79. SAFEGUARD YOUR GIFT
Dear Grandma Donna: Many talk about our “Sodom and Gomorrah” world because sex sin is so widely promoted, but there are voices out there promoting a pure lifestyle. Could you tell us a little about the pure lifestyle? Love, Savana
Dear Savana: One of the “voices” is an organization called, “True Love Waits.” The pledge they present is as follows: “Believing that true love waits, I make a commitment to God, myself, my family, my friends, my future mate and my future children to a lifetime of purity including sexual abstinence from this day until the day I enter a Biblical marriage relationship.”
For both the guy and the girl, saving themselves physically for their future mate is giving that mate a gift that no one else has opened. When the couple stands before friends and family on the wedding day and repeat the wedding vows, each one is giving the whole self to the mate, not just what is left over after giving pieces of it away to other young men or young women.
Saving the body for the mate is part of God’s plan for marriage. Just like the Heavenly Father wants the whole heart, the mate deserves the whole heart also. When young people give God the whole heart and remain faithful to His Word, they have a strength to take a stand against the immorality of the young people around them. They remain faithful to their God and make Him the true love of their life, rather than the next cute guy or the next cute girl who comes along.
The world, especially the media, would have us violate or ignore our Heavenly Father’s teaching on love and marriage. That’s why we must not spend time on programs that create distorted views of reality and are against God’s purposes for us here on the earth. When young people engage in the immoral behavior that is shown so graphically in the media, they lose the influence of the Holy Spirit in their lives. One writer on the Internet stated, “Nothing I’ve seen seems so destructive to faith as immoral behavior.” That is why pornography and all the immorality it portrays is so destructive to relationships. It dehumanizes.
There are certain things you can decide right now and you don’t ever have to decide them again. For instance, a young person of only twelve makes a commitment to never smoke or drink alcoholic beverages. When the temptation comes, she remembers her decision. “No, I will never smoke or drink.”
In the same way, young people can decide right now they will save their body for their future mate. Satan would love to steal your purity. If you make a firm decision to remain chaste, the heat of the moment brings that decision to mind, “No, my body belongs to the person I will marry.”
God wants young people to stay pure for marriage, and when His plan is disobeyed, there are consequences. It may be emotional attachments that break hearts, unwanted pregnancies, or venereal disease. When you remain sexually pure, you prepare yourself to build a strong marriage and to bring children into the world as part of a loving family.
Single Christians should wait on God. They should have all the friendships they want based on the foundation of respect and brotherly and sisterly love. The best marriage spouses are with those who first respected you physically, sexually, emotionally and spiritually.
If you will remember that the sacred powers of procreation are to be employed only between a husband and wife, it will be easier to counteract all the wrong messages that are coming through the media, plus associates and friends.
SAFEGUARD YOUR BODY–THE GIFT FOR YOUR MATE! Love, Grandma Donna
MILLET SANDWICH SPREAD
Blend: 4 1/4 c tomato juice or canned tomatoes
1 onion
1/2 c raw sunflower seeds
Pour the blended mixture into a pan. Add the following ingredients
and simmer on low heat for one hour.
1 c uncooked millet
1/3 T sage
1/2 t celery powder
1/2 t garlic powder
1/2 t cumin
1/2 t salt
Stir in 1/2 c chopped pecans or walnuts and 1/2 c chopped olives.
Cool and spread on whole wheat bread. Top with your favorite
sandwich fixings.