Love sick or sick of love?

The following is not my intellectual property, for possessing any amount of such requires a measure of intelligence. This rant is simply my overzealous extrapolations of this past Sunday’s lesson from preacher and servant, Mark Smith:

Tamar was a respectable woman. She was a beloved daughter of King David, and was valued not only for her nobility but also for her chaste temperament. For Tamar’s purity and innocence, she was adorned with garments that the text describes as “ornate” or “many colored.” I’m certain that many are familiar with the destiny of a more prominent Biblical character that possessed a “coat of many colors,” and so we need not strain our minds to assume hardships were to ensue.

Tamar had a brother (technically a half-brother) named Amnon whose feelings for his sister lied outside the realm of acceptability, and he recognized that no proper union could result from his feelings, and so he plotted. I’ll spare you the details of the plot and the deviousness through which the schemes were carried out, but because of one man’s lust, Tamar’s chastity was tainted.

I’ve now arrived to the crux of the passage and where my tirade may begin. Many ancient (and some modern) societies practiced active polygamy, and though I am not calling David’s character into question, he did have a son who actively participated. These polygamist societies spoil and pervert women’s worth and destroy any credibility for men. The naïve banter of some of my contemporaries may claim that we in America have resolved the strange belief, but I would say only in the strictest of senses. I say that the same principles are alive and well on college campuses throughout the country. Brother Mark Smith aptly stated that college campuses are societies of “soft polygamy.” In this quasi-polygamist society, there exist two congregations, those I’d like to call the more mature who date to find a mate for life, and the “hook-up” culture activists.  The “hook-up” culture does not offer several partners like polygamy stipulates, but in a sense doesn’t it? Certain demographics (whose names and organizations I shall not include) are well known for these tendencies, and these so-called adults demean not only themselves but those with whom they interact. Not only does this society stigmatize college campuses, but what hurts me most is that it also stigmatizes love in itself. The transgressive behaviors ruin love for the culture’s beneficiaries and even for those participating in the former category. Kids reduce love from this deep and (in the literal sense) awesome connection, to a shallow, physical perversion of God’s intentions. What’s even more damaging is that it is an appealing society, so those looking for true love will be left wanting. One true love is becoming an endangered species.

From my jumbled, scattered, and yet pointed remarks, you may be able to surmise in which tribe I claim citizenship, but despite my allegiances, I would like to apologize to all of those who’ve been hurt by this society, and to all those who have discredited love, I say keep your heads up. Lastly, for everyone else whom this article has no affect on, I ask to remember two things: 1) The tomb is empty 2) God is faithful.