Marvin Gaye | Wayfarer

Egypt will become a desolate wasteland. Then they will know that I am the Lord. “‘Because you said, ‘The Nile is mine; I made it….'” Ezekiel 29:9 (NIV)

Just last week I read a story about a legal dispute in which recording artists Pharrell Williams and Robin Thicke were sued by the family of Marvin Gaye. The family of the late soul legend claimed that Williams and Thicke stole elements of their father’s copyrighted song Got to Give it Up for their song Blurred Lines. In the end, a jury awarded the Gaye family $7.4 million dollars.

Copyrights are a big deal. When a book is written, a song produced, or a movie is distributed there are laws designed to protect the writers, artists, and producers. In our internet age in which things can be produced and distributed across the globe with a click, disputes over who created something and who has the rights to this or that get messy. The legalities get even messier when you include individuals and their lawyers from different nations.

I thought of this as I read this morning’s chapter in which God accuses Egypt of spiritual copyright infringement. The Egyptian pharaohs had a long history of claiming themselves to be deities. To claim that you were a god was a common way for ancient rulers to elevate themselves as authorities over their constituents. In his proud claim of divinity, it seems that Pharaoh took credit for creating the Nile. Creator God took note of the copyright infringement and the next couple of chapters stand as His summary judgement.

It’s easy to think of Pharaoh’s pride as a relic of ancient monarchs. I have observed, however, that we live in a scientific, techno-industrial age in which God is summarily dismissed as non-existent. We are asked, instead, to place our faith in scientific theories presented as indisputable truth. In the absence of an almighty God before whom we are to be humble, we are free to feel a sense of creative pride in the babies we make and genetically engineer in our laboratory. We are free to take personal responsibility and/or credit for healing disease, being a well-spring of hope, or bringing salvation in various forms to people, relationships, our environment, city, region, state, nation, planet, or universe.

I often wonder if we haven’t simply engineered a more subtle and spiritually insidious form of Pharaoh’s ancient copyright infringement.

Chapter-a-Day Genesis 24

And Isaac brought Rebekah into his mother Sarah’s tent, and she became his wife. He loved her deeply, and she was a special comfort to him after the death of his mother. Genesis 24:67 (NLT)

Back when I was in high school, one of our youth leaders stood before the youth group on a Wednesday night and railed angrily against the number one song on the Billboard charts at that time: Sexual Healing by Marvin Gaye. She ranted and raved about how terrible of a song it was and what a lie it was to think that sex was the vehicle for any kind of healing. I look back on her fire and brimstone lecture and quietly shake my head with sadness. While I agree that sexual relationships that are out of bounds can be destructive, I also have learned that ol’ Marvin had a point. I’ve experienced the healing properties of a healthy sexual relationship and that’s a good thing.

One of the honest struggles I have with contemporary Christian culture and the organized church is what I would characterize as “limited conversation.” There are certain subjects and topics that we just don’t talk about. There are topics considered at best inappropriate and at worst downright sinful. At the top of the list of limited conversations is the topic of sex, which I’ve observed is generally constrained in Christian circles to the discussion of prohibited sexual activities/practices, conviction of sexual sin and whispered gossip about who is rumored to have done what with whom.

I find this limited conversation about sex very sad and very unhealthy. Sex plays such a huge role in our lives and relationships. I suppose one reason we tend to focus on the negative aspects of sex is because when sex bleeds out of bounds the wounds it creates for spirit, mind, body and relationship can be devastating. But what we don’t talk about is that the opposite is also true. When husband and wife enjoy a healthy, active sex life the benefits to spirit, mind, body and relationship are enormous.

I can’t speak for others. I can only speak for myself. I have experienced the consequences of both unhealthy and healthy sexual relationships. I find the healing properties of a healthy sexual relationship to be so rich and potent that I want to talk about it. The truth of the matter is that there is both a physiological and spiritual alignment that takes place when I make love to my wife that calms the spirit, soothes the soul, and gives rest and refreshment to the body. There are times when life seems somehow out of whack, but in the sweet afterglow of sex I feel like I’ve just had a spiritual and emotional chiropractic adjustment. Things are back in line and all is right with the world.

What a beautiful description of Isaac and Rebekah’s relationship in today’s chapter. What a beautiful start to their life together. He takes Rebekah into his mother’s tent (the mother who had died, the mother he was deeply grieving) and she became his wife (fyi: they had sex) and she was a special comfort to him after the death of his mother. The healing virtues of Rebekah’s love and love making comforted Isaac and his life found restored alignment.

I believe that more open and honest conversation about healthy, active sexual relationship would lead to more husbands and wives experiencing the fullness of it. How wonderful it would be for more people to experience the healing properties of the sexual relationship rather than it becoming an infected wound within their marriage.