Treating eachother as People, not Objects

Dangers of a Sexualized World.

We have been talking about identity all year, how you are made to relationship with Jesus and how he is shaping who you are still becoming as you grow up.

However to steer into our ideneitiy with Jesus there is always different ways the world shows who they are as their idenitity and tonight we are dipping into sex and the idea of having a idenitiy that is formed around sex.

See the modern day world has put such a large ownership about sexual identity and is has change the way people interact and are known in public. People of the world have started to make their sexual identity either that be their gender or their preference become everything they are.

Thats just not right, and as we talk about this tonight I want to start with saying that people were never made to be seekers of sex. The way the world sees it now is as a transactional event not as God has intented it, and this a comes because of the way we look at each other, Let me read what Jesus says on the Sermon on the Mount;

Matthew 5:27–30 NIV

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.

Now does Jesus actually call us to cut of our hands or blind ourselves… no, he is not. Rather he is calling for us to put a barrier inbetween us and sinful action. So as he talks about Sex or even the action of sexualizing someone we need to talk about how that looks.

See Jesus stated “if you even look at someone with lust, then you already committed that sin”

But why would he say that?

Jesus is speaking about simple looking at some, wanting something that is not allowed, however in this mindset Jesus implies the understanding of property as he refrences back to Exodus and the desire to covet others belongings.

Now this would mainly make us think about peoples homes, cars, posessions but this was also to include people.

Jesus is suggesting that even looking at someone as they are not a person but a object or a transaction is sinful.

So if he suggests that looking at another person with just intention to have sex or viewing them as a sexual being is a sinful activity,

This goes to the point of Lusting over someone or even viewing Pornography. Both of which are dangerous things especially if they go un checked.

So Jesus tells us that we need to chop off our arms and blind ourselves. Put barriers that prohibit or defend against the usages of using pornographic sites/ viewing others as objects in our day to days.

What does this look like in a way that is real, something that can be done.

For the usages of Pornography:

it looks like: putting blockers on devices that stop that kind of content, having it set up with a password that someone else only knows

For Sex is could be:

putting your phone in the kitchen or living room at night as that is a huge gateway to a sexualized world.

Even group dating if you are at that stage or letting people know where you are/ what you are doing as a accountablilty.

Now I want you to know that Sex is not Evil, rather its just a sinful activity for those outside of a marriage, since God created it to be that 1 man and 1 woman would get married and that would be a symbol of that committed marriage.

However its good to know that but more importantly through this whole night I want you to hear one thing louder then the rest.

You need to respect people in the way you look at them. Do you see them as people or as objects.

Again I have been talking about how the world has this idea of Sex as a transaction. That people are objects to be used and that is not true, this idea comes so evidently through the usages of pornography becuase its just glorifies the idea of people being objects not people.

You cannot treat someone as a object in anyway but you can’t look at someone as a sexual object.

All in all you have to treat each other with respect which is where we will land and talk about in small groups.

Philippians 4:8 NIV

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

so rather instead of thinking about what is wrong, to think about what is right.

When we see the goodness in each other we start to respect them with that same goodness we see with in them.

think things that are praise worthy instead of things that lead to evil, because the power of your mind is so much greater. You have such good things to give to this world but that all depends on how you see it.

If you think about such great things you will give to the wrold your greatest thoughts and when it comes to showing others that love and respect you must begin to show others how you see them as a person before anything else.

See this is a big thing that I learned about being a Christian, a Pastor and also someone who wants all people to know and love Jesus.

I cannot see them as a person that needs to be more like or less like. They are a person through the ups and downs however I need to show them that I do not see them as a tool or a object or a project but rather the complex being that is a real life person.

With real feelings of joy and sorrow,

With real memories

That are incredible smart and wise

not something to use or abuse to get what I want,

All in all there will be people in your life, there is no doubt about that. How will you treat them? will you respect the other gender when you start dating? I will tell you now that respecting your future partner start with how you treat the other gender right now.

If you have ever felt disrespected by the other gender, how did it feel?

What does objectifying someone mean? How is it dangerous for 1. others? 2. yourself?

What is a good way to practice respecting the other Gender?

Lets as a group make a slogan/tagline to hold each other accountable when it comes to treating the other gender with respect.