DAY 82
Faith in the Midst of a Pandemic
A series of daily reflections for people of fait
by Rev. Robert Bayley, Interim Pastor
Patuxent Presbyterian Church, California, Maryland
WEEK TWELVE: THURSDAY 4 JUNE 2020
Pornography’s ‘Demonic Deal’
Industry Targets the Isolated Amid Coronavirus
“While many Americans are
coping with the fear and uncertainty of the global coronavirus pandemic, the
pornography industry has responded by providing free access to content – an
offer that has drawn harsh criticism from leaders of the fight against sexual
exploitation. Global porn consumption rates have gone up significantly with
most people confined to their homes.” - Recent newspaper article by the same
title.
Online pornography is
simply the latest iteration of the sexually explicit drawings placed by the
sexually addicted on the walls of homes in ancient Pompeii, buried under and
preserved by the volcanic ash spewed out by Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. The
dynamics of addictions are secondary to whatever a person is addicted. But
sexual addiction is unique because it strikes at the core of the Imago Dei, the
image of God, in which He created human beings as male and female. Lust is the
God-created capacity for desire shifted from desiring the Creator to desiring
the created. “For it is God’s will that you should be holy, that you should
avoid sexual immorality.” - 1 Thessalonians 4:3. If you desire His will for
you in this area of your life, He will meet you there.
Sexaholics Anonymous: sa.org, 1.866.424.8777
Reflective question: Are you, or is someone you know, addicted to
pornography? Please call the number above.
Reflective Scripture: 1 Cor.
6:13 “The body is not meant for sexual immorality but for the Lord.”
Reflective hymn:
“O God Who Made Us in Your
Image” – Robert Bayley (1942- )
Hymn tune: O Dass Ich Tausend – Johann Konig 1738
1.
O God, who made
us in your image, as male and female formed our frame,
And
in us placed a sexual likeness, that we should glorify your name.
That
image long has broken been, confusion reigns through Adam’s sin,
as
we define identity.
2.
The sexual images
around us are filled with broken truths and lies.
Pornography
now steals your image, and sex our culture deifies.
Desire
for you has turned to lust, and bound’ries moved we cannot trust,
in
this terrain we’ve lost our way.
3.
O Lord, ‘twas in
your Incarnation that sexuality you bore;
And
climbing Calvary’s cross redeemed it, in us your Image to restore.
Now
male and female help us be, your sexual likeness healed and free,
that
we might glorify your name.
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