In 2015, on Valentine’s weekend, a block buster novel was released as a major motion picture. 50 Shades of Grey depicted bondage, dominance and sadomasochism as normal and pleasurable. In the story the young Miss Steele is urged to sign a contract becoming a sex slave and agreeing to an abusive and degrading relationship.
Many couples have questioned if the behaviors shown in this movie are either loving or normal. Without hesitation, the answer is no, they are not.
The contrast between the message of Fifty Shades of Grey and God’s design for self-giving and self-sacrificing love, marriage and sexual intimacy could not be greater. The books and the movie under-mine everything that God teaches us about marriage and sexual love. It is no wonder that Christian communities across the U.S. have urged us to avoid viewing this movie.
True married love is caught up in divine love. The bible reminds us that “Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, [love] is not pompous, it is not inflated, it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests…” (1 Corinthians 13: 4-5).
Do not be fooled by or lured into the portrayals that come from Hollywood; real love within marriage is void of torture, pain, and bondage.
Saints Joachim and Anne, pray for us.