Little Picture Sex and Sinful Degradation
What is the purpose of sex? Is it the ultimate act of love in a marriage relationship? Is it a gift from God made simply for our own enjoyment and pleasure? Is it just the way that we live out our sexual desires and procreate? Or is it much deeper and more spiritual than all of those? Our culture has a deep misunderstanding of what sex is and is for. Paul Tripp describes this fundamental misunderstanding as “little picture sex” (Sex and Money 71).
Little picture sex is characterized by the belief that sex is purely a self-serving act that an individual is entitled to. There is no other person in a little picture view of sex; there is only the individual and their desires. The other person is simply an avenue through which sexual pleasure can be experienced. This incorrect view of sin is what brings about relationships where one person demands sex from the other and gets angry when that demand is not met. It is also the picture of sex that pushes people into depths of depravity that they would have never thought possible.
This truth is evident in the case against Carmine Simpson; a 26-year-old NYPD officer who was recently charged with the solicitation of pornography from at least 46 children under the age of 18. The article can be found here:
Carmine Simpson posed as a 17-year-old with the help of digital filters to solicit pornographic images and to get young girls to commit lewd acts on camera for him. This despicable act characterizes a little picture view of sex perfectly.
In this man’s mind, there was no concern for the wellbeing of the girls involved. He viewed these girls only as avenues through which he could fulfil his sick sexual desires, not as individuals with individual, inalienable rights.
Now, I am sure that Carmine did not expect that his sexual desires would get to this point. On the long road towards despicable acts such as this, there is never a big change. The change is always small and incremental. Every tiny concession of one’s morality seems insignificant. Every envelope pushed seems unimportant. Maybe every time he did something like this, it was “the last time.” It isn’t until the consequences hit that the true magnitude of tiny choices hits.
We would do well to remember this truth. Habit is a wonderful or terrible thing, so we must beware of our tiny choices. They can make or break us, and unfortunately, all we have to do is nothing in order for our tiny choices to break us, especially when coupled with a little-picture view of sex.
It is tough work to break bad habits and replace them with good ones, but it is infinitely valuable when considered in light of the consequences, good or bad, that our habits bring about. For more information on breaking habits, here is a great article:
