Oh glorious sex!

“It’s not fair! Mama never said there’ll be days like this when your body literally screams to be touched, right here, right now in as many ways as can be fathomed by the human imagination. And, she particularly left out the part about the ache going on for days on end till your body becomes one single-minded pulsating organ. Sigh! I must be going mad! All this because a person’s trying to live right or please God? Comon God, there must be an easier way! I’m only 20-something. Are you saying this is going to go on for an indeterminate period of time? Hell no! I’ve run out of distractions, meditation tricks, scriptures, mental and emotional strength. I am very weary and all I want right now is my very own exclusive dick!”

Phew!! A few weeks ago, this tirade was a constant refrain. I kept on thinking…there must be a better way (read easier way). There must be. Recently, I think I finally found something or perhaps more accurately, it found me.

I had been studying Romans Chapters 6 – 8 and it suddenly hit me! The solution may exist after all! For my non-religious folks, I implore you to just bear it out and read through the following verses. They contain the substance of a logical presentation of a solution for dealing with sexual pressure and other controlling appetites.

The desperation, conflicting passions and persistent desire: Romans 7
15 For I do not understand my own actions [I am baffled, bewildered]. I do not practice or accomplish what I wish, but I do the very thing that I loathe [which my moral instinct condemns].
19 For I fail to practice the good deeds I desire to do, but the evil deeds that I do not desire to do are what I am [ever] doing.
24 Unhappy and pitiable and wretched man that I am! Who will release and deliver me from [the shackles of] this body of death?

Glimmer of hope. A realization that things can be different and one can be in control after all: Romans 6
11 Even so consider yourselves also dead to sin and your relation to it broken, but alive to God [living in unbroken fellowship with Him] in Christ Jesus.
12 Let not sin therefore rule as king in your mortal (short-lived, perishable) bodies, to make you yield to its cravings and be subject to its lusts and evil passions.
14 For sin shall not [any longer] exert dominion over you, since now you are not under Law [as slaves], but under grace [as subjects of God's favor and mercy].

The solution. The strength to live and do right: Romans 8
2 For the law of the Spirit of life [which is] in Christ Jesus [the law of our new being] has freed me from the law of sin and of death.
3 For God has done what the Law could not do, [its power] being weakened by the flesh [the entire nature of man without the Holy Spirit]. Sending His own Son in the guise of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, [God] condemned sin in the flesh [[subdued, overcame, deprived it of its power over all who accept that sacrifice],
5 For those who are according to the flesh and are controlled by its unholy desires set their minds on and pursue those things which gratify the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit and are controlled by the desires of the Spirit set their minds on and seek those things which gratify the [Holy] Spirit.
6 Now the mind of the flesh [which is sense and reason without the Holy Spirit] is death [death that comprises all the miseries arising from sin, both here and hereafter]. But the mind of the [Holy] Spirit is life and [soul] peace [both now and forever].
7[That is] because the mind of the flesh [with its carnal thoughts and purposes] is hostile to God, for it does not submit itself to God's Law; indeed it cannot.
8 So then those who are living the life of the flesh [catering to the appetites and impulses of their carnal nature] cannot please or satisfy God, or be acceptable to Him.
9 But you are not living the life of the flesh, you are living the life of the Spirit, if the [Holy] Spirit of God [really] dwells within you [directs and controls you]. But if anyone does not possess the [Holy] Spirit of Christ, he is none of His [he does not belong to Christ, is not truly a child of God].
14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. [Actual translation reads: “mature” sons of God]
26 So too the [Holy] Spirit comes to our aid and bears us up in our weakness; for we do not know what prayer to offer nor how to offer it worthily as we ought, but the Spirit Himself goes to meet our supplication and pleads in our behalf with unspeakable yearnings and groanings too deep for utterance.

Summarily, it is my submission that the Holy Spirit is the answer. He will provide the strength and energy to beat every raging passion that mystifies me, because the truth is those things can’t dominate me unless I let them. But I have to set my thoughts on him and less on the unwholesome stuff I feed my mind. I guess the truism holds sway – “garbage in, garbage out”.

There’s nothing that renews the mind and toughens you mentally like the Word of God. It’s liberating, joyful, surprising, and oh so deep. It is life itself. As I become more mature and my relationship with God grows, he progressively reveals His truths and directs my steps and thoughts. He strengthens me and increases my capacity to handle the pressures of life and perhaps best of all; he fills me with a peace and stillness that is incomparable.

My exploration of this subject is progressive and I’m still thinking and turning it over in my mind. Contributions and better still, insight will be welcome.