“Do not defile yourselves in any of these ways, for the people I am driving out before you have defiled themselves in all these ways. Because the entire land has become defiled, I am punishing the people who live there. I will cause the land to vomit them out.”

Leviticus 18:24-25 (NLT)

We have become a nation that esteems individual rights to an extreme. We stop considering how our actions affect others. Anybody with more than one child knows that individual freedoms must be denied for people to get along. Two children cannot both play with the same toy at the same time. They must be taught to deny themselves, control their behavior, and learn to share.

The same is true with adults. We may not fight over a certain toy, but we often demand our own way. God’s laws restrict individual behavior for the good of everyone. This is why any group of people must have rules to survive.

It is no different in the realm of sexuality. What we do in private affects others. There are certain practices that God calls “abominations”. The Hebrew word means “detestable thing”. Child sacrifice, homosexuality, and bestiality were all considered “abominations” (Leviticus 18:21-23). Not only did these activities defile the people who practiced them, but the entire society suffered as a result. God said the very land vomited out its former inhabitants (Canaanites) because they practiced these things. Not only are these practices unsafe for individuals, but the entire nation will suffer if they are permitted. The land actually expels the people who practice them. It happened to the Canaanites. It happened to the Israelites (who ignored God’s warnings). It could happen to us.

We all have the capability of controlling our behavior. We can deny ourselves and consider the good of everyone. Think of how many marriages could have been saved and families that could have remained united if both partners had confined their sexual activities to their marriage. We can say no to those things that are unhealthy and even harmful to us and to others. God does not give us a commandment but that He is also willing to help us if we ask Him. He is compassionate and slow to anger, but He is also just and worthy to be feared. We may not be able to change an entire society, but we can change ourselves.

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