerful; when God is trying to say something important, He definitely chooses ways that work. It's an expression of his deep love and fullness. The special shame that comes with sexual sin is precisely because the end that the sin obscures is so good! We Christians are not ashamed of our bodies and what they do; God did that designing. But the Church speaks against anything that takes the gift and makes it an end in itself. When a person does this, they've changed the object of their own affection, and made it themselves. They don't even have another person as that object, limiting as that would be. A sign is not a sign if it stops pointing at something else.
Most of our "sexual culture" if I can call it that glorifies sex and pleasure as ends. Essentially, we're using each other to worship ourselves. And if there is anything good about seeking transcendence in sexual expression as articulated in popular music, at least someone is still aiming for transcendence.
We need grace and instruction to know that we'll never get there via lust, masturbation, pornography, contraception, and the rest. I think even pop stars like George Michael want to give themselves completely; they just don't know how. And if you've experienced some aspect of sex in any way that was pleasurable, it's like a drug. If you don't experience a Love that calls you into deeper communion that transcends the everyday, you might stick with the pleasure. I don't blame you. Pleasure is awesome.
I'm barely scratching the surface here, I know. In one stand-up routine, Bill Cosby recounted his wife's academic credentials, that she was excellent but not exceptional. Like her, I'm giving "an 85 answer." I'm that guy. If you need a better articulation, read this. [You're just trying to find something redemptive in George Michael because you are a huge fan.--ed.] That may be. But it doesn't mean it's not there to be found.
Sex was/is a big part of what he sang about. And it could be blunt ("I Want Your Sex") and disturbing in many ways ("Father Figure") but even here, it is not without insight. When you listen to this, listen to how he describes what he wants, especially in the first verse. Friends, we shouldn't be afraid to say that total openness and intimacy is what we should experience in the marital act. Vulnerability, even. The culture's problem isn't that it doesn't see the power of eros; we definitely do, at least at first. The problem is that it never becomes anything else.
The picture of Christ's love for the Church in Ephesians 5 has to be an effective one if we are to understand. That's why the feelings and the pleasure are so powerful; when God is trying to say something important, He definitely chooses ways that work. It's an expression of his deep love and fullness. The special shame that comes with sexual sin is precisely because the end that the sin obscures is so good! We Christians are not ashamed of our bodies and what they do; God did that designing. But the Church speaks against anything that takes the gift and makes it an end in itself. When a person does this, they've changed the object of their own affection, and made it themselves. They don't even have another person as that object, limiting as that would be. A sign is not a sign if it stops pointing at something else.
Most of our "sexual culture" if I can call it that glorifies sex and pleasure as ends. Essentially, we're using each other to worship ourselves. And if there is anything good about seeking transcendence in sexual expression as articulated in popular music, at least someone is still aiming for transcendence.
We need grace and instruction to know that we'll never get there via lust, masturbation, pornography, contraception, and the rest. I think even pop stars like George Michael want to give themselves completely; they just don't know how. And if you've experienced some aspect of sex in any way that was pleasurable, it's like a drug. If you don't experience a Love that calls you into deeper communion that transcends the everyday, you might stick with the pleasure. I don't blame you. Pleasure is awesome.
I'm barely scratching the surface here, I know. In one stand-up routine, Bill Cosby recounted his wife's academic credentials, that she was excellent but not exceptional. Like her, I'm giving "an 85 answer." I'm that guy. If you need a better articulation, read this. [You're just trying to find something redemptive in George Michael because you are a huge fan.--ed.] That may be. But it doesn't mean it's not there to be found.
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