Friendship typically includes mutual enjoyment. We’re not avoiding or merely tolerating each other’s presence, nor are we demanding of each other. And it’s this spirit of friendship that we need to bring into our sexuality as well.
On the one hand, many are prone to repress their sexuality in fear, or, at best, tolerate minimal expressions to relieve tension or make babies. And at the other extreme are those who feel helpless – caving into every sexual desire that emerges.
Befriending our sexuality avoids both of these extremes. To be sure, it’s welcomed and holds an honored place in our story. Its presence is not merely functional and we’re free to enjoy the many delights it offers. We also accept the many ways it influences us and shapes us for the better.
At the same time, this influence doesn’t mean we become enslaved to our sexuality – forced to obey its every whim. The freedom of friendship includes the responsibility to filter its impact on the rest of our life.
Likewise, befriending our sexuality also means we bring it into the light and fully integrate it into the rest of our life with God. We don’t have to keep it secret from him, not that we could if we wanted to. Either way, we don’t have to feel shame or embarrassment, or that we must otherwise keep our spiritual and sexual lives apart from each other. God created us as sexual beings, and so this is all the more reason to befriend the gift he has given us.
We miss the many blessings of our sexuality when we treat it as a nuisance to avoid, an enemy to repress, or a slave master to blindly obey.
In the end, our sexuality is part of God’s good creation. Learn to befriend it and fully enjoy the many ways it enriches your life.
Photo by Candice Picard on Unsplash
