Make Love, Not War: Why Sex Is Good For World Peace

• Tweet
• Sharebar

• Tweet

Anti-war activists in the ‘60s and thousands of buttons distributed at the Mother’s Day Peace March in 1965 popularized the slogan “Make Love, Not War” that’s well-known by many to this day. It represented not only anti-Vietnam war sentiment, it also reflected the new sexual openness and the so-called sexual revolution that was going on at the time.

Flash forward to late 2008. Pastor Ed Young leads his Christian congregation in a “sex-periment” in which all married couples are challenged to have sex for seven straight days. Believing that “sex should be a nurturing, spiritual act that strengthens marriages,” he said that 20,000 couples all having sex would result in issues being brought out that might require a lot of forgiveness but that would ultimately strengthen their marriages.

At the very least, Ed Young’s sex challenge stirred up a lot of discussion. And there have been many copycats since. The most controversial part of the discussion revolved around the question of appropriateness for a Christian minister to even mention sex.

But why not? I think the intention was a good one, plus there are many passages in the Christian Bible that exhort husbands and wives to cling together and cleave together and be one together and all sorts of good stuff. And I think if more people made love instead of war we’d have a much more peaceful planet.

How can sex make a difference in world peace?

To answer that question, of course, I’ll have to first define sex. Of course.

What I’m talking about here is mutually-desired, pleasurable physical intimacy of a sexual nature between two adult people who are involved together in a committed, personal relationship. The contact is not only mutually desired, it’s also satisfactory to both.

Feel free to add any and all definitions that come to mind. Mutually-desired is the key as well as satisfaction—defined by the individuals involved—along with mutual respect, consideration, and caring. Love, in other words.

If more people make more love, more often, the result is more peace between them.

And when there is peace in the home, multiply that by all the homes in the world, and we’ll have a whole lot more peace everywhere. Naive? Maybe. Maybe not.

Suppose a committed couple doesn’t have enough peace together to even have sex. How can having sex create peace?

As Pastor Ed Young said, for many couples to have sex every day for seven days, some issues might have to be dealt with and problems overcome. There are many couples, married or otherwise, who aren’t having sex on a regular basis—or even at all. Sometimes health issues or crazy schedules—kids, work, aging parents—prevent sexual intimacy. In other cases, the relationship is just unhealthy and unhappy. But why not make sex a priority and figure out a way? If two people make more frequent lovemaking a goal, then they’ll have to work on those issues and resolve them or find time.

Or maybe they don’t have to work on anything. Maybe, if they just decide to set the difficult issues aside and get into bed together, maybe the good feelings that the experience creates can make the mole-hills-turned-into-mountains seem trivial and unimportant in the big scheme of things. Or maybe a combination of both: work on the issues with sex as a goal and sex as a goal that helps with the peace.

What could be a better goal to work on together than to have a lot of great sex? Why not?

Of course, if the issues are serious psychological issues, that might make things challenging in a different way. But even those can be overcome, given a desire and a willingness.

Here’s something else to think about: people who are having great sex feel good. And people who feel good are much more likely to feel peaceful. That’s because sex can, among many things:

• Boost your immune system
• Help maintain healthy weight
• Relieve stress and risk of high blood pressure
• Helps couples maintain emotional connection and intimacy
• Elevate self-esteem
• Reduce pain
• Lower risks for several types of cancer, including prostate
• Help you sleep better
• Help with depression and sadness
• Reduce menopause symptoms

Why not make love instead of war?

Forget about world peace for a moment. What about peace in your own life? Peace in your home? A smile on your face, the kind of smile that lasts all day after a night of great sex. Sex is good. Sex feels good. It’s meant to be that way. Our bodies are designed for sex, in case you haven’t noticed. Make love with your partner today for peace in the heart, peace in the home, and peace on the planet.

Don’t have a partner? I don’t recommend you start singing Stephen Stills’ “Love the One You’re With” which brings to mind the more, shall we say, radical side of the ’60s and the idea that just about anyone will do. But when the time comes that you do have a partner in your life, by all means make healthy, loving sex a priority in your lives together.

If there is to be peace in the world,
There must be peace in the nations.
If there is to be peace in the nations,
There must be peace in the cities.
If there is to be peace in the cities,
There must be peace between neighbors.
If there is to be peace between neighbors,
There must be peace in the home.
If there is to be peace in the home,
There must be peace in the heart.

– Lao Tzu (570-490 B.C.)

Comments are always welcome!

For additional reading:

10 Surprising Health Benefits of Sex

New Year’s resolution: Have more sex

The famous words likely were borne by Ashland resident (Make Love, Not War)

No Sex or Low Sex—Sexless Marriages

What Determines Healthy Sexuality: Variance is the Spice of Life