As the election to the European Parliament gets closer, I want to highlight some of the biggest European sins that unfortunately are not very present in the political debates.

Lust is not that hard to define. The New Advent Catholic Encyclopedia defines it as “The inordinate craving for, or indulgence of, the carnal pleasure which is experienced in the human organs of generation. The wrongfulness of lust is reducible to this: that venereal satisfaction is sought for either outside wedlock or, at any rate, in a manner which is contrary to the laws that govern marital intercourse.” Lust is exetremely common in the Western world today. Sexism, pornography and nudity is abundant as never before.

In Denmark, an absurd video was published by their own parliament that tries to convince the youth to vote through violence and sex.  The video caused outrage even in Denmark, but this country is very liberal when it comes to sex and nudity.

Blachman is sent on national television where a nude woman has to be silent while the host Blachman talks about her body together with a male guest. They will also start to air “2 blowjobs, thank you“, where a male host buys sex from prostitutes to guide the audience in the totally legal danish sex trade. And one of the biggest fishing magazines in Denmark publishes “fish porn”, a picture of a nude woman holding a fish in every number, just to get more readers.

We could go on and on describing the nudity in Italian and Spanish television, on the sexism in most countries’ commercials and how sex generally is accepted as something fun to do with many different people. The church has often criticised this, but often in a clumsy way. And when it comes to the politicians, nothing is done.

I don’t even hear from the Christian Democrats a suggestion to ban pornography. I don’t even hear from the feminists a suggestion to ban sexist commercials. And so, these things are flooding our societies like crazy and pollute our minds. 

The Bible connects sexual immorality with economic simplicity: “Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral. Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.'” (Hebr 13:4-5). The Word calls us to be either married or celibate and not be irresponsible when it comes to sex. For if we are, we will of course be irresponsible when it comes to other things, such as money.

Lust is when your focus is on your own enjoyment and passions. Love is when you care for others. If we want to work for economic justice, equality and freedom for all, we must also watch our own morality, especially when it comes to sex. It is the gateway to new life and should be taken care of, not be exploited. This is one of the greatest challenges of Europe today.