Modernity gives the worst advice to young people. I see so often that people in positions of influence are always trying to give the youth horrible suggestions in terms of how they should live, especially when it comes to their mental health.
And what I find interesting about it is how often it runs directly contrary to Biblical advice.
The funny thing about the Bible is that it's most known as the story of God, Christ, the resurrection, and generally a book on moral guidance. This is great, but what often gets by people is that it's also a book that gives superb advice when it comes to living healthy, including your mental health.
Modern society is always hyper-focused on mental health — something I've expressed in the past as what's causing too many people to feel mentally unhealthy because they're always thinking about it instead of just living their life. This focus has leaked into other parts of our society as well, though. For instance, as reported by my colleague Alex Parker, Ithaca College is now advising young people to dive into non-monogamous relationships.
READ MORE: New York College Schools Students on the 'Ethical' Art of Non-Monogamous Sex
The idea is that there's such a thing as "ethical non-monogamy," which is just a fancy way of saying "polyamory," where you're in an open relationship with several partners. Ithaca is dressing it in the usual modern-speak that makes it sound somewhat scientific in order to give these ideas gravitas:
We live in a culture that perpetuates the idea that life-long monogamy is meant for everyone. The fairytale goes that we meet someone, fall in love, and live blissfully, happy forever after.
For some, monogamy does provide happiness and fulfillment and the chance to build a life and maybe a family with someone. Yet for others, it feels impossible and limiting.
As you can see, it's just the same nonsense it's always been, dressed in different reasoning, and you can slap as many coats of paint on the same rusted junker as you want, but it still won't make the car run any better.
Meanwhile, God has some things to say about polygamy and casual sex, and instead of looking at it like some mystical being handing down commandments, look at it as the creator of a program pointing out how to use it properly.
Beginning in the beginning, Genesis 2:24 notes, "A man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh," with the word "wife" being singular.
Christ would later double down on it in Matthew 19:4-6 with “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”
The words "two" and "one" are key here.
Timothy 3:2 says of church leaders, “An overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife…," which is something worth paying attention to, not because it gives instructions for church leaders, but it suggests that having multiple wives is worthy of reproach.
Paul tied monogamous marriage to Christ and the church, echoing Genesis 2:24 with “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. … This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.” Note that Christ's "bride" is the church, and referred to in a singular way.
Moreover, there are warnings throughout the Bible as to where polyamory can lead. There was jealousy, insecurity, and favoritism between Jacob, Leah, and Rachel in Genesis. David's many wives led to power grabs between his children that ended up destabilizing his whole kingdom. Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines, and it's these relationships with women that end up leading him away from God and bringing Israel into ruin.
Is God right? Science says He is, as usual.
Mental health is actually far more unstable in polyamorous households, with higher rates of depression and anxiety. Jealousy becomes a major factor, especially for women, and children don't fare very well either, winding up with behavioral problems.
Sound familiar? These symptoms were exhibited in stories that were told in the Bible.
As I said earlier, I think it's very interesting that much of modernity is just telling you to do the opposite of what the Bible advises.
I don't invest too much in coincidences.
The Bible is full of great advice, and I don't mean that from a religious perspective. If you go back over it, there are a myriad of things that it instructs you to do in terms of staying healthy, including a ton of advice on mental health. Some of it might not make sense in modern times, but even in the Old Testament, there are few instructions given just for the sake of obedience. Nothing God handed down was ever without purpose.
Next time you see something that modernity says is right and good but feels off... search the Bible for its response. You'll likely find something about it in there, and you'll notice it contradicts what you've been told.
