The world sees people as objects to be used for the gratification of others. Pornography and sexually explicit content turn nakedness into a commodity to sell with little to no regard for the naked person. Marketers know that “sex sells” so they pursue money, power, and fame by exploiting the nakedness of others. Even immodesty seeks the glory and attention of self over and above the love and service of others. If you are married, your nakedness serves your spouse.

Many things just aren’t made like they used to be. Many manufacturers have cheapened products by substandard design and quality control. Several years ago, we purchased a tiny remote control car for our youngest son for his birthday, and within a day or two, it malfunctioned. We returned it and purchased a different car, an upgrade, for a few more dollars. What a fun little car. It worked great until the boys launched it off our basement steps and the shocks broke. When I examined the now broken fun little car, I saw how cheaply the shocks were attached. The RC car I had as a kid was built tougher. We expect more from many products and are often disappointed because they haven’t been made to last. 

Our culture has cheapened marriage and sex in numerous ways. Think about our culture’s fascination with pornography, sexually explicit content in mass media, widespread acceptance of hookups, and co-habitation. Think about the “redefinition” of marriage, the confusion about gender, and the progression of LGBTQIA+ lifestyles from social shame to social celebration in America. Marriage and sex have been cheapened in numerous ways because, similar to manufacturing today, people have lost sight of the essential and quality components that go into a God-glorifying and mutually beneficial marriage and sex life. As in manufacturing, the cost is just too high for quality.

Our culture has lost touch with reality and fails to see and understand how God intends marriage and sex to be for their good. People think more about how their carnal or fleshly or selfish desires can be indulged and gratified than about how they can glorify God and love others, namely their spouse, in and through their marriage covenant and sexual expression, and this has left many people with more insecurity, anxiety, depression, doubt, and the like. Cheap has consequences.

Genesis 2:20 says that among the animals there was no suitable helper found for Adam. So no, your dog should not be your best friend, and if it is, something is wrong. Adam was alone. He had no complementary companion. So, the Lord God gave Adam deep sleep, removed one of his ribs, and skillfully fashioned a beautiful counterpart that suited and complemented Adam. God made, from the flesh of the man, a woman. God made her uniquely and exclusively fit for him. Think about all that the word “fit” means. She was his helper, his friend, his lover, his wife, and more.

In a grand wedding ceremony, God brought the woman to Adam as a father brings his daughter to the groom, and Adam responded, “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man” (Gen. 2:23). Adam bestowed on her the noble name of woman.

Many people would be less confused about marriage and sex if they simply believed Genesis 1-2.

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