With confidence, strength, and integrity, today I make this promise to God, myself, my family, my future spouse, and my future children:
God wants us to love Him with all our heart, mind, soul and strength. Never underestimate the importance of relying on God’s strength to live a holy and obedient life of worship to Him. I pray for you a life of purity and holiness so that you are not followed by the struggles I have had to deal with because I did not know nor obey Jesus’ until I was 20. Your future life and family are worth this promise. Look at this as an honor to merely delay sexual pleasures until the honeymoon. It is not a punishment or torture to wait. God knows what is best; after all, it’s His design—marriage between one man and one woman for life. Let’s turn our culture around by obeying God and loving Jesus through how we treat each other and live out our marriages.
I will remain sexually pure until the day I give myself as a wedding gift to my spouse.
Everything in our society says this is unrealistic and not worth the wait. A TV show I saw last week said, “teens are going to have sex, they are all doing it.” Then it went on to expect teens to keep having sex; even though, some in the show were HIV positive. Let’s prove that those are lies. People who give into these lies will struggle with memories, comparisons and most-likely several diseases that only God can heal. If you save yourself for marriage, you will save yourself and spouse from a lot of stuff. And dealing with stuff ain’t worth it. Start over if you haven’t waited. All of you, stay completely sexually pure until married. Don’t do other things or see how far you can go. Once the blood gets flowing, you are going too far. Save yourself to be a wonderful gift that will pay off huge dividends in your future marriage. Ask your parents if you don’t know what a dividend is. Study about dividends so you can be a wise business person in these tough times. Being able to say that you waited until marriage is a gift that will amaze the people around you and provides a level of trust in your marriage that truly is priceless.
I know this requires support from my family and friends, as well as setting boundaries for myself and avoiding compromising situations.
I will not allow anyone to discourage me or pressure me from fulfilling this goal.
Listen to wise counsel that helps you avoid giving in. Be careful who you get advice from. Setting boundaries in every area of your life is vital to being a healthy adult. Being foolish with credit can get you in debt—only spend what you have but save for the future and give to God’s work. Your physical life is similar. The boundaries need to be set so you aren’t exposing yourself to some physical pleasure now that you will be paying off the interest for a long time. The marriage bed is far more than merely physical. It is a celebration of body, soul and mind meant to be a worship service of the God who created us for His pleasure. He allows us to have this great joy in marriage to make the loving union stronger. Guard it like the treasure it is.
I make this pledge today in the presence of God, my friends, and family who will support me and hold me accountable for the protection of my future.
We can only be held accountable if we are honest with those who care enough to ask us if we are on the right track. It’s a lot easier to say that the boundaries are in place, you haven’t compromised and you are on the right track than it is to deal with the consequences and guilt of giving in. Remember, if we fail and turn back to God there is forgiveness and grace. But, WOW! How much greater it will be when you stand at the wedding looking your soon to be lover in the eyes and say, “We made it. I waited for you. And I don’t have to wait anymore for the fantastic joy of sharing myself completely with you for the rest of my life.” That will make this all worth the wait, just as God intended. Many people are here to love, support and cheer for you. Help us help you so you can have the joy-filled marriage relationship God desires for you.
Now, if you are ready, please read out loud with me as you make this commitment:
My Pledge for Purity
With confidence, strength, and integrity, today I make this promise to God, myself, my family, my future spouse, and my future children: I will remain sexually pure until the day I give myself as a wedding gift to my spouse. I know this requires support from my family and friends, as well as setting boundaries for myself and avoiding compromising situations. I will not allow anyone to discourage me or pressure me from fulfilling this goal. I make this pledge today in the presence of God, my friends, and family who will support me and hold me accountable for the protection of my future.
PRAYER
“I’m very much about ‘no sex before marriage.’ When I was 12 years old, I said to my mom, ‘I want to follow what the Bible says—would you buy me this ring? I want to wear it and promise it.’ She got it for me, right then and there, and it was awesome. And I’ve worn it ever since. I think it’s easier when the guy believes the same thing as you do, so you’re not always fighting a battle.”
- Actress/pop star Miley Cyrus speaking about her purity ring and whether guys she dates have to share her beliefs, Seventeen , September 2008, p. 198.
“To us, the rings are a constant reminder to live a life of values. It’s about being a gentleman, treating people with respect and being the best guys we can be.”
- Jonas Brothers’ Nick Jonas speaking about the purity rings the brothers wear, Rolling Stone, August 7, 2008, p. 100.
No comments:
Post a Comment