Jesus & Sexting

What would Jesus say about sexting?  What would he do, if a parent had come up to him in the 1st century and said, "Lord!  My daughter hast senteth out pictures of her nude form on her cell phone.  If you are willing, make those pictures disappeareth." (King James added for effect.)

Would he have commended them for their faith and done what was asked?  Would he have asked to talk with the young woman and young man involved?

And what would the reaction of the town's people be?  Remember that people then were not as tolerant as they are now.

So when different issues pop up, I find that it's always best to go to the root of that particular issue.  And the root of sexting is sex. Sex is a powerful thing.  It can enhance a relationship in a Godly context but it can also literally destroy lives and  tear families apart.  How many of us know people who's lives have been altered or even ruined because of sexual sin?  Most of us do.

Jesus' response to a woman caught in sexual sin is enlightening.

In John 8 we see a woman that was trapped in a sexual sin and caught by "religious" men in the community.  They were ready to kill her.  They actually threw her at Jesus feet and tried to trap him with the laws of the day.  He didn't respond right away.

Jesus is a funny guy.  I imagine that as he sat there playing in the dirt he was chuckling to himself as the "religious" men grew angrier.  Then he spoke.  And when he did, it changed everything.  That's the thing about Jesus, he really never does what we expect but when he does act; it far exceeds any expectations we might have had.

He asked the men if they had never sinned.  I believe there may have been a little sarcasm there, but I'm not totally sure.  Then as the men walked away, he looked at that young woman and responded with love.  He told her to get up and leave the life she was in.  The implication being to live a better way.

So then, as parents (who are first and foremost Followers of Christ) how are we to respond to something like sexting?  I believe we respond out of love.  We must be willing to do the uncomfortable to show our children that love.  We have to initiate the conversation and be pro-active in monitoring what's on our student's cell phones.  We respond out of love by teaching and showing our kids that they are not an object to be lusted over, but rather a person- a human being- to be respected and treated with kindness.  We respond out of love by modeling Godly values in our own lives and running (1 Cor. 6) from sexual sin. We respond out of love by living Christ with our kids.

Oh...and to answer that question as to how Jesus would have responded to sexting.  I think he would do much of the same.  He probably would have done something we didn't expect; something that would throw us off our guard; something that communicated love.  He would have done something that told those kids that He came to give them life, and that this wasn't it. 

And I think he does that everyday through parents like you and me.

Blessings

Muffin drinking

This morning I'm working from home because our littlest one is sick.  At this very moment he's laying on his little bouncy seat watching Elmo.  He even has his little hands behind his head!  It's all very cute.

It got me to thinking when the last time I just stopped.  It's been awhile.

Yesterday Kendall, our Senior Pastor, talked on living a life of gratitude.  Luke 17 tells us that ten men with leprosy called out to a traveling Jesus for healing.  When he told them what to do to be healed, they did it.  But only one man came back to give praise.  It's an all too familiar story.  Not the healing, but the gratitude.

Just look around you right now.  What do you have that you just forget to see?  Your house?  Your car?  How about your job?  Your kids?  Your school?  When was the last time you were thankful for your shoes or socks or underwear?  Many go with out these things.

That's the problem with our blessings, after a while they can become common place.  We would do well to remember that whether it's manna from heaven or the belt you use to hold your jeans up; all that we have comes from Him.

So today, my plan is to work from home.  But it's also to stop and just be thankful.  How can I not when my son is sitting next to me trying to drink his muffins!

Blessings