Young People Ask . . . Is it Normal to Be a Virgin? - Virginity-God's View

Nevertheless, there is a side to  premarital sex that your peers may not talk about. Maria recalls: "Afterwards I felt embarrassed and ashamed. I hated myself and I hated my hated my boyfriend."  Such experiences are far more typical than most youths admit. Forget the tall tales and exaggerations you may hear from your peers. In reality premarital sex  is often an emotionally painful and humiliating experience with devastating consequences! 

This should not surprise you. For while the world may very well view  premarital sex as healthy and normal, this does not make it right in the eyes of God. Jesus Christ reminds us "what is lofty among men is a disgusting thing God's sight." (Luke 16:15) God has his own standards of acceptable  behavior.  "This is what God wills," the Bible says,  "the sanctifying of you, that you abstain from fornication; that each one of you should know how to get possession of his own vessel in sanctification and honor . . . For God called us, not with allowance for uncleanness, but in connection with sanctification." - THESSALONIANS 4:3-7.

As far as God is concerned, then, virginity in a young women is not only normal but clean and holy!  In ancient Israel, virgin girls enjoy an honorable status. They were protected by the Law from sexual exploitation.  (Deuteronomy 22:19, 28, 29) And virginity continues to be honored among true Christians.  The Christian congregation itself is likened to "a chaste virgin" because of its moral purity. - 2 CORINTHIANS 11:2; REVELATION 21:9.

Nowhere does the Bible urge youths to  view their virginity as a curse.  On the contrary, the apostle Paul said that "if anyone stands settled in his heart . . . to keep his own virginity (by remaining single), he will do well.  Consequently he also that gives his virginity in marriage does well, but he that does not give it in marriage do better."  Paul was not condemning honorable sexual relations in marriage. Rather, he was  showing that a Christian who choose to retain his or her virginity by remaining single would be able to enjoy "constant attendance by the Lord without distraction." - 1 CORINTHIANS 7:25, 33-38.

For a Christian  youth, then, virginity is not a badge of shame but a testimony to one's integrity to God.  Granted, it is not easy to stay chaste; considerable self-control is required.  But the Bible assures us that God's "commandments are not burdensome." (1 John 5:3) The psalmist assures us: "The orders from Jehovah are upright, causing the heart to rejoice: the commandment of Jehovah is clean, making the yes shine." (Psalm 19:8) Following God's ways is always healthy, beneficial. 

Next time: Young People Ask . . . Is It Normal to Be a Virgin? -'Sinning Against One's Body'

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