For the first time on the blog I will be talking about a topic that I have not broached in the past.  I guess I have avoided discussing this important issue because so many others have discussed it on their blogs as of late.  However, I have come to realize that even though it may seem redundant to talk about it, my silence on the issue may lead others to think that I am just fine with it continuing on in society, when in fact I am not.

So here it is for the record.

Rape is not right.

What is rape exactly?  One might ask.

Dictionary.com defines rape as the following:

“But it’s just guys having a little fun!  They’re just expressing themselves.  The girls will get over it.” one might say,

As a man, this kind of thinking bothers me.

First of all, rape always has physical and mental consequences, no matter what your belief system, any unwanted touching is grounds for harassment, which is just as bad.   What kind of power does a man gain from touching perhaps many women in ways they do not want to be touched.  This does not strike me as a power move.  It strikes me as the fact that this man in question lacks self control.  We do not need to bend to every desire we have.  We must fight against some of them.  Women were not solely made so a man could do whatever he wants to her.  That’s not the way it’s supposed to go.

You say you serve God who is all powerful.  If rape is so evil, why can’t He seem do anything about it?

God hates rape, along with all other forms of sin.  In Genesis 20 you can read an interesting account of how He did indeed do something about it.

Here it is so you don’t have to ever so quickly look it up.

Genesis 20:1-7 New International Version (NIV)

Abraham and Abimelek

Now Abraham moved on from there into the region of the Negev and lived between Kadesh and Shur. For a while he stayed in Gerar, ² and there Abraham said of his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.” Then Abimelek king of Gerar sent for Sarah and took her.

³ But God came to Abimelek in a dream one night and said to him, “You are as good as dead because of the woman you have taken; she is a married woman.”

⁴ Now Abimelek had not gone near her, so he said, “Lord, will you destroy an innocent nation? ⁵ Did he not say to me, ‘She is my sister,’ and didn’t she also say, ‘He is my brother’? I have done this with a clear conscience and clean hands.”

⁶ Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know you did this with a clear conscience, and so I have kept you from sinning against me. That is why I did not let you touch her. ⁷ Now return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you will live. But if you do not return her, you may be sure that you and all who belong to you will die.”

There are other examples too, but this is the first one that came to mind.

Sex is a good gift from God reserved for married couples.  Rape ruins the goodness of this gift.  God had severe consequences in mind for Abimelek for taking Sarah in order to have his own way with her.

This is not the way God wants men to act toward women.  We are to be self controlled.  This involves physically turning our thoughts and actions away from lust.  Women are not toys to entertain us.  We need to treat women with dignity and respect.  Do we really like having a world where a woman cannot trust a man ever, where at every street corner and alleyway she may be attacked in order to satisfy a random man’s supposed “need” for sex and unwanted touching?

It doesn’t take much to treat someone like a human. Men, don’t you want women to be able to trust you and not be afraid?

We can change all of this.

The main way God likes to accomplish His will today is through his own people.  Now we are the ones who get to do something about it.  Rape victims need our compassion, mercy, and grace.  They need to know what it is to truly be loved, encouraged, and cared for.

The same selfishness that drives rape is the same selfishness that drives the senseless murder of unborn, but still, babies in order for their organs to be harvested before they’ve had a chance to use them.  When we allow for this by not talking about it and avoiding the issue, we kill off the potential that comes with a new generation.   They call it abortion to make themselves feel better but it doesn’t change what is actually happening.

God says in Exodus 20:13  “You shall not murder.” Simple as that.

For a generation that says we support women’s rights, we’re not actually doing a good job of it as a society.

We need to speak the truth in love, and sometimes that makes it hard to hear, to those who don’t understand so that they may know.

Innocent blood is on our hands if we stay silent.

There is forgiveness for all sin through Jesus Christ, but that does not mean we should keep sinning in order to take advantage of it.  We need to live trustworthy lives and stand up in the face of evil.  If we do what we know is good and right in the eyes of God, we will want to sin less.

I want to end with this scripture from Micah 6:8

He has told you, O mortal, what is good;
    and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
    and to walk humbly with your God

It’s interesting that doing justice is first in that list.  There’s definitely a reason for that.