Protecting Purity

Yesterday, I spoke a little on being a warrior poet. Let's dig a little deeper into one aspect of being a warrior poet: Purity. By this, I mean cultivating and protecting Purity in your own life as well as in others lives.

There are several aspects of Purity. One that gets a fair amount of attention is the physical aspect of Purity. Many of you probably have heard of the phrase "True love waits". This phrase is true! In our cheap, polluted, sensual, sex-crazed culture, physical purity is regarded as something of an old fashioned, ultra-conservative rule that spoils your fun, and no one really wants to follow it, though some do out of duty. This could not be further from the truth.

I believe that the Bible is infallible, and is applicable to my life and yours. In Galatians 5:19, it says that "the wrong things the sinful self does is clear: being sexually unfaithful, not being pure, taking part in sexual sins." Also in Ephesians 5:3, it says "...there must be no sexual sin among you, or any kind of greed. Those things are not right for God's holy people." I could go on and quote several other references, such as Colossians 3:5, and so on. It is transparently clear on where God stands on purity, and I would wager that most of you knew and agreed with this already. However, many see this command as an obligation; something that you have to do, even though you don't want to. We look around and we see our friends or the people on TV being blatantly sexually impure in their actions, and it looks a lot more fun than the doctrine of purity.

However, I see purity not so much as an obligation, though we are commanded to do it, but more of a protecting wall that brings us much more joy and blessing. Take a good, hard look at those people who are wholly sexually impure in the way they act. While it looks fun on the outside, it does not fill and does not truly bring happiness. While it may bring some pleasure, it does not satisfy. Think for a moment. If the God of the universe, who loves you very much, and wants the best for you, makes a rule, don't you think it is for your benefit? If there was no sexual impurity, there would be no AIDS, no STD's, less broken marriages, no rape, less abortions, etc.

Now some of you might be thinking "Well, I understand that purity is all well and good and it is for my protection, but it still is no fun. Aside from protecting myself from things I don't want, I really don't like the idea of purity." Let me say this. Your purity, especially your physical purity, is one of the best gifts you can give your (future) spouse. Let me dig a little deeper, to the best of my ability. While I am not yet married, and can't share completely how waiting is worth it for lack of experience, I can tell a little, based on what I've learned from others.

Your Purity not only honors your future spouse, but honors God as well. When you wait, and protect your purity at all costs, it makes your relationship with your future spouse that much more special. The way I see it, all of my affections and expressions of my love belong only to my future wife. That means abstaining from any form of those affections until I am married because those actions are specifically for her. I am very careful in how I act among girls, guarding my actions and my heart, making sure I don't give away any thing that belongs to my future wife.

This is why the physical aspect of Purity is important. It is not the only part of purity, though, especially in the whole aspect of "true love waits". Mental purity is just as important. In Matthew 5: 28, Jesus tells us that "...if anyone looks at a woman and wants to sin sexually with her (lust), in his mind he has already done that sin with the woman." In Job 31:1, Job says that "I have made a covenant with my eyes, not to look lustfully at a girl." True purity is not just physical, it is mental as well.

Purity must be cultivated by having the correct mindset. "Since you were raised with Christ, aim at what is in heaven, where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God. Think only of the things of heaven, not the things of the earth. Your old sinful self has died and your new life is kept with Christ in God." (Colossians 3:1-3) We must cultivate a mindset of purity by setting our minds on thing above, setting our focus on Christ.

Not only must it be cultivated, but Purity must be protected and guarded at all costs. It is a precious jewel. By protecting your purity, I mean to actively be on your guard against temptation and resist it. Sometimes it means fleeing or avoiding. I make it a practice to look away as soon as I see something impure. If need be, I try to stay away from where the temptation lies. I want to protect my Purity at all costs; both for my future wife, and also to bring honor to God. Purity of mind and body is very important and is very rewarding.

With all that said, I encourage you to pursue Purity. Cultivate and protect it. It is a precious jewel that needs to be protected and nourished, so when the time comes, you have a beautiful jewel for your spouse and, most importantly, bring glory to God!