Is there an explanation for a lack of sexual desire in the Bible?
Question:
Good evening,
I was reading many of your answers about homosexuality and was wondering if there was any explanation for a lack of sexual attraction in the Bible. This is related to homosexuals having a lack of interest in the opposite gender and people having no attraction to anyone at all.
I am a Christian young adult who has felt very out of place because of my lack of sexual attraction to anyone. You previously mentioned that sexuality stems from a choice to fixate on specific ideas about sex so did I choose not to fixate on anything?
Would there be anything about me that is considered to be sinful as I currently have no desire for sex and therefore don't want to procreate?
Answer:
"For there are eunuchs who were born that way from their mother's womb; and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men; and there are also eunuchs who made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. He who is able to accept this, let him accept it" (Matthew 19:12).
In this passage, Jesus is talking about men who don't have an interest in marriage and sex. Some people are born with genetic differences that cause them to have a lack of libido. Others suffer damage to their bodies that take away their ability to have sex. And there are still others who choose not to have sex because they feel they have more important things to do. The apostle Paul was among those of the latter. "Yet I wish that all men were even as I myself am. However, each man has his own gift from God, one in this manner, and another in that. But I say to the unmarried and to widows that it is good for them if they remain even as I. But if they do not have self-control, let them marry; for it is better to marry than to burn with passion" (I Corinthians 7:7-9). Paul recommended the celibate life in times of persecution; yet, such a life was not for everyone. If a person desires sex, then it is better to get married than to be tempted to sin. "Now concerning virgins I have no command of the Lord, but I give an opinion as one who by the mercy of the Lord is trustworthy. I think then that this is good in view of the present distress, that it is good for a man to remain as he is. Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be released. Are you released from a wife? Do not seek a wife. But if you marry, you have not sinned; and if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. Yet such will have trouble in this life, and I am trying to spare you" (I Corinthians 7:25-28).
If you don't wish to marry and aren't interested in sex, that is perfectly fine. The problem is that we live in a society that insists on defining people based on their sexual behavior instead of their character. See Counterfeit Sexuality: Sexuality as Identity.
