Crisis 1: Sexually Transmitted Diseases

The Los Angeles Times reported on Monday that there is a rise of sexually transmitted diseases (STD) in their city and in the country.

Photo courtesy of L.A. Times  

 Some blame lack of testing, while others blame the rise of online dating apps.  Either way, there is a rising concern about the spread of STD’s among people under the age of twenty-five. 

The LA Times article even mentioned how a greater recognition of this situation and motivation to do something about it, came from discussions people were having with friends.  This does not exclude co-workers.  

 The L.A. County's Health Department is determined to provide the testing materials needed to help inform youth if they test positive to STD’s.

This discussion of concern began in the end of November,2015.  December 1^st is World AIDSDay.  The New York Times reported on the rise of HIV in China’s youth and The Chicago Tribune covered the rise of HIV in Russia.

“By 2016, the country's(Russia) Federal AIDS Center estimates the total number of those diagnosed with HIV will reach 1 million.”  - Chicago Tribune (country distinction mine)

This is a cross-cultural concern.  

Are you or I prepared to answer questions our co-workers have about STD’s?  Can we answer with the perspective of a Christ follower?   

In Sex & Money by Paul David Tripp, it is expressed that “We’re (specifically American culture) in trouble because…what the human community tends to look at as normal isn’t normal at all” (pg.21 - clarification mine).   

Some people assume that being sexually active as a young or old, married or unmarried person, is normal.  Talk surrounds the topic of “safe sex” and STD testing but it doesn’t attack the deeper problem; the problem of STD’s resulting from being sexually active with multiple people.  

Tripp points out that God designed sex to be a beautiful, God honoring relationship between a man and woman who are married to each other(Ch. 2).

Matthew 19:5 and Genesis 2:24, share how a man and woman are to leave their parents, come together and be one flesh.   You can only be one flesh with one person. 

All the unlawful sexual relations seen in Leviticus 18 were placed there to protect us.  God knew the deadly results of being sexually active with more than one person.   

I have personally seen the detrimental effects of sexual promiscuity in my friends and extended family’s lives. I believe that as Christ followers in the workforce we need to be educated both in God’s view of sex and be up to date on what people are talking about concerning sex. 

Whether your co-workers have grown up in the United States or have immigrated from another country, the topic of STD’s is relevant.

 

Don’t stop learning,

Ivy

To learn more, check out some of these resources:

http://www.globalchristians.org/articles/beforem.html

http://www.bibletools.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/Topical.show/RTD/cgg/ID/2258/STD.htm

http://www.cdc.gov/nchhstp/newsroom/2015/std-surveillance-report-press-release.html

http://www.journalgazette.net/news/local/County-sees-rise-in-HIV--hepatitis-11138698

Sources:  Los Angeles Times -photo courtesy, New York Times, ChicagoTribune,  Sex & Money: Pleasures that Leave You Empty and Grace that Satisfies, NIV Bible 

Cross-Cultural Crisis; Where does it Start?

The verdict is reached! Actually, it has been for years.  There is a cross-cultural crisis. Why is there a crisis? How did it start?  How does one respond?

As a young adult approaching the end of college and getting ready to enter the workforce, I find the discussions I will face with my co-workers to be fascinating. 

Already, I have encountered conversations relating to cross-cultural crises.  People talk about the struggle with death and disease, sex trafficking, political greed and the driving forces behind each crisis.    

As a follower of Jesus Christ, how do you respond to the questions your co-workers have?

1.      Define the reason for the crisis

a. In Jeremiah 17:9 we read, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?”   Man is in a state of crisis. Therefore, it should come as no surprise when the cultures of man reflect the state of their hearts.

2.      Explain how man got into a state of crisis

a.      In the beginning, God created everything and everything was good (Gen. 1).  When God created the first man and women He only gave them one institution; not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  However, they disobeyed. 

This disobedience brought evil, suffering, and death into the world.  This is where we get our word sin; missing the mark of what God asks and calls us to do.  This brought separation between man and the holy God.  Holiness cannot look upon evil and accept it.  Every person is born with sin. Therefore, the real issue is a heart issue and if the heart is changed the culture will gradually change too.

3.      Tell them how the heart can be changed

a.      God loved people so much that He wanted to restore the relationship He originally had with us.  So He sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, to take the penalty we deserve for disobeying God.  That penalty is death. 

Jesus died in our place and came back to life, conquering death.  If we put our faith in Jesus Christ, accept His sacrifice, and ask Him to live in and through us, He will change our hearts.  Our relationship with God is thus mended.    (Gen. 3, John 3)

While these steps don’t show the whole picture, it is a place to start.  Just as my conversations with co-workers never ended here I am sure yours won’t either. 

Each week I will be posting a current cross-cultural crisis that you can talk about with your family or co-workers.  It will be accompanied by thoughts of how to respond, as Christ followers, to those topics. 

Wishing you the best in your conversations!

Ivy 

Sources:Photo courtesy of Answers in Genesis , KJV Bible