What's Love Got To Do With It?

Ok, now that Tina Turner is stuck in all of our heads, what does love have to do with it? The it is sex. What place does sex have in marriage? Is it a personal gratification device? Is it a way to continue the race? Is it a means to posterity? Is it how we stay together? Or is it more than that?

Harold B. Lee taught that it is "to be reserved as an expression of true love in holy wedlock".

Sex is not just for personal gratification. It is not to be used outside of marriage. It is a wonderful tool to be used in marriage between a husband and wife. That being said, nobody has this down perfectly. In order to use this wonderful God-given tool appropriately we must be willing to work together with our spouse on improving this area of our marriages. Just because we are doing well in other areas of our marriage doesn't mean our sex lives are going to be fabulous, and vice versa.

Sean E. Brotherson tells us that "problems in this area of a marriage relationship can severely impact couple communication and caring, and leads often to insecurity, anxiety, frustration, anger, emotional alienation, and even divorce." 

When we have a problem in any area we need to talk it out with our spouse. So what's love got to do with it? Well, when we talk through our concerns then we will be closer to our spouses. This sort of conversation increases our intimacy.

I have noticed in my marriage that things aren't perfect in this regard. My husband and I both have lingering issues from our past marriages, me especially. I am so touched by how much my husband cares to help us work together to take care of these issues. He is spiritually in tune with me, and has been prodding me for some time to figure out what my concerns are so that we can work things out together. He is patient, kind, and warm. Yes, we are not perfect in all of our attempts to make things better, but we are putting our trust in each other and in the Lord.

Brotherson verifies this idea by telling us that "sexual fulfillment flourishes in an atmosphere of warmth and positive expressions toward each other, while such fulfillment suffers when spouses are cool or emotionally disconnected from each other due to anger or apathy."

My husband and I are trying our best to be kind to each other, to be patient, to be loving. What's love got to do with it? Everything. Without love, sex is an empty shell of hollow self-gratification. With love, sex is an extension and a physical representation of the true love and devotion we share.

What's love got to do, got to do with it ...


Reference:

Fulfilling the Sexual Stewardship in Marriage
By Sean E. Brotherson