"Don't kiss the boys. That's how you get babies." This mother's advice to her daughters is not totally misguided. The power of a passionate kiss can lead the way to pregnancy, as many young people have sadly discovered. There are all sorts of kisses. When Dad arrives home his kids may squeal with delight, and smother him with kisses. Mom may have to do with hubby's quick peck. And the family mutt will likely give him sloppy, tail-wagging kisses. Some nationalities kiss on both cheeks, and their men even kiss men this way. Then there's the thing in which two women touch their cheeks together and kiss the air, sometimes making a ridiculous "Mwah" sound. Kisses can be enjoyable, but to the little boy who's told to kiss aunt Martha, a kiss is simply a "Yech." In childhood it's usually the little girl who kisses her favorite boy. "Yech," again. When she gets a little older the little girl may send him a love note with S.W.A.K. (Sealed With A Kiss) on the envelope. Kisses can raise memories, some happy, some sad, and some funny as my wife Betty and I discovered. Old Harry, who had a lifetime aversion to bath water, drove his rattletrap truck past our country home and threw Betty a big, toothless kiss. We've laughed about that often. The apostle Paul adjures us to greet the brethren with a holy kiss (Romans 16:16; 1Corinthians 16:20; 2Corinthians 13:12; 1 Thessalonians 5:26). There's been much speculation over the meaning of a holy kiss, or a kiss of charity as Peter called it (1Peter 5:14), but it certainly isn't a homosexual or lesbian-type kiss. God doesn't look kindly on that. |