In chapter eleven, Thomas offers what he calls a “Christian understanding of sex.” Among other statements concerning the abuse of sex throughout the centuries, and how the Church has abused it through celibacy or making it look like something bad (within marriage), Thomas writes, “Remember – every hunger that entices us in the flesh is an exploitation of a need that can be better met by God. The only context for godly sex is marital sex. Illicit sex is spiritual junk food – immediately sweet, but something that will poison our spiritual appetite until we crave that which will ultimately destroy us” (210). His point throughout can be summarized, I think, in this: God created sex to be between a married man and woman and thus it can only fulfill us at the deep level of our beings when it is thankfully carried out in this context.
Another interesting point Thomas makes on page 218 is as follows. He writes, “It is one thing to stand naked and relatively trim in front of your partner in your early twenties.” He goes on to ask what about in your late thirties, forties, and even sixties, you know, after the birth of kids and the husband’s metabolism has slowed down? Thomas remarks, “Continuing to give your body to your spouse even when you believe it constitutes “damaged goods” can be tremendously rewarding spiritually. It engenders humility, service, and an other-centered focus, as well as hammering home a very powerful spiritual principle: Give what you have.”
