So I’m sitting here thinking about purity.
Yep. I sure am. Just another wild and crazy night in the suburbs, I reckon.
And the crux, I guess, of all my current purity-related thoughts is that whether it’s intentional or not, the call to sexual purity—what you might hear in your small group or Bible study, for instance—sometimes gets communicated with a whole lot of pressure attached. I say that because when I talk to the girls I serve, I have spoken about purity with a whole lot of pressure attached.
Don’t burden yourself with unnecessary regrets!
Don’t make a bad decision and subject yourself to guilt and shame!
Don’t establish unhealthy boundaries and patterns in your relationships!
Don’t damage what God has for you and your husband after you’re married!
Don’t sacrifice long-term peace by giving in to short-term temptation!
Please understand that I’m not being critical of those kinds of statements. There’s something to be said for some timely wisdom and even a good, old-fashioned warning. There’s truth in each one of the examples I listed; in fact, we could probably sit down together and review each one of those points and nod our heads and look at Scripture and agree that purity is a priority in the life of a believer. No doubt about it.
There’s also no doubt that if we think about it long enough, we could come up with hundreds of potential hazards and consequences and worst-case scenarios that result from rebellion in general and sexual rebellion in particular. We could talk until we’re blue in the face and maybe even scare each other a little bit.
What I think we sometimes miss, though, in our attempts to encourage one another to “pay careful attention, then, to how [we] live” (Ephesians 5:15), especially when we’re talking about a topic that affects teenagers and young adults as much as the pursuit of purity, is this:
God-centered, God-honoring purity brings freedom.
FREEDOM.
THAT IS A BIG DEAL.
However, sometimes (like tonight, when I’m thinking all the thoughts) I wonder if our focus on negative consequences and negative outcomes pushes us in the direction of behavior modification more than it inspires us to be free. Do we try to make ourselves “follow the rules” so that bad stuff won’t happen? Or so people won’t know that we’re struggling? Are we relying more on willpower than the ongoing, transforming work of Jesus in our lives?
Here’s the reality: purity most definitely affects the body, but ultimately it is a condition of the heart and mind. Purity is only possible because of Christ’s grace in us and our dependence on Him. Purity prioritizes God before self (or another person, for that matter), it prompts us to rejoice instead of regret, and it produces peace not just in the here and now but also five, ten, even thirty years down the road.
Purity won’t solve your problems, but oh, have mercy, it sure can prevent a few.
Live and love in the freedom that comes from trusting God and honoring Him with your heart, soul, mind, and body.
Be free!
1. Is purity a topic you think about / pray about / talk about with friends? Are you candid in those discussions?
2. Do you have any personal convictions about what God-honoring purity should look like in your life? What are they?
3. Why do you think young women often battle the temptation to hide their struggles when it comes to this particular topic?
4. Read 2 Timothy 2:22. Write it down here.
Today’s Prayer