Granted, it’s not a popular topic anymore. It’s not something that we talk about. It’s not something we want others to know. Amazingly it has almost become a stigma in our society. But it is one thing that we need a greater emphasis on and a greater commitment to. Purity.
We live in a culture that is overly sexualized. It is not uncommon even for media that is considered family oriented to contain some adult material. Those who speak out against immodesty or promiscuity are labeled as prudes or goody-two-shoes. Virginity is a hush word and the pressure to be active either in consuming sexual content or being sexually active has never been greater. How is it in the midst of everything that the world is throwing at us that can we maintain our purity before God?
I think the key is making purity a priority. We have to be deliberate about everything that we do in life. Nothing meaningful is going to be accomplished by accident. That is true about having a healthy marriage. That is true with regard to rearing godly children. That is true about going to heaven. The only way anything meaningful is going to be accomplished in life is by making those things a priority.
With the onslaught of influence, content, innuendo, and temptation surrounding us we have to know when it’s time to turn off the television, close the internet browser, change topics of conversation, or exit a situation. I think the apostle Paul offered some pretty simple advice for how we can do that:
- “Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. Abstain from all appearance of evil” (2 Thessalonians 5:21-22).
- “Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body” (1 Corinthians 6:18).
Additionally there is the warning Jesus offered that should open our eyes:
“Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: but I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committeth adultery with her already in his heart. And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell” (Matthew 5:27-30).
Jesus’ basic point was that a person had to be ever vigilant to protect themselves from the impurities around them (1 Peter 5:8). One must only read about the actions of David in 2 Samuel 11 to know what happens when a person doesn’t maintain diligence concerning the temptations around them. Young and old alike need to pay careful attention to the media they are consuming, the relationships they are nurturing, and the environments in which they find themselves. Remember that without making purity a priority it will never become a reality either.
-Andy Brewer