January 14, 2015
Philippians 4:13
(All scripture is from the New King James Version unless otherwise indicated.)
Again as suggested in the last blog, this time we might called it What Do I Do With Myself – A Sinner? Today I will deal with how someone can handle homosexuality in their life if the Holy Spirit has convicted them that it is wrong before God.
I have heard the arguments that “I was born this way,” as opposed to such a tendency being learned. The logic that one was born with the bent toward being gay or lesbian seems to be the strong argument of the two in favor of pursuing homosexuality. This is based on the thinking that if it is something learned in our experience, then it can be unlearned. I really do not think it matters whether being a homosexual is hardwired in the genes or is a learned thing! And here is the basis for my thinking:
I am (or was) an alcoholic – a binge alcoholic. I say ‘was’ because I no longer have even the temptation to drink! I had my first alcoholic beverage at the age of twelve, and by the time I was 15, I could drink most people under the table! It seems that there is something in my gene makeup that predisposes me to getting hooked on alcohol! Another example from my life: My paternal grandfather was quite a ladies’ man, as was my father. I have that same tendency. How can that be hardwired into my being? It says in the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20:5, “…the iniquity of the fathers [is visited] on the children to the third and fourth generation….” Now I don’t know about the generations before my paternal grandfather – and I never even knew him – but in a spiritual way, the sins of generations before seem to be somehow ‘wired in’ to the makeup of succeeding generations!
Let me give one more illustration. I was in the occult for about four years. I was not into ‘the dark side’ of the occult, but nevertheless – and before God – it was not something good! I was heavily into spiritism (communication with the dead), ouija boards, automatic writing, even studying and practicing to become a trance medium. I attended – and even led – many seances, studied hypnotism and used it in occult experiments, and I delved deeply into astrology. I practiced what is referred to as ‘white magic,’ although all magic has a very dark side before God! What I did not know until well after my immersion into the occult was that my mother, 30 years before, had practiced table-tapping as a means of communicating with the deceased. And her mother, whom I never knew, was a type of trance medium! My mother also told me she had a great aunt who – by my mother’s description – was a practicing witch! She was said to sleep with a live black widow spider on her pillow!
So maybe I came into my interest and practice of the occult ‘legally,’ the sins of my mother, and my grandmother, in this case, being visited upon me!
What has all this got to do with the gay and lesbian issue? Well, you might say I was born with the predilection toward the occult, toward being a womanizer, and toward becoming an alcoholic! Does it give me the right to practice such things because I was ‘born that way’? What would have happened to my marriage to my wonderful wife of 46 years if I had just given in to my hardwired desires? What would my life be like if I was even still alive after 56 years of being an alcoholic? Where would I be spiritually if I had followed my apparently ‘natural inclinations’ toward the occult?
The point is that we all have tendencies that seem to lead us in certain directions! We all have things against which we struggle! We all seems to experience what Saint Paul called “…a thorn in the flesh…” (II Corinthians 12:7) – sometimes more than one!. In order to live our lives as we should before God and man, there are some things we just are not allowed to do! There are some things – whether inborn or learned – from which we must abstain!
Is it a struggle for me not to drink, or run after women (in my case I was hooked for years on pornography after being introduced to it at age 14 by my assistant scoutmaster) or pursue my occultic leanings? Not any more! I have learned that the longer I abstained from something, the easier it got – even if that something had a solid hold on me! Also, I accomplished these victories by God’s power! It says in Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” And the Lord told us in John 8:32, 34and 36:
Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is the slave of sin….[But]
you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free….Therefore if
the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.
“…whoever commits sin is the slave of sin.” Enslavement to any action outside of God’s blessing is not good for anyone! And there is something that God has designed concerning offering your body to another: “…the two shall become one….” (Matthew 19:5). There is a close bonding when such actions take place. It was meant in God’s sight to be for a man and a woman in marriage. Anything else will enslave us to sin!
But “…if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.” We can have freedom in Jesus Christ to be all that God intends us to be!
There is something else I have found. Those who have studied the issue say that if you practice something for 30 days, it becomes a habit. And if a habit is pursued long enough it becomes something that is just done automatically – it becomes part of you!
It is not easy to change something that is such a deep part of our being. But it can be done! I want to be in God’s favor and blessing. And I hope you do too!