In a recent discussion, I was asked whether monogamy was natural. The question brought to mind how many cheaters use biased research and claim that monogamy is not natural or that polygamy is the natural state for man. Based on the Biblical account of creation, monogamy is natural. Polygamy in its various forms is unnatural. Throughout history cultures which embraced monogamy thrived, while the polygamous ones experienced the many problems that go with it. Although there are historic characters that had multiple wives, it was something that was tolerated, rather than approved of or condoned. Each of those cases where people had multiple wives or lovers came to a disastrous end.
When you take the higher spiritual nature from man, and leave him in a purely animal state, it is not surprising for him to have relations with all the females he can find. When man chooses to act like an animal, multiple partners is what occurs. This is more a factor of greed and wanting MORE. It is important not to confuse greed with it being natural or healthy. Each partner experience exposes the man and woman to more diseases along with the biochemical bonding which occurs. That bonding creates emotional ties that often leave the polygamous with many unnatural attachments. With multiple partners, the spouse looses a sense of being special and the security of the marital relationship and the marriage itself is jeopardized.
Man was designed and created to be monogamous. Polygamy and multiple partners are perversions of the original design. Man in his determination to ‘bend the rules’ managed twisting and distorting many religions to allow for multiple partners. The research which addresses polygamy and attempts justifying the practice amounts to the intellectual community twisting and distorting things to justify their own desires.
Best Regards,
Jeff Murrah
3 Responses
Very well expressed Jeff…It is the rebellious heart that gives mankind ‘reason ‘ to ‘go with the flow’ but as someone once remarked the ‘flow’ is usually GOING DOWN HILL! ‘
It seems that when MEDIA made distributing the thoughts of the carnal minded man more and more influential to encourage people to think and then do what is destructive as they followed their own carnal minds.
The Bible states that the carnal or ‘natural’ mind is ENMITY AGAINST GOD” that is it is inclined to be moved toward ‘fitting in’ with the surrounding world
With the understanding that comes from the Word of GOD eventually we learn that THIS world is NOT ‘run by GOD Almighty ‘ which may come as a surprise to many who heard only that GOD is soveriegn …which he IS but He also gave a jurisdiction to MAN …for MAN to be responsible to govern.
The man was to learn to govern as he continued with his relationship with GOD …Then he broke that fellowship and connection by listening to the Serpent…..what do you know …it was an individual from NATURE.
The natural surrounding of plants and animals were to be subject to the GOVERNOR of the MAN who was to KEEP the ‘garden’ of the world under HIS authority which was to be guided and directed by GOD who would be his counselor and guide.
Man lost that when he failed to obey …I keep thinking that as the word tells us that ADAM was WITH Eve at the time she was being ‘courted’ by the Serpent to consider alternatives to obeying GOD …that instead of Adam doing what he was told to do ..that is to keep the garden safe from predators and various things that would mar the living space he had …he stood by and did nothing to interrupt what was going on ..
I had a friend argue that we don’t know if being ‘with ‘ Eve indicates that he was right there . I believe he was WITH her as it is in context that God did not indicate any time length between her taking a bite and then offering it to Adam….something about how the grammar of that information is laid out.
Anyway …Disobedience or ‘delayed’ obedience…which is the same thing …caused this incident to become the eventuality.
God knew about the Serpent….but Adam was charged with the keeping of the garden …HE had been made in God’s image which included the freedom to think and act by his own choices according to the knowledge he had AND HE COULD have chosen to go to GOD and ask what to do! What he might have asked is ‘what is this Serpent ‘ ? Lots of ways he could have enacted his free will to learn from God HOW to ‘keep ‘ the garden which GOD gave Adam to do by his choices.
I have thought that perhaps Adam thought God would ‘go easy’ on Eve because she was not present at the time of God informing Adam ….That too was in the realm of Adam ‘s domain of responsibility .
“Adam was formed first’ does not make him better or more intelligent than Eve as some like to assert having listened a bit to the rebellious aspect of our now ‘independent ‘ thought process …without the understanding as provided by being open to GOD to instruct them by way of reading …hearing and heeding the Word that is offered for our learning !
So it is …mankind is ‘natural ‘ today and that natural mind ‘does not receive the knowledge of God neither CAN it KNOW it …because the Word of GOD is SPIRITUALLY discerned.
It is called a “natural mind’ because until a person is willing to be EQUIPPED with God’s WORD which IS SPIRIT …they have not ‘soft ware’ of God’s thinking IN them to determine what is truth and what is not!
God’s Word testifies about itself in many aspects….God’s Word is Truth …God’s Word is Spirit….God’s Word is LIFE,….God’s Word is ETERNAL …God’s Word is LIVING …God’s Word is FAITHFUL ….and it NEVER FAILS.
I could go on but I think that sets some tidbits for thought.
God is NOT the AUTHOR of the pain, suffering, disasters, harm and DIS EASE that abounds in this world presently ..Adam did not continue in the Word of GOD as at that time he had access to God personally and face to face ! Man today often does not take the invitation to know GOD seriously by way of ‘Receiving the word of God with a prepared heart…meek to hear and take it to heart and thus lives by his urges, feelings, and what the Serpent became …:the god of this world’ has been the ‘ruler’ of the jurisdiction that GOD entrusted to Adam ever since!
He is identified as the one who is going to USE any method or means to take the affection and mind of man far from the Creator’s influence BY WAY of the individual’s God given attribute to make decisions .
Mankind makes decisions and choices as he is either moved by his appetites and desires …much like animals …whereby the Bible actually uses the word ‘beast’ when speaking of ‘natural man’ ….He is perhaps unaware that his feelings and natural urges are USED to motivate him to sin.
IF he has heard SOME of what the Bible says but not cared to seek out for himself the real deal he is going to hear through the ‘veil’ of his fallen fleshly mind and it will be distorted just like we see Eve began to have her view of GOD changed from what she had experienced to what the Serpent began to ‘bend ‘ her perspective of GOD to be . He started by asking her to consider the motive of GOD …as she had understood it …
It seems that the mind NEEDS to be reminded of GOD’S goodness …and on a daily basis even in the most perfect environment with a companion who also had the same experience of interacting with the God who made all things.
The Serpents approach and intention was to have Eve begin to be discontent and offended by the very provision all of which was said by God to be “GOOD”! …also to become not only less thankful for all that God had created FOR MAN …but to suspect that God was withholding something .
The sad truth is that mankind was initially given EVERYTHING that the Serpent offered….just as he did when he tried the SAME tactics on Jesus after the 40 days in the wilderness.
When we read the record before the one in Chapter three of Genesis about how God made EVERY tree in the garden ‘good for food’ and ‘pleasant to the eyes ‘ then we read that Eve’s view was focused upon the ONE tree which offered nothing more than what she already HAD …it is more understandable to see how adultery is in that same category ….it is DECEPTION to think that anything OTHER than what we HAVE is going to offer anything we do not already enjoy …since most people marry a person that in their view is ‘good’ and ‘pleasant to the eyes ‘ ….and then make a life commitment!
The deception that she and Adam ‘could be as gods’ is also a lie…they already were made in the IMAGE of GOD and just like Joseph who was sold into slavery by his brothers….eventually had no one over him but Pharoah….Adam had no one over him but GOD! who is ALL WISE.
There was NO NEED to become ‘as gods’ because the indicator of their autonomy was that they had FREEDOM of CHOICE!
We all know that without this attribute we could not experience the depth of satisfaction of being ‘loved ‘ if we did not think we were CHOSEN by our spouses.
That is one of the reasons the pain is so deep to learn that we are NOT regarded not just as ‘special’ but that we are not considered important enough to them to keep their eyes in their head and their emotions directed to nurture and protect that affection and regard.
God has placed this kind of awareness within us…It gets out of bounds when as you said GREED creeps in …when having the faithful love and affection of ONE person ceases to be ‘enough ‘ for those who have opportunity or go looking for it .
As I told my husband HE CREATED HIS OWN “NEED” for more by not investing in the woman he married and by thinking it was his “DUTY ” and then “NEED ” to take responsibility for the care of other while neglecting and rejecting the process of loving .
The ANIMAL of the carnal man is lured into all kinds of lies about his ‘responsibility’ for those outside his marriage ..failing to heed the very first instructions GOD gave the first couple…LEAVE …the man was directed to LEAVE his father and mother.
This goes unnoticed as we read …it goes by swiftly because even unbelievers THINK they “KNOW ” the story …but it is not JUST a ‘story ‘ it is ‘INSTRUCTION IN RIGHT LIVING” as 2 Tim 3:16 informs us …IT is the crucial foundation for marriage and family …ALL of God ‘s Word is provided that we might know ..it is for our learning “doctrine’ or HOW to live .
Failing to leave other priorities and recognize the need to change our focus and energy has destroyed many MANY peoples view of how marriage would flourish and satisfy! It somehow is thought that focus , energy and time are needed for every aspect of life EXCEPT the spouse!
The world’s doctrines of HUMANISM and SOCIALISM are very real tools in encouraging people to believe that EVERYONE is THEIR responsibility!
That being your brother’s keeper or “DOING” what seems to be the second commandment WITHOUT taking time to learn the PROPER ORDER of GOD that DEMANDS and REQUIRES us to devote energy FIRST to the learning and living by the FIRST Commandment to love GOD FIRST …in every aspect of our being ..we see destruction every where.
Going about living life without the instruction from GOD and BY what HE has provided is like giving car keys to a small child and then wondering why he does not drive ‘right’!Man THINKS that he has what he needs by way of what he knows without realizing he does NOT KNOW what is truth! God makes it available but GOD does not MAKE anyone learn it !
Man has been given ALL things for life and a relationship with the God who is our Creator by way of the knowledge that is provided through the Spirit ..That spirit of GOD is delivered into man by way of man seeking and receiving the spirit of GOD ALMIGHTY GIVEN through WORDS. As WORDS become our point of view and motivate us to live ..to do …and to think according to truth we begin to live in that LIFE which GOD intended for man to function in and by….IT EMPOWERS us TO RESIST AND AVOID SIN >>>WHICH steals , kills and destroys life …both here and now and then after we leave ..OUR souls are US and that is eternal …what we ‘sow’ in terms of our willingness to guide our life with submitting to GOD as HE reveals to us from His word what HIS WILL is …we will grow up IN HIM.
Without this ‘software’ we become subject to deception and the intentions of the god of this world …Failing to believe that the Bible is unique and true people are without the compass that would keep their hearts from wandering here and there …to protect them from RELIGION which is the most insidious of conterfiet because one a person believes they know or are doing what GOD has said but are not measuring what they are being taught or think they know they are thus held by their own will in a view that is NOT OF God only a form that render them ‘unarmed’ to know what they are accepting as ‘true ‘ through their FEELINGS>
Just as we have seen that love is MORE than feelings …that chemicals in the design of human beings may be touched off by the means of what GOD has designed for good WITHIN the protection of boundaries of truth and the spiritual enacted ‘God joining ‘ a couple who make vows to Him to abide by and in that covenant….Love is MORE than any of the things we feel and desire ..it is basically DEMONSTRATED and GROWN through obedience motivated by that respect and love we are to have and grow for GOD and with His empowering.
God empowers what HE ordains …but man may CHOOSE to follow his feelings and when following his appetites he walks away from the source of wisdom and love …Just as Adam did not go to GOD for his need to know what to do in the face of the Serpent’s appearance..GOD SURELY would have provided that information …God created man for this very INTERACTION and DEPENDENCE upon Himself because he wanted to be trusted …which to GOD and man is a very important aspect of LOVE ..
We are able to grow our love within a relationship where we feel that we are able to trust. We seem to know that when someone loves us they would not do anything to hurt us and that they would try to learn how to be aware of anything that might endanger that love.
I learned as I entered marriage and cared about this to become alert to the ways other men would begin to interact with me …I also learned that caring and loving OTHERS means that you are careful not to mislead and to give them any impression that might cause them to stumble mentally as well as physically! THIS IS LOVE and THIS is to ‘be you brother’s keeper’
The natural world is run by the god of this world …aka THE DEVIL and the other fallen angels he provoked to rebel . I think we do not take this seriously ..OR as some have decided that there is glamour in claiming to worship the Devil ..it is flaunted as some kind of ability to live without ‘fear’
A good respect of the enemy is something that GOD has warned us ..it is WISDOM …Today we see many young people who know not the danger of dabbling ..now being led to believe what God has told us and warned us is EVIL …is being taught is ‘good’ ….GOD has a lot to say about those who call good “evil “and evil ‘good’
This is a tactic and presently a ‘coupe’ of the Devil ….to lead even those who claim Christ to turn Biblical truth on it’s head…I just had a lengthy period of time observing people who had KNOWLEDGE of the Bible to a great degree but had no relationship to GOD because they did not BELIEVE the Bible’s testimony …many are being ripped off today due to these ‘movements ‘ that deny GOD of the Bible and serve their experiences… Gnosticism is alive and sick in today’s world ..and now in churches!
God ‘s love for all of mankind was demonstrated to the highest degree through His SON …what more could we ask for that He is confident that once a person will COME TO HIM …HE will teach and transform a life that no amount of intellect or ability on our part could do.
People are insulted by this truth ..They do not see any ‘reason ‘ to seek or to submit in this age of self serving …the ability to get anything we want and on credit has grown a nation if not a world that is satisfied with their own ability to get whatever they imagine…by way of anything but trust in GOD
Trusting GOD and being taught of GOD brings about more and more CHOICES that demand a choosing …the world , the flesh and the devil? or God whose wisdom challenges our faith …challenges our desires for comfort ..because bad habits over time are comfortable …at least while they satisfy and until consequences beyond our control to medicate come about …Often today’s carnal living leads to more and more dissatisfaction, overkill of consumption and then depression , The choice then becomes humble yourself under the mighty hand of GOD and HE will lift you up OR more seeking out additions and some choose to end their lives…believing there will be ‘nothingness’ or ‘another chance in the lie of reincarnation’ or another lie is that you will still exist but you won’t be conscious of it!
ALL LIES. It is APPOINTED unto man ONCE to DIE and THEN ,…THE JUDGMENT.
We may escape the judicial rightness of being condemned and paying for our own ‘bill due’ upon death through seeking out the provision that GOD has provided in Christ who paid for the sin of all who receive it …Forgiveness and redemption is STILL dependent upon OUR choice to seek and receive what we find ..in the WORD of GOD provided that we might KNOW what GOD has done for us …through His Son
God does not enact UPON ANYONE….the experiences being offered to fleshly hungry are being given poison through experience seeking .Jesus WARNED of such a time ..and HE told us that it is THROUGH HIS WORD that we are give all that we need to know Him
Relying upon signs, wonders, sensations are all deceptions and are FLESH dependent confirmations which Jesus told us would be tactics of DECEPTION.
THE deception of those who have fallen for their feelings for someone OTHER than their spouse are a small example of the infidelity of the heart of man toward the god of this world and this own felt needs.
This is repeatedly pointed out in scripture and after a season of instruction from the Lord in just reading and trusting Him to guide into all truth ….I have seen the things I thought before laying my heart and thinking down for GOD to rebuild HIS foundation which HE has said is “the apostles and prophets with Jesus Christ as the chief cornerstone….NOW I see more and more where the false teachings and things of the world had put sand into my clueless mind before I had taken God’s Word for what is truth.
The deception of this world is as a thick FOG that clouds man’s view of himself and of GOD ,….God is LIGHT but not the deceptive ‘light’ of the liar and enemy of man’s soul .
The various doctrines now being swallowed by people who are hungry for GOD are appealing to the flesh and ego of man who is using his ‘freedom of choice’ to form a god of his own comfort zone…
Thus the idea that adultery and polygamy are “natural” is not surprise since the natural man does not receive the things of GOD NEITHER CAN HE KNOW THEM!
SO according to flesh unleashed and moved by various arrangements by the god of this world who has NO COMPULSION about tampering with free will ….The carnal or natural man is without defense except for his conscience which he soon puts to sleep through deliberate and willful ignoring of it …dismissing his conscience as ‘old fashioned’ or ‘unhip’!
This type of thinking is NOT “progress’ or ‘effects of man’s evolving to a ‘higher plain’ but is is the FRUIT of wickedness and rebellion against the truth
God tells us in Romans what is going on when we decide that we do not want to ‘retain God in our knowledge’ …We are given OVER to a ‘reprobate mind’ which is a mind DEVOID of the ability to know what is TRUTH and what is a lie…it is to have ‘understanding darkened’ … Nebuchadnezzar had to learn the hard way didn’t he…go find the account using Blueletterbible.org ..it is like something from the way TV depicts the changes in some characters in the stories that people are now enthralled with …vampires, monsters all given attributes that are ‘sympathetic’ as if there IS NOTHING “EVIL” >>>JUST “MISUNDERSTOOD”!
WOW.
No wonder God makes the observation that when the Lord is cast off ..every man ‘does what is ‘right’ in his OWN EYES!’
Zaza,
You have given me a lot to think about and consider. I had not looked at the ‘Leave and Cleave’ in terms of responsibilities outside the marriage. That was a valuable insight. Many couples have brought a ‘world of hurt’ upon themselves by not walking in an awareness of good and evil, or seeking the hidden/deeper knowledge that they think has been kept from them.
A common ploy used by those who seduce couples away from monogamy is luring them with the temptation of ‘new’ knowledge or new adventures that an affair or multi-partner lifestyle offers. Like the serpent, they plant seeds of doubt in the present relationship and attempt getting their target wanting the ‘forbidden’ fruit that sex outside of marriage without letting them see the hidden cost.
Yes…It is pretty cool how many dynamics are in even ONE aspect of God’s word….the more we are willing to look at something we think we already understand there seems to be yet another facet of the issue that was previously not known!
What is ‘outside’ the marriage is usually not ‘better’ than what is IN the marriage ..it just appears to be and usually because it is percieved to be ‘easier’ , less’ hassle’!
Wow….everyone within miles of cheating has some effect …it is like a pebble tossed into a pond that already has plenty of pebbles tossed into it …sooner or later the concentric ripples from the pebble’s impact ripple out and bump into the others!
The Devil is not original….yet we seem to fall for his tricks repeatedly …but GOD offers us the wisdom HE has as one whose view is not only the end from the beginning but from ABOVE our current situations.
It is SO wise to access His knowledge and be patient to allow that He has MORE …always MORE for those who ‘stick around ‘ like those who would hang around after Jesus taught the multitudes with parables…the word will be expounded IN us as we CONTINUE to keep IN there and wait …time and consistent exposure with openness to be taught of GOD makes the waiting upon GOD worth it.
Sitting in the midst of confusion GOD has promised that those who ask Him for wisdom will be supplied as they continue the menue of this WORD daily….fresh bread to those who are willing to wait upon the Lord and digest what they already have….
Luk 16:10 He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much:
and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.
Luk 19:17 And he said unto him, Well, thou good servant:
because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities.