When people reduce God’s plan of love and marriage to a mere sexual experience people become objects to be used by others for their own personal pleasures. When people become objects, violent behavior naturally follows. Jackman says, “A society that reduces love to lust will not long have any residual respect for human life. Other people become mere objects. Human life is expendable and cheap…”
In Judges Chapters 19 and 20 we see the consequences of objectifying human life. Society runs rampant with immorality and violence of the most unspeakable kind.
Paul describes what happens to people in the end if they continue down this path. In 2 Timothy 3:1-4, he writes, “But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God…”
The Great Commandment calls us to “Love God” with our whole heart, soul, mind and strength. The second commandment addresses our responsibility to each other, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” It seems that when we fail to give that kind of devotion to God and others, we give it to ourselves and become what Paul says, “Lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.”
No one is standing still. We’re either on the path growing in our love for God and others, or were on the path growing in our love for ourselves.