Our youth pastor, David Rath, shared his mom's sex talk with her teenage son. She tossed David a condom and said, "If you are going to use it, make sure you wrap it up."  End of talk.  So much for the birds and the bees.

     That may sound a bit crude and rough around the edges, but it does line up with two modern ideas about human sexuality.  First, people, like dogs in the back yard, are going to have sex, whether they are married or not.  The second idea is that a good and wise person should practice safe sex.  In other words, wrap it up, take a pill, protect yourself.  That's our present-day world.

     There is another world.  A fourteen year old girl was talking to her her grandmother about the good old days, and being a modern child, she boldly asked her, "Back then, what did people use for safe sex?"  Grandmother's answer, "It's called a wedding ring."

     I like the sentiment and wisdom of a dear old saint.  But I also know that human beings have been sinful since that fateful day in a Garden, and sexual sins were not discovered in the last decades.  As a matter of fact, the Bible, a truly ancient document, has much to say about sexual immorality (I Cor. 6:12-20; I Cor. 7:1-9; Ex. 20:14; Matt. 5:27-28; II Cor. 12:21; Eph. 5:3; Col. 3:5; I Thes. 4:3 et al.).  There is, however, one characteristic of our present culture that may be different than previous eras.  It is the increasingly low view of marriage.

     Hebrews 13:4 tells us, "Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral."

     The marriage bed is a rich and powerful symbol of physical intimacy as a joyful expression of love between a man and a woman who have a life-long commitment to one another in the covenant of marriage.

     When the image of the marriage bed is lifted high, all other sexual behavior seems poor and pathetic.  How can you compare the lovemaking of a husband and wife to a one-night stand, internet pornography, living together, an affair, etc.?  But when we devalue marriage, we lower the standard for sexual behavior.  Sex becomes just sex.

     Strengthening and honoring and affirming marriage is one of the most important ways to stand against sexual immorality and to protect ourselves and our children.  Building healthy marriages is the positive battle for healthy sexuality.  A wedding ring is better than a condom!

Seeking to love Him more,

Pastor Ben