Abstinence: Passion Held by Principle
The great debate around Abstinence, in the Christian
community has taken most by surprise, after all the practice of not engaging in sexual intimacy before marriage
seems more than appropriate for many reasons, but,
mainly because the Bible gives clear directives that we
(as believers) should abstain from physical intimacy and
sexual pleasure until marriage. Yet, more times than not,
this isn’t the case, and many have found themselves at the
crossroad, despite our belief system.
Why is sexual intimacy a gray area for believers?
The Wait, written by Devon Franklin and Meagan
Good-Franklin, offers great insight to the daunting
question at hand. In an interview with Pastor Toure’ Roberts of One Church LA, Franklin asked a very important
question, “Is sex the admission price for love?” He also
shed light on the real issue at hand, “…very rarely has the
Church taught strategies on how to wait.”
In fact, if the truth is told, dating can be a crucial battleground if sexual morality is an issue, especially in today’s
society. In the second annual case study: State of Dating
in America, conducted by ChristianMingle® and JDate®,
a whooping 61% of the participants who professed to be
believers agreed that sex was okay before marriage.
How can this be?
People are ineffective at combating sexual desire, because
a plan on how to do so, is not in existence, with specific
clarity. Without a strategy, intimacy becomes part of the
equation about 90% of the time.
According to Franklin, “We have a plan for salvation,
success, entrepreneurship, etc, but we don’t have a plan
on how to wait.