<p>1:24&nbsp;<i>Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to uncleanness, that their bodies should be dishonoured among themselves</i>- &ldquo;Gave them up&rdquo; is s.w. Acts 7:42, where God turned from Israel because of their apostasy and &ldquo;gave them up&rdquo; to worship idols. Again, God works with His sinful people by propelling them in a downwards spiral. In this context He did this by giving them over to their own sexual lusts, which resulted in their dishonouring their own bodies. God can confirm people in their sexual lusting; and by implication, He can also hold people back. The perversions of homosexuality spoken of in v. 26 are all this come to its ultimate term- when people are made to feel that they were &lsquo;born gay&rsquo;. Unbridled sexual lust leads to self-harm, a sin against self, in the sense that such behaviour is a dishonouring Gk.: shaming, despising of one&rsquo;s own body. This suggests that the body naturally has honour- Paul is attacking the view that the body is evil and to be despised, that God is angry with human flesh as flesh. We take that glory and honour away from our bodies by sexual misbehaviour. Paul uses the Greek word for &lsquo;dishonour&rsquo; only once more in Romans, in 2:23, where he says that sin is a dishonouring&nbsp;<i>of God</i>. To dishonour ourselves, our own body, is to dishonour God. For we are made in His image and likeness. Lack of self-respect, an incorrect understanding and perception of who we are, is what so often leads us to sin.</p>