From the time I was a teenager, fornication never appealed to me. After being married for over 45 years, adultery has never appealed to me either. The short-term pleasure was not worth the long-term pain and suffering. I’ve been pondering how I came to this conclusion at a young age while our culture is so hyper-sexualized and promotes promiscuity.

My mom told me when I was a teenager that I would want to one day be able to stand in front of the man I would marry and tell him that I had saved myself for him. That’s all she told me. I never read any books about purity as a teenager, nor did I hear any sermons about it. For some reason, it never held any attraction for me. Sure, I had crushes on guys, but it didn’t consume me.

I didn’t have a close relationship to my dad. He worked long, hard hours and was a loner. He was an only child and had problems building any type of a relationship with us. Many claim women who are promiscuous had absent fathers. Well, my dad wasn’t absent, thankfully, but I did enjoy male attention. My daughters, who had a close relationship to their dad, didn’t crave male attention like I did. Fathers are incredibly important to daughters in this area no doubt.

My mom would never put me on the birth control pill. She was against all drugs except for emergencies. She would never promote us being sexually active either. I had friends in high school who were promiscuous and having abortions. I didn’t think about abortions much back then (Roe v Wade had just become the law of the land, sadly), but it still seemed wrong to me.

I’ve always had a strong sense of right and wrong. I’m not sure why, but I’m thankful even though I attended lukewarm churches and public schools, and my parents didn’t teach me much Scripture. I attribute it to God’s grace upon me. I have always pondered things deeply, and I can’t remember a time I didn’t believe in God as my Savior.

Fornication never drew me in. I always just wanted a husband for life, have children with him, and be home to care for my family. Fornication could have ruined my dream. I know it hasn’t for many women who find healing in Christ, but there are always scars and regrets. All of them would say they wish they lived a life of sexual purity instead, because God’s ways are always good.

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

Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
2 Timothy 2:22

Make sure you teach your children these invaluable truths. They probably won’t hear them anywhere else. I was diligent about teaching my children.

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