I bet there are people reading this blog simply because of the title! Why are we so obsessed with sex? Everywhere we turn, sex sells. Whether it is in blog posts, advertisements, art galleries, book sales, television ratings, internet searches, sporting events, music, politics or the work place. What is it about us humans and our attraction, our obsession with sex? I was studying Romans 1:24-32 and I came across an idea that really made me think. Sex is linked to worship. Now before you click away, go with me for a second. I believe there is something here, something that we all need to consider.
Genesis 1:26 states: “Then God said, ‘Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all creatures that move along the ground.'” We are created in the image and likeness of God and we have been given dominion over all living things on earth. Yet, we are not God.
Ecclesiastes 3:11 states: “He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.” We have just enough God in us to make us dangerous! We comprehend the existence of God. We even acknowledge the ministry of dominion that we have been given by God. Yet, we are not God.
All of this points to one simple fact: Deep down, we all have a desire to be God. We have a taste of the divine and we like it. Yet, instead of this taste drawing us closer to God, we desire to be the masters of our own lives. As well as masters of the world around us. We have experienced a taste of the divine in our very creation and dominion, and we want more. Understanding this reality, and relating this reality to humanity’s obsession with sex, is where worship comes into the equation.
Worship, simply put, is about our deep down longing to connect with God. Our deeply rooted desire to possess God and for God to possess us. “They will be my people and I will be their God.” (Jeremiah 32:38) Sex, simply put, is about our deep down longing to connect with others. Our deeply rooted desire to possess others and for others to possess us. As humans, created in God’s image, we want to worship, but we also wan to be worshipped.
Because of the very nature of being created in the image of God, we long for a sense of total fulfillment. Yet, we cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end. The result is a desire for a hole to be filled in our lives. Yet, this hole cannot be filled on our own. This hole can only be filled by God. In the absence of us allowing God to fill this hole, we are left with a problem. How can I fill the hole in my life? This hole-filling, this connection with others that we desire, is exactly what we think we are getting when we have sex. When, in actuality, we are merely substituting sex for our deep down desire to worship God. Our deep down desire to possess God and to be possessed by God.
So, why are we so obsessed with sex? Because we have been created in the image of God and we have been given a ministry of dominion. Yet, we have removed the worship of God from the equation of our lives and we are left with a hole. A hole that was always intended to be filled by the worship of God. In this hole we have placed sex. Hoping that in the possession of someone else and someone else’s possession of us, we can fill our hole.