Freedom to be sexually active without the fear of getting pregnant was a new dimension for women when “the pill” was legalized for unmarried women in the late 1960’s. There was a new freedom introduced to young men as well, freedom of responsibility. When an unexpected pregnancy did happen, instead of taking responsibility as a man, fingers were often pointed at the woman for not taking “the pill” – Memories of Adam in the Garden come to mind, “The woman You put here with me …” (Genesis 3:12)
Many have been lured into sexual bondage under the guise of ‘freedom’. In his article, ‘The Pill: Did it cause the sexual revolution?’ Glenn Stanton makes the case that it did contribute to it. The Pill (along with corresponding legal and cultural developments) made the separation between sexuality and the possibility of babies nearly an inalienable right. The ‘freedom’ to be sexually active and virtually guaranteed of not becoming pregnant had the effect of making a couple feel cheated when an unexpected pregnancy did happen. Counterfeit freedom is grounded in selfish desires.
“Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” – Matthew 4:1-3. Being a slave to sin is not a good place to be. In His word to Cain, God said, “And if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it.” (Gen.4:7). Cain failed to master it. Sin mastered him and he proceeded to murder his brother in a fit of anger. Today, we have the same choice Cain did – to master sin or let it master us because the Son has set us free by obeying His Father all the way to the point of death on the cross. In the power of the risen Christ and indwelling of the Holy Spirit, we can claim true freedom in relationship with Jesus the Christ!
Writing on the impact of the Pill, Al Mohler says the “severing of this relationship [between sex and childbearing] represents a quantum change in human life and relationships, not to mention morality.” Glenn Stanton elaborates that this “iron curtain” between sex and the possibility of babies had the unintended consequence of dramatically boosting the rate of abortion, which spiked dramatically around 1968-70, well before 1973’s Roe v Wade. This was because of the growing sense of having a “right not to be pregnant” if a sexually active couple did not want to be. Man’s counterfeit freedom perverts the true freedom in God’s design for sex, marriage and family.
Prayer guide: Thank You Lord for the boundaries Your word provides. Forgive me for stumbling back to Genesis at times and being passive when the evil one deceives. There is only one kind of freedom and that is in You Lord. Your design for man and woman, marriage and family is perfect. Help me embrace freedom in You to the full. In Your name, I will rebuke counterfeit freedom that the world promotes and stand strong as the man, husband and father You call me to be, that my family needs. Amen.
A faithful father rebukes counterfeit freedom in the name of Jesus the Christ.
