I AM A PROSTITUTE. No, this is not a sudden and dramatic admission of my 'out-of-office' activities, but a confession of the reality of my relationship with the Lord. And a reality that I suspect you must admit as well.
The beginning of the book of the prophet Hosea is probably the most unexpected beginning of any book in Scripture. In Hosea 1:2, it says that the Lord commands Hosea to marry a prostitute and to have children with this woman. It seems strange that the Lord, the source of all purity and virtue, would command a human to marry such a woman. But he does so to illustrate the unfaithfulness of the people of Israel. Though he had been utterly faithful, all-merciful, and abundant in blessings, the people of Israel--his CHOSEN people--had become like an unfaithful spouse. Hosea's marriage represents the infidelity of the Israelites to the Lord, but I think this marriage also represents the infidelity of us today.
We may not practice physical prostitution, but our souls have been unfaithful to the Lord, the one who has vowed to love us utterly and completely for all of time. Chapter 62 of Isaiah says "No more shall men call you 'Forsaken' or your land 'Desolate', but you shall be called 'My Delight' and your land 'Espoused'. For the Lord delights in you and makes your land his spouse". As a man vows faithfulness to a woman in the Sacrament of marriage, the Lord has vowed faithfulness to us. And in return, we as Christians, vow to be faithful to him--to love him in the midst of joy or sacrifice, to praise him in sickness and in health, to glorify him all things, and to give our entire hearts, minds, bodies and souls to him alone.
But we are unfaithful spouses. As we hear in James 1:14, "each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire". We have been tempted by the seductive nature of worldly possessions. We have been lured from the arms of the beloved by people and things who promise to make us feel more loved, appreciated, and valued. We have been enticed to believe that our own independence from the Lord will bring fulfillment, but end up being 'broken cisterns that hold no water'. We have been lured away from our ever-faithful Father and have prostituted our souls to our own desires.
We find, though, that the things we thought would bring more love, purpose, and satisfaction instead bring heartache, confusion, anxiety, guilt, fear, and longing. And in that realization, we must say "I will go back to my first husband, for it was better for me then than now" (Hosea 2:9). The Lord's faithfulness 'allures' us and leads us back to him with a desire to repent and return to the love we once experienced.
Today, let us reflect on our own spiritual prostitution. Let us examine where we have allowed ourselves to be enticed by things that lead us away from the Lord. And as we do, may we give thanks for the words in Hosea 2:21-22 in which we read, "I will espouse you to me forever; I will espouse you in righteousness and justice, in love and in mercy. I will espouse you in fidelity and you shall know the Lord". Praise to you, our faithful, merciful Lord.
I'm not so sure I buy the equation infidelity equals prostitution. In prostitution there is receipt of a payment for services rendered. I doubt that a prostitute feels that he or she has "...been lured from the arms of the beloved by people and things who promise to make us feel more loved, appreciated, and valued." For sundry reasons, the prostitute is lured by cash, not a longing to be appreciated.
ReplyDeleteBut I do think that might describe the case in our usual encounter with temptation and sin. The phenomenon of college students "hooking up" certainly demonstrates a longing, but I don't think it necessarily can be termed prostitution, that is, there's no payment involved, unless you really broaden the definition of a "payment".
I see what you're saying for sure. But in the pursuit of money, are prostitutes not exchanging their worth for something they think is more worthwhile? Aren't they being lured away from authentic love in pursuit of cash that they think will bring fulfillment?
ReplyDeleteThis idea of spiritual prostitution means essentially that we have prostitution of the heart--God is our husband and love us, but we are unfaithful and shack up with materialism, pride and fame. We exchange our hearts to receive payment in terms of value, fulfillment, meaning. Does that make any sense?
Think less literally and more of the concept of prostitution--an exchange of something to receive something that is of value.
Ok, but I still think the term "unfaithful", while lacking in shock value, is a better word for the use you intend. In my handy Webster, every definition of the noun "prostitute" includes a reference to money, not just "something of value". Words have meaning. Perhaps that good ol' word "sinner" is the most accurate!
ReplyDeleteMegan, I think this is beautiful! It's shocking and definitely attention grabbing. It maes us think and truly look at the way we are living our lives and how we treat our relationship with God! Our human imperfection will of course interfere our soul's ability to be faithful to God, but when we return to Him we are showing our determination to persevere because this life is a constant battle of choosing being faithful over our own heart's desires. And yeah, this post just kind of helped me to pull more things together in my mind...so thank you..for being bold in your attention grabbing analogy!
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