What is the most precious gift you can give your spouse on your wedding day? It is that you waited for that person and that person alone. Remaining faithful before and during marriage is all too uncommon today. Many think it is unnecessary and antiquated. What is the right thing to do? The Bible SaysThe Bible tells us to avoid sexual immorality (1 Thessalonians 4:3-8) to flee from it and honor God with our bodies (1 Corinthians 6:18, 20). Sleeping with another man's wife will get you burned (Proverbs 6:27-29). Avoid the adulterous woman or man, because it is a death trap (Proverbs 5:20-23). Sexually immoral people will not inherit the kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 6:9-11). There must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity among Christians (Ephesians 5:3-4). QuarantineEven those who campaign to prevent sexually transmitted disease seem to have given up on the best protection known to medical science, quarantine. Yet chastity, two virgins marrying each other after having waited, is the best quarantine for venereal disease. Condoms are not as good as quarantine. They break. Abstinence before marriage and faithfulness afterwards is the best remedy. Many sexually transmitted diseases (STD's) or as they are sometimes called, sexually transmitted infections (STI's) carry a grave risk of infertility and death. An immoral James Bond lifestyle may look exciting in the movies, but most movies fail to disclose the damaged emotions, depression, sexual dysfunction, unhappy future relationships and unwanted pregnancies that are a part of the package. Emotional ProtectionCondoms are only second best and cannot prevent the emotional damage caused by multiple partners. Chastity cannot promise that a marriage will not end up in divorce, but it gives marriage a greater chance of succeeding. Marriage partners who have been faithful to their future spouse beforehand are more likely to remain faithful during marriage. They are also more likely to be morally and emotionally strong in the face of the struggles of life. They have already demonstrated that they could withstand the temptation to give in to the easy way. Protection of the Defenseless6 million unborn babies are killed each year, 2/3 of them in Russia and America. Many of these unwanted children are put to death by their unwed mothers. This is a worldwide shame which could be minimized significantly by a greater popularity of chastity resulting in less unwanted pregnancies among young singles. The Ideal Marriage UnionMarriage is the best sexual union and chastity before and during makes the best marriage. The best instruction in chastity is an apprenticeship, growing up seeing an example of marital purity in parents, hearing parents explain sincerely and enthusiastically why waiting for marriage was so important, and sitting in church hearing sermons that encourage marital fidelity. Young people are then more likely to make a lifelong public commitment themselves. The ideal start to a sexual union is marriage, making a promise to almighty God before witnesses, a commitment confirmed by a legally binding signature made in the presence of parents and the Church. Pre-Marital Sex vs. ChastityPremarital sex is as seen as a given these days. Very few, young or old, save themselves for marriage. Some do, and they are often ridiculed, but the great secret is that they are usually far happier and healthier than those who did not wait. Sex before marriage is not as good as the publicity alleges. It is unsatisfying sex, because there are so many missing ingredients. The best sex is inside of a faithful marriage, where there is emotional protection, quarantine, trust, safety, long-term commitment, family support and real love instead of cheap lust.The best preparation for the best sex is premarital celibacy, chastity. If the only person you have ever had sex with is your spouse, you have the best sex on the planet. Nothing can take that away from you, unless you allow temptation to turn into adultery and ruin what you had. Ignore the sleazy Hollywood propaganda. It is one of the biggest lies on earth. Many people wonder if they are missing out on something by staying faithful in marriage. That is a normal and natural thought, but the answer is no. If you give in to temptation, you may think you taste something better for the short term, but in the end, you will only taste bitterness and misery. Shacking UpA common law or defacto marriage is considered to be a real marriage in the law of many countries, but it is also deficient. The law may or may not protect the property of the two individuals, and it guarantees none of the other protective ingredients of the ideal marriage union.The marriage failure rate in the western world is a known fact, but not many know that defacto relationships fail at a far higher rate than traditional marriages. There is also a significantly greater risk of domestic violence, child abuse, depression, lower school grades, child behavioral problems and lower family incomes among cohabiting couples. People who have multiple sexual partners are more likely to be cynical about, feel betrayed by and distrustful of the opposite sex. Shacking-up is a dangerous choice not an attractive one. A defacto relationship is a statistically proven threat to a person's future happiness.Today's generation is confused about sex and gender, is sexually abusive and sexually exploited, they are parenting too early, too impatient to wait and as a result, are living in misery. The ideal sexual union takes place in a committed marriage, with parental and church support and encouragement. What if It's Too Late?Most who read this will have already blown it. They will be among the majority in our society who have messed up their purity with some kind of sexual misadventure. It would have been far better never to have sinned in the first place. But that is not realistic. That's why we have Jesus as our Savior. Even those who have not been physically unfaithful, have done the same thing in their minds (Matthew 5:28-30). Everyone has committed sexual sin in their minds. We cannot regain what we have lost. If you were a virgin and have lost it (male or female) you cannot regain it ever again, that's impossible, just as it is difficult to erase the results of an unwanted pregnancy or permanent damage from a venereal disease. But, we can be clean again, spiritually. We can have forgiveness if we confess our sins (1 John 1:9). As long as we have life and Christ's forgiveness, we can start again. Honesty CheckThose who want to promote sexual promiscuity and divorce claim to have the animal kingdom as their guide, yet many examples exist among various animal species of monogamy. Those who promote condoms as the best available medical prophylactic, dishonestly ignore the most effective disease prevention known to medical science, quarantine. The real issue is morality. Whose morality counts, that made up by impious humans who want to excuse an irresponsible lifestyle, or that given to us by our all-wise God? ConclusionWhat did Jesus say about marriage and chastity? He said that divorce and remarriage for any reason other than some form of sexual perversion was itself adultery. Jesus included adultery and sexual perversions in a list of evils along side of murder and theft. Yet today, adultery is considered by some psychologists to be therapy and some sexual perversions are called alternative lifestyles. Clearly popular morality is crap. The media’s portrayal of sex outside of marriage is a lie. It only leads to greater risk of domestic violence, child abuse, depression, low grades, child behavioral problems and lower family incomes. Sex inside of marriage is a blessing from God. If chastity is practiced before and fidelity during, a marriage has the best promise of success. If we mess up, we will suffer physical consequences, perhaps even lifelong consequences, but the sins of the flesh are forgivable. That's why Jesus died, so we could be forgiven. What a wonderful blessing a faithful marriage is. A faithful spouse is your best friend, your confidant, your trusted partner. You may grow old together and share so many good memories. You can live a clean life uncontaminated by gut-wrenching divorce, family upset and custody battles and may get to see your grandchildren and perhaps even great grandchildren together. |
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