Addressing The Yuck Factor
“Like a dog that returns to his vomit is a fool who repeats his folly.” (Proverbs 26:11, ESV)
(This post is one in a series interacting with Leonard Vander Zee’s presentation at an All One Body gathering on October 8, 2020. Click here to see more posts in this series.)
The “Yuck Factor”
I could say quite a bit about the next portion of Leonard Vanderzee’s presentation. He calls it “The Yuck Factor.” He says, “It is sometimes hard for straight people to accept same-sex behavior because it seems repulsive…All this leads me to wonder how much this ‘yuck’ factor plays into many people’s reaction to same-sex marriage. I think it’s a lot.”
So, here’s his argument: Many people have a hard time accepting same-sex behavior because it makes them feel “yucky” and their “yucky” feeling is preventing them from seeing things accurately. If only we would stop feeling “yucky” about same-sex activity, THEN we would see clearly enough to embrace it as something good.
I hope you’re already seeing the foolishness of this argument, but I’m not going to point it out yet. I’ll do that later. First, I want to share Leonard’s solution to this problem.
Growing Up
Leonard basically says we feel “yucky” about same-sex activity because we’re immature. He says, “Look, most kids, when they first learn about what their parents did to conceive them are repulsed by it…But we grew up. The same kind of thing can happen in our response to same-sex relations.” Oh, I see. His solution to the problem is that we should grow up and mature—just like those who have embraced same-sex activity, just like Leonard…Not gonna happen. Instead, let’s strive to mature “to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.” (Ephesians 4:13–14, ESV).
As I read comments like Leonard’s, I have to laugh. It’s tempting to get offended, but that’s not as much fun as laughing. Here’s why I laugh. As I’ve had conversations regarding homosexual activity over the years, I’ve been called many names: prideful, stuck up, thinking I’m better, always thinking I’m right, etc. Yet, as I continue the conversation, the person typically speaks to me like I’m an imbecile, immature, or a backwoods hick— disapprovingly looking down their nose at me. It just seems ironic. So, I laugh and keep going.
Another Assumed Argument
After that little excursion, it’s time to respond to Leonard’s initial argument: We are blinded by the “yucky” feeling we have regarding same-sex activity. Once again, this argument only makes sense if you already embrace the position that same-sex activity is a good thing.
How does he know our “yucky” feeling is blinding us to the truth? What standard is he using? Isn’t it possible that our “yucky” feeling is actually telling us the truth?
A Dog and His Vomit
Have you ever watched a dog eat its own vomit? How did that make you feel? Did you think to yourself, “Mmmmm. That looks good” or did you look the other way as your stomach churned with a “yucky” feeling?
Now, with that pleasant image in your mind, read Proverbs 26:11: “Like a dog that returns to his vomit is a fool who repeats his folly.” What is folly compared to? Vomit. To push the point further, what can we compare sin to? Vomit. Sin is not good. Sin doesn’t provide nourishment—only destruction. Sin is a distortion of God’s good purposes and designs. Sin is vomit that should turn our stomach and give us a “yucky” feeling. Therefore, any sinful action should also give us a “yucky” feeling.
To be clear, I’m talking about any sinful action, not just same-sex activity. If you see someone taking advantage of the poor, you SHOULD get a “yucky” feeling in your stomach. If you see a married man seducing a woman who is not his wife, you SHOULD get a “yucky” feeling in your stomach. Along these same lines, you SHOULD NOT FEEL GUILTY about feeling “yucky” when you see two men or two women doing something God has not designed them to do.
Emotions Captive to Christ
Sadly, many of us don’t feel as “yucky” as we should about the sin in our own lives or in the world around us. We’ve gotten used to it. We’ve been desensitized. But, contrary to Leonard’s solution, that’s not a sign of maturity. It’s actually a sign of the hardness of our own hearts. The solution isn’t to stop feeling “yucky,” but to feel “yucky” about the right things. The only way we’ll feel “yucky” about the right things is to grow up into Christ, submiting to Him and His Word.
His Word tells us to “take every thought captive to obey Christ” (2 Cor 10:5) and I think this also applies to our emotions. Not only do we need to submit our thoughts to Jesus Christ, but also the way we feel—our emotions. We should rejoice in the same things as Jesus Christ rejoiced AND we should be repulsed by the same things in which Jesus Christ was repulsed.
We need the Spirit to work in our hearts so that we feel “yucky” about any sinful activity in our own life and in the world. We also need the Spirit to help us REJOICE whenever we see someone turn away from that sinful activity and rest in the forgiveness of Jesus Christ.