In the OT God told the Israelites not to engage in the same homosexual lusts as the people in the land to which God was sending them. So we know God is against homosexuality. It is certainly possible that some people were born with desires for the wrong sex. To them, it feels natural. Some people were born deaf and to them, it feels natural. One girl in India was born with eight limbs. This was unnatural; it was not the norm for creation. The parents knew difficulty would lie ahead for her, so they had her operated on (successfully). So whether one is born homosexual or not is not the point. The point is, what was God’s natural, original intent for his creation?
When we see his original intent, that man is made for the woman, we can see more clearly how his creation has gone astray. It is God’s intention that we love one another. What if it feels natural for someone to love stealing? That’s not loving one another. That person has strayed from God’s ideal society, no matter whether his love of stealing is from birth or choice.
Whether one lusts for money, things, power, the same sex or different sex, the cure is the same – to be introduced to Jesus Christ and learn to live for him. Over time, one learns the horror of sin and the goodness of God, and will choose to say no to certain desires to live faithfully for God.
People let their desires (such as any sexual desires) get out of hand because they believe they will benefit from them. But when God gets in the person’s life, priorities change. Eternity becomes real. One denies certain desires through self-discipline in this life in order to gain greater rewards in the next life. One may suppress one’s desires and live miserably, or one may suppress the same desires, knowing that one is living a life that God will bless now and will reward forever.
Think of our soldiers fighting in another country. Consider what comforts they are giving up. They are living for what they believe is right. They are ready to lay down their lives for others. They have a sense of mission.
Athletes also give up much in their daily discipline to further their fitness and skill. I would not brand their strenuous activities as fun! A sense of accomplishment, of future reward, drives them to forego many things we take for granted.
I share these example of self-sacrifice to show you that denying one’s desires can still result in a good and meaningful life.
What Do You Think?
a. Children do what’s natural to them. Should adults therefore imitate children?
