Teaching your children to honor God’s authority by obeying quickly and pleasantly has many blessings. One of these blessings is to learn to avoid the world’s wisdom, no matter how attractive it may appear. For example, there is the lie that there can be safe sex outside of marriage.
For those of you who missed it, last Monday, September 26, 2011, was WCD day. WCD stands for World Contraception Day. This year the day was sponsored by such institutions as Bayer Health Care, Planned Parenthood, and at least nine other like-minded groups. According to a Fox News report, WCD advocates raise questions such as this one:
“How can young people make decisions that are right for them and protect them from unwanted pregnancy and STIs (Sexually Transmitted Infections), if we do not empower them and enable them to acquire the skills they need to make those choices?”
Really.
Well, there is one way that this question could be answered helpfully. Young people could be empowered by coming to Christ and his Word, and acquire from him the skill to make wise choices regarding sexual practice. The skill they need is to learn to say NO to sexual activity outside marriage. One word—just two letters. NO.
But modern man, in his proverbial darkened state, plunges ever deeper into darkness by seeking new and creative ways to say YES to sex outside of marriage. Elaborate programs and strategies are constantly being revamped and tweaked to stem the rising tide of the health risks and emotional wreckage that comes from the practice of “safe sex.”
Safe sex outside of marriage is one of the deadly oxymorons of modern life. The truth is that any sex outside of marriage is anything but safe! One does not need a public opinion poll to realize that extramarital sex is one of the most dangerous activities that people can engage in. A few moments of pleasure are stupidly traded for a life of worry, insecurity and physical danger. Within one generation, the slide into immorality has gone from can I get her to kiss me on the first date? to can I … well, you know what follows. The words of Solomon, 3,000 years ago, still ring true:
Can a man scoop fire into his lap
without his clothes being burned?
Can a man walk on hot coals
without his feet being scorched?
So is he who sleeps with another man’s wife;
no one who touches her will go unpunished. Proverbs 6:27-29
As Romans says, the truth of God has been exchanged for a lie. In this case, the lie is that there is safe sex outside of marriage. The WCD advocates are wrong; they are preaching lies— lies that look like truth. For example, a young couple, using certain types of contraceptives, may, in fact, prevent the spread of a certain type of disease or infection or a pregnancy. But what about the spiritual damage that is being done every time this young couple engages in “protected” sexual activity. Their very souls are laid open to be ravaged by lies, deceit and insecurity. They are being wounded with wounds that may never heal. They will learn the enticements of self-pleasure instead of the treasures of sensitivity and self-less love. More and more relationships that have “protected” sex are plagued with fear, doubt, and even multiple forms of abuse. Divorce rates are up, spousal abuse is rampant, and abortions are considered to be a necessary evil. All of this and more is the grim harvest of safe sex.
As the Proverbs also say:
“The way of the wicked is like deep darkness;
they do not know what makes them stumble.”
Instead of obeying God, man has trusted someone or something else. The world teaches that you can have sex anyway, anytime you want to. But, the world walks in deep darkness and it knows not what makes it stumble. Safe, protected sex outside of marriage is a modern urban legend, a hideous lie that waits to devour your children. Christian, have the courage to tell your children the truth about what constitutes sex that is safe. The marriage bed alone is the one place where sex is truly protected and is truly safe.