The Right Way Brothers & Sisters Love One Another

In a world of flirting and sexting, does God have a right way for men and women to interact?

​For the answer to that question, let's look at our Bibles. We'll take a trip through I Thessalonians 4 verses 1-12.

​Paul starts out by commending the Thessalonians for walking in a way that pleases God and exhorts them to do so more and more. He reminds them that the commandment to abstain from sexual immorality is straight from Jesus, who has authority over our lives. God's will is our sanctification. (verses 1-3)

​We are reminded day by day by the Holy Spirit to flee from sexual immorality and walk in purity. Sometimes its through the Word of God or conviction when we are thinking about things we shouldn't be thinking about. It is so important for us to always remember that God's will is for us to be pure, to be set apart, to be growing in holiness day by day. The world has its lies and temptations, but Jesus gives us abundant life that is far better than any trick of the devil.

​In the next few verses, Paul reminds us to control our bodies honorably, as holy vessels to please God and to treat our brothers with honor, not defraud them. The gentiles who do not know God give in to feelings of passionate lust and the sinful behavior that follows it. This behavior actually takes advantage of them. We, are called to holiness instead. If we reject this instruction, we reject God, not men. (verses 4-8)

If we behave lustfully, flirtatiously, or seductively, we wrong our brother or sister, we defraud our brother or sister. It is not a compliment to treat the opposite sex in a way that is based on sexual attraction. In fact it wrongs them, causing us to sin against them. It also defrauds them--it communicates a level of commitment without a commitment. We act as if we own them (as in married couples who belong to one another) when, in fact, there is not commitment.

​Instead of bringing harm to them, we want to bring genuine life to them, to lift them up, not tear them down. So how do we do that?

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God teaches us to love one anther! Isn't that awesome? God who is love teaches us to love. God loves us in a pure way. He does not take advantage of us, wrong us, or dishonor us. In fact, He honors us in ways we don't deserve. The Lord wants us to love all the brothers and sisters in our lives and to excel at loving them. In addition, we are to keep busy doing the work He has set before us so that we will be respectable and have our needs met.

​God will teach us to serve, instead of taking advantage of our brothers and sisters. Jesus will call us to be kind to one another in a pure way, instead of lusting for one another. The Lord will teach us to lay down our lives for one another, instead of defrauding one another.

​I love this! God Himself teaches us to control our lust and bridle our passion until we can enjoy marriage in purity. In the meantime, we are to love our brothers and sisters in a way that is holy, honorable, kind, forgiving, and pure. The world will look on and be amazed!

​If you are wanting to learn more about real love between brothers and sisters, I recommend several resources in the Brother & Sister Bundle in the HUGE 2017 Build Your Bundle Sale: Real Men 102: Freedom, Courtship, Marriage, & Family (one credit life skills course), God's Girls 103: Courtship, Marriage, & The Christian Family (one credit life skills course), Cultivating the Heart of a Daughter (audio course with workbook), The Making of Real Men (discipleship manual for fathers and sons), and and  It's the Heart, Not the Hemline (Biblical study of modesty).

Let's all remember the Lord's command to excel in love.

In Christ,
​Meredith Curtis

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