Sunday, April 11, 2010
the thrill of the chaste
CHASTITY. What sort of images are conjured up in your mind when you hear that word? Images of provincial, hopelessly backward prudes, drab old spinsters...? What has our society become to make us think this way? Where once living a chaste life was held high, it is now deemed in such a negative light that anyone openly professing such a thing will surely meet with mockery or at the least disbelief.
The topic of this blog posts results from a book I just started reading last night: "the thrill of the chaste" by dawn eden. It offers hope and wisdom from someone who has been there and done that, showing women how they too can go from insecurity to purity, and from forlorn to reborn. As the back cover says, "this isn't a book for dainty damsels in white dresses patiently awaiting their handsome prince - but for real women who need strong, motivational, and deeply moral messages to counter the ones they receive from a superficial, sex-obsessed world." I just want to share some thoughts and quotes from my readings so far:
What exactly is chastity, if not merely abstaining from sex? Two definitions were provided:
- "that virtue by which we are in control of our sexual appetite rather than it being in control of us"
- "seeing your sexual nature as part of a three-way relationship: you, your future spouse, and God
"Intimacy before marriage relies on faith that a man who has not shown faith in you -that is, not enough faith to commit himself to your for life- will come around through the persuasive force of your physical affection."
ON THE OTHER HAND:
"Chastity relies on faith that God, as you pursue a closer walk with Him, will lead you to a loving husband. Chastity opens up your world, enabling you to achieve your creative and spiritual potential without the pressure of having to play the dating game. Your husband will love you for yourself- your heart, mind, body and soul."
I end with another quote: "Think about it: all it takes is one unmarried woman to live a dynamic, well-rounded, and happy life while avoiding premarital sex, and the culture's image of the drab spinster crumbles like a house of cards. That's why being singular [rather than defining yourself as single] is so exciting. It's an act of open rebellion - liberating you from an oppressive culture."
I know I've made my mistakes, but that is the woman I want to become, and by God's grace, can become.
Feel free to share your thoughts! :)
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1 comment:
This is an age-old problem – chastity – or rather the lack thereof! Take this young guy’s quote from several hundred years ago, “Why buy the cow, when the milk is free?” A crude way of putting things, but just shows how guys can think (who would want to be the cow?)
And then there was Joseph. If anyone faced temptation, he did. Hundreds of miles from home, as good as dead to his family with little or no chance of seeing them again, no accountability to friends, coworkers, church family, or family. Potiphar’s house was empty, and he was only listening to his boss’s wife, right? But he still felt accountable to God. He didn’t say, “What’s going to happen when I get caught?” but “How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?” He must have had a personal relationship with God, not just a church up-bringing or the teaching of good morals (look at his brothers), because his faith in God had a strong impact on his daily life.
Without this personal relationship, chastity will always be an enormous battle . . . and usually a losing one.
With this personal relationship, chastity will still remain a battle, but there will be a Source to strengthen one’s will in the fight.
It sounds like Joseph could have written this:
The Mighty One, God the Lord, speaks and summons the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting. Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God shines forth. Our God comes; he does not keep silence; before him is a devouring fire, around him a mighty tempest. He calls to the heavens above and to the earth, that he may judge his people:
“Gather to me my faithful ones, who made a covenant with me by sacrifice!”
The heavens declare his righteousness, for God himself is judge!
“Hear, O my people, and I will speak . . . Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and perform your vows to the Most High, and call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.”
But to the wicked God says:
“What right have you to recite my statutes or take my covenant on your lips? For you hate discipline, and you cast my words behind you . . .”
“Mark this, then, you who forget God, lest I tear you apart, and there be none to deliver! The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me; to one who orders his way rightly I will show the salvation of God!”
From Psalm 50
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