Today is episode 1000. This should be a little out of the ordinary, and it is. Today, we are faced with a surprisingly common phenomenon, made very convenient by smartphone technology. Of course, we’re talking about sending naked selfies. This is part of a growing discussion in our culture. I recently met with a deputy principal at a large public high school here in the suburbs of Minneapolis, to talk about smartphones and teens. He told me something I had written: “In the last year, how many children have surprised me?children would never suspect that they have nude photos on their mobile phones, private photos sent between them and a boyfriend or girlfriend. In my work, I look at several cell phones, and when I come across these photos, I’m just surprised. For me, when it comes to high school students and their smartphones, is this the most surprising trend I see right now?
Is this part of a much larger phenomenon, especially among young men, who send nude images to girls absurdly?A disturbing new practice well documented by journalist Nancy Jo Sales in her news book: American Girls: Social Media and the Secret Lives of Teens. It is a disturbing book and also an awakening for any parent with a girl who has a smartphone.
- I say all this to present today’s question.
- Which comes from a 20-year-old listener named Lily.
- She writes: “Dear Pastor John.
- I am currently in a long-distance relationship with a Christian.
- He recently asked me to send him my nude photos and I felt compelled to do so.
- Now I regret this decision.
- What would you say to young single Christians who are tempted to make the same mistake?.
Do I believe that I have a good biblical authority to say, in the name of God, to each of your children, men and women, never to ask to see someone naked except their spouse, and to never show their nakedness for erotic reasons or sexual? ? except for medical reasons? With the exception of your spouse, I want to say that it should not be done in person or through pictures, and I will give you seven reasons why I believe that the authority of God supports me in saying that, and I hope that none of you who will listen to me do so. do that or do it again.
1. When God created man and woman, it is said in Genesis 2:25: “Now men and women were naked and not ashamed. “This guiltless and shameless existence came to an end when Adam and Eve sinned and their first experience after sin was guilt, remorse, and shame. And so, in Genesis 3. 7, it is said, “Then the eyes of the two opened; and, realizing that they were naked, they sewed fig leaves and made leashes. pity of them in Genesis 3:21, where it is said, “The Lord God made furs for Adam and his wife, and dressed them. “
God’s plan to eliminate this shame is the sacred relationship of marriage, just as marriage is the reversal of many elements of the curse. The freedom we’re going to discover isn’t on stage: we’re going to get naked in the movies and on stage. It’s not in a strip club. It’s not in front of boyfriends or girlfriends. It’s not on the screen of our mobile phones. It is in the deep respect, love and security of a covenant relationship called marriage. This is where people with the most common appearances can free themselves from shame. That’s what love does.
Outside of this relationship, God treats nudity as one of the most vivid forms of divine judgment. Isaiah 47. 3 says: “Your shame shall be discovered, and thy oprobrium shall be seen; I’m going to get even and not forgive anyone?Or Lamentations 1. 8: “Jerusalem has sinned gravely; then it got disgusting; all who honored her despised her, for they saw her nudity; Does she moan and back with shame, too?Ezekiel 16. 37: “Behold, I will gather all thy lovers, whom ye have delighted, and all that ye loved, with all that ye hate; Will I gather them everywhere against you and discover your shame in front of them, so that all may see them?In other words, nudity in the marriage covenant is a beautiful and exciting thing for God’s children. But nudity outside that relationship is a manifestation of divine judgment, although as a nation, the media, the film industry, and some famous stars have taught us to see nudity as a form of power, distinction, and fame. “They boast of their shame,” says the Bible (Philippians 3:19). This is the first reason.
2. Following this understanding of nudity and clothing, the Apostle Paul said, “Similarly, that women, in decent clothing, behave modestly and common sense?How is it appropriate for women who claim to be pious?(1 Timothy 2: 9). Now, these three words? Kosmio, decent; ajdous, modesty; S?Phrosun? S, common sense? Interestingly, they have the connotation of a thoughtful and serious use of a woman’s mind about how to make her clothes talk about Every woman should ask he or she this question: how do I use and what do I not use speaks of my mercy?Clothing is not an indifferent subject in God’s economy. He speaks of God’s vision of a woman (or a man), his own commitments to God, his joy in God, and his freedom to manipulate men to obtain what they want. That’s the second reason.
Paul assumes in 1 Corinthians 12:23-24 that we take special care in covering the most intimate parts of our bodies, he says that members who are not honest with us have a special honor, but our noble members do not need it. But did God coordinate the body, giving much more honor to the one who had the least?This is part of how God helped us live with the consequences of falling into this sinful world.
4. Paul said to Timothy and implicitly to the other children, “Do not rebuke the old man; rather, she exhorts him like a father; do young people, as brothers, treat young people like brothers?”older women, like mothers. ” Here’s the key: treating girls, like sisters, with all purity?(1 Timothy 5. 1-2). Now, what does that mean? Treat young women as sisters, with all purity. This means that, until a man marries, he must treat his sister, his real sister, well, and dictate the purity of his behavior towards his girlfriend. Another way to put it would be: to see the temptation to ask for nude photos in the same way you would see the temptation of incest.
5. Si a man asks a single woman to show her body, he is by definition unworthy of her: unworthy of her trust, affection and alliance, the request she makes, in herself, should be enough for the woman to say goodbye. What I meant. I mean it. Come on, women, if a woman thinks it’s normal male Christian behavior, it’s not. He’s sick. This means that he ignores pity and that when he gets tired of you before or after the wedding, he will feel free to ask the other to undress you, and if he can’t get it personally, he will do it on the Internet. And you told her you were fine, because you cooperated with that before the wedding, not just at the wedding. Then set that up. If you ask, it’s unworthy. Finished.
6. In the Song of Songs, where there is joy in nudity between a married man and a woman, it is said again: “I conjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, by the gazelles and deer in the fields, that you may not wake up or awaken love, until he will?(See 2. 7, see also 3. 5, 8. 4). Sexually erotic photos do exactly what we shouldn’t do. They awaken a desire that cannot be legitimately satisfied, which means they will lead to masturbation. or fornication.
I don’t know what’s going through a woman’s head, but I can’t think it’s a distorted notion of sexuality when a woman is pleased to help a man behave like a thirteen-year-old in his masturbation. kind of man she wants?
7. Et finally, the seventh reason, the least important reason. This is the least important reason and may be the most attractive. It’s almost certain that those photos will be made public sooner or later, and you’ll find out for yourself what God wanted. by bringing this trial.
So, with God’s authority, I think I can tell men and women: don’t ask for and don’t give such images.