A recent post of ours called Why The Concept That “True Love Waits” Is Confusing And A Bit Misleading dug a bit into the purposes of abstaining from sex and why. Is it because you’re ‘waiting’ for your spouse or because you’re pursuing holiness? Of course these reasons do not have to be mutually exclusive, in reality most Christians would agree on both. But the latter is usually not the first mentioned reason why they are not having sex.  But really, for all of us that are not in a marriage covenant, holiness should be the number one reason you’re abstaining.
We came across this article  that digs a bit more into ‘purity’ and how it is taught to youth groups and how the teachers are sending the wrong message. Our sexual purity does not define our value in the eyes of God. In fact if youth leaders are not careful with this very important message they will continue to perpetuate objectification of women – example:

“A chewed stick of gum. Tape that’s lost its stickiness. A torn up piece of paper. Unwrapped gifts. Dirty chocolate…..“For me, I thought ‘I’m that chewed-up piece of gum,’” she told a panel. “Nobody re-chews a piece of gum. You throw it away. And that’s how easy it is to feel you no longer have worth. Your life no longer has value.”

Prayerfully come before the Lord when you know you may have a conversation with anyone about celibacy. Whether you think so or not, your voice has great influence on someone. Click HERE for this article from Relevant Magazine.