No witty title today, guys... Sorry!

This week we are going to be discussing the word purity. My church crowd may be sitting there about to go check their Facebook, thinking “Purity? Really? I’ve taken the class, I know all there is to know. No point in reading this week!” However, I beg you to put away your preconceived ideas and open your hearts to what God might be saying to you today. For those of you who are sitting there in dire confusion, let me explain…

If you go to Google and type in the words Christian and Purity, you will come up with a million and a half sites all related to the same thing… no sex before marriage. If you ask the average church-going citizen what purity means, most will give the same reply. This is especially true among teens, mainly because it has been drilled into us from twelve years old and up. We’ve taken the True Love Waits classes, signed the paper, and got the purity ring that says we won’t have sex until our wedding night.

Blah blah blah. Now don’t get me wrong… this is an absolutely true message, and me and Jesus are 100% behind it. Sex before marriage is a bad idea for all involved, what with the physical, spiritual, and emotional ramifications. (If you don’t know what these things are, ask me. I’ll get you the information). I’ve got a purity ring myself, and I wear it every day to remind myself of my commitment. Oh, and it IS a commitment guys, both to God and to your future spouse! It’s not just a bit of bling-bling or something to wear because the Jonas Brothers have them! Anyway, it’s just that this simple definition makes purity a rather 2-D word, doesn’t it? Flat, rather lifeless, and of very limited use.

Now I will be the first to admit that until a very short time ago, this was my entire range of thinking. Purity = Chastity, Chastity = Purity, end of story. It wasn’t until the youth speaker at Brown City Camp, Jeremiah Bolich (look him up guys, he’s fantastic!), brought it up that God really got me on it. I spoke to many of my friends afterward, and they were equally surprised at this new revelation. The point he made was this:

PURITY IS NOT JUST ABOUT THE SEX (or lack thereof). You can go your whole life without anything even related to sex, and still not be pure.

There are many definitions of purity. Seven actually, according to dictionary.com. Oddly enough, the definition of “physical chastity; virginity” is number five on the list. Know what number one is? “the condition or quality of being pure; freedom from anything that debases, contaminates, pollutes, etc.”

“Ok, so what does that have to do with me?” You may be asking. “If it’s not about my sex life, what is it about?” I’ll tell you. It’s about your life. All of it. Every thought, every action, every word. All of it. God wants us to live our lives in a pure way.

Need proof that it’s not all church hype? Take a look at this:

2 Corinthians 6:6- We prove ourselves by our purity, our understanding, our patience, our kindness, by the Holy Spirit within us, and by our sincere love.
1 Timothy 4:12- Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.
Psalm 24:4-5- He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood And has not sworn deceitfully. He shall receive a blessing from the LORD And righteousness from the God of his salvation.
Psalm 51:10- Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

See? Told you God was behind it. Why do you always doubt me? Gee whiz…

So, what does living a pure life entail? The definition of purity said it was free of anything that debases, pollutes, or contaminates. When it comes to our spiritual lives, that contaminate is SIN. Now I’m not talking about just those “big things” that all the church people are talking about… you know, murder, sex before marriage, stealing, pornography, all that good stuff. I’m talking about the “little” things, like cheating off your friend’s paper so you don’t fail a test, or those lustful thoughts you get when that little blonde hottie walks by, etc. I put quotation marks around the words “big” and “little” because to God, there is no big or little sin. Sin is sin, and it separates us from God. That means to God, living a homosexual lifestyle is no worse than lying to your friend so she won’t get mad at you. (And yes, according to God homosexuality is a sin. If you want some back-up verses, ask. Oh, and for those of you self-righteous idiots who think you are too holy to love/befriend a person like this, take a look at yourself for a change and come off your high horse a notch or five.)

In any case, sin puts a barrier between you and God. The idea of living a pure life is to get rid of those things! I know it’s hard. Sometimes we just plain don’t want to give up our sin. Let’s face it, sin is fun, at least for a little while. But the backlash and repercussions of it are not worth the temporary thrill, and a restored closeness with God outstrips any pleasure sin can ever bring!

So are you living a life of TRUE purity, or do you need to apply a Tide To Go stick on a few places? Truthfully, almost all of us have something God needs to work on in us. If God is calling you out on a few things, I know something that works just a smidge better than those stain-removing pens (although they are nifty, aren’t they?). It’s called prayer, and if I’m not mistaken, I think I may have just talked about it last week. Talk it out with Him, make things right, and live a pure life.

So, that’s it for this week!! Now that you know, go live it! xoxo