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If you've been sexually abused by a relative (it's called "incest"; and statistics show that the number of children abused within the family is rising, so you're not alone!), God is grieved. He never meant for such behavior to occur within the family, which is supposed to be a safe haven for all members involved. But because the people on this earth sometimes choose to go their own way instead of God's way, someone used you through his or her own needs for sex. God states clearly in Leviticus that having sex with anyone who is "kin" to you is downright wrong (and throughout Scripture He also says that having sex with anyone you're not married to is wrong). But that doesn't mean that you are wrong. The sexual abuse, incest, or rape is not your fault. You were the innocent party, the victim who was acted upon. You did nothing to cause that person to commit such acts toward you-it wasn't the way you dressed, what you said, that you were "dirty," or that you deserved it.

The first step toward healing is for you to admit what happened to you-and that the abuse was not your fault. You are not to blame, and God is not angry with you. But He does extend a choice to you-how will you respond from this point forward? (See also Psalm 27; Ecclesiastes 12:14.)

None of you shall approach anyone who is near of kin to him, to uncover his nakedness. Leviticus 18:6

Many children who are abused grow up struggling with promiscuity (or even with having sex within marriage) because they feel they're already used goods. How does knowing that the abuse wasn't your fault change your perspective? How could that knowledge alter the way you live your life now?

Copyright 2001 by the author or Christianity Today International/Christian Bible Studies.

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