Learning from Sex Trade Professionals

Dear Crosswalkers,

In our series, "Healthy Habits:  The Life God Blesses," we now come to relational health.  For the month of February, Lord willing, we will look at how to have healthy relationships, marriages, friendships, and families.  We kick it off this week with the fact that God wants to bless us with healthy relationships.  So many have fallen into dysfunctional patterns of relating to each other and they don't know that there is a way out.  This Lord's Day, we will look at what the Bible has to say about overcoming unhealthy relational patterns and getting on track for relational health.

To get us thinking about the virtues that lead to relational health, I want to share a compelling story from my recent reading What Good Is God?, by Philip Yancey.  Yancey writes about being invited to speak at a conference on ministry to women in prostitution, or as they prefer to be called, Sex Trade Professionals.  He had written a book on God's Grace, and they wanted him to speak on the subject.  After some discussion with his wife, Yancey agreed to accept the invitation on the condition that he could have the opportunity to question the women and hear their stories.  This is what he writes about the end of his conversations with the women:

I had time for one more question. "Did you know that Jesus referred to your profession? Let me read you what he said: 'I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you.' He was speaking to the religious authorities of his day. What do you think Jesus meant? Why did he single out prostitutes?"

After several minutes of silence a young woman from Eastern Europe spoke up in her broken English. "Everyone, she has someone to look down on. Not us. We are at the low. Our families, they feel shame for us. No mother nowhere looks at her little girl and says, 'Honey, when you grow up I want you be good prostitute.' Most places, we are breaking the law. Believe me, we know how people feel about us. People call us names: whore, slut, hooker, harlot. We feel it too. We are the bottom. And sometimes when you are at the low, you cry for help. So when Jesus comes, we respond. Maybe Jesus meant that."

Yes.  Maybe Jesus meant exactly that!  Here is one key to relational health that we won't have time to cover this Sunday:  Humility.  Humility of heart and mind is one of the great secrets to having a healthy relationship with God and with others.  The NT says,

Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love(Ephesians 4:2).

...And all of you, serve each other in humility, for "God opposes the proud but favors the humble" (1 Peter 5:5).
Think about every relationship in your life.  Every one of them will be healthier if we add a heaping dose of humility!

I hope to see you Sunday!

Love in Jesus,

Pastor John Christie