I talk about sex a lot

Let me start by saying that I like people with conviction. You know, people with gall who say something and then stand by what they say. It seems to me that this is a fading quality in our world. It used to mean something for two people to have an agreement and if a person was trust-worthy then a certain respect was rendered to them.

I know that for my best friend, and me, we learned that if you give a person your word, then you meant it. Word was bond sort of deal. That said, what is happening with so many that lose the virtue of conviction?

Let me clarify. I just read an article that has me kind of peeved.

Too many times in our society today, it’s far easier to just change your opinion than it is to speak up for what you believe. I’m sure many people find it easier to fold to the pressure stated and just conform rather than stand up for their own convictions. You know cower and drink the Kool-aid with everyone else instead of have a voice.

I’ll set it up for you. I teach middle school students, 7th & 8th grade to be exact. I teach students all kinds of things from the perspective of the scripture. I read, interpret and speak based upon what the Word says. I work hard to connect the bible to real, everyday life. The bible happens to say a lot about everyday life and the decisions we make. I happen to believe it is the all inspired Word of God, without error. With this in mind, I speak to my students about a lot of topics and talk about the teachings of Jesus and about how God has weighed in on many subjects. One topic I speak frequently on is that of virginity or abstinence, saving sex until marriage. I think it’s a timely topic and I certainly think students are interested in knowing about it, and to some people’s surprise, they even want to know what God says about it.

Well the article I read just spoke about how celebrity teens ought not set themselves up for failure. They ought not call themselves virgins or tell that they are practicing abstinence, because they might fail and that would give them no room in the public eye to move. The only option if they fail is an image in free fall. You can read the article here. I just have to say this is the most stupid, anemic, puny and weakest advise I have ever heard from a so-called teen adviser. The actual quote from the article is here: Stars who speak out about their virginity pledges may be setting themselves up for failure, says Jill Zimmerman Rutledge, author of teen self-help books "Picture Perfect" and "Dealing with the Stuff that Makes Life Tough."

Pardon me while I rant! I’m not sure I understand you Jill! Are you on drugs? Let me explain. I ask if you are on drugs because this is obviously a crazy question to ask a professional like yourself. You wouldn’t be on drugs. In fact, you would even be against drugs. You might even go as far as telling people or even teens to, “Say no too drugs,” because they’re bad for you. However, Ms. Rutledge, we don’t want to set people up for failure, so maybe we shouldn’t tell people we don’t do drugs. They’re may not be any other room but failure if we call ourselves drug-free, then end up using. After all, we are still building our own identities here, so we need to leave room for mistakes.

I don’t get the logic behind “mums the word.” Why can’t people just mean what they say? I admire the celebrity teen that calls himself or herself a virgin and then follows through with it. I even agree that if they voice their abstinence, they may feel the pressure of the public eye watching them, but so what? Christians that follow Christ, make that decision everyday. They choose to state their convictions and live by them. It takes real risk and there are weighty matters at stake.

I talk about sex a lot to students. I teach students all the time that waiting until heterosexual marriage was God’s plan for sex and any thing outside of that is sin. I didn’t make the rule, God did. If we don’t like it, fine, complain. But complain to God about it. Let him know how he created this thing called sex that our culture worships with every commercial and then complain about how you can’t have enough of it. Tell Him about how we need more sex. Explain to Him your better idea of sex outside marriage, preferably at a young age, perhaps even junior high, in order to have more years of sex. Let Him know how you think it’s okay for kids to experiment, kind of “learn the ropes.” Be sure you explain to Him how it’s probably not going to take an emotional toll on that individual later in life, because you understand things from a better perspective. Include the part about how He doesn’t understand all the pressure that a teen is under too.

I’m pretty sure most people would agree that marriage seals a certain vow, a genuine vow to give oneself sexually only to their spouse. Why is it so accepted now that people have sex with whomever until that marriage day? I mean, sex outside of marriage is still unfaithful sex, even if it happened years before you were married. I want students to know that God created and guarded sex. He protected it for their benefit. Why would we sell students short and tell them not to state their convictions for fear they may fail. We wouldn’t do this in any other arena. We don’t tell students to keep college a secret in case they fail. We don’t tell students to keep their job a secret in case they lose it. We don’t tell students to not ever baby-sit, incase they make a mistake at it. However, when it comes to the subject of sex, we think that we might as well give in now, cause everyone fails. Well, I think God protected it for a reason. Mainly, because something so powerful as sex could cause a lot of good or bad- if left to the whims of hormones.

I mean, I’ve never heard an adult talk about all the “mistakes” they wish they would have made in high school. Only the ones they wish they hadn’t made.

I’m just crazy enough to believe some students really can see what God created and why he protected it with marriage. Those students may just be the ones calling themselves virgins.