On Purity

I've stuggled with writing this blog post and this is probably the third or fourth time I've tried to write this. But after reading two blog posts related, in a way, to this on Steph's blog, I really felt God laying this on my heart.

I don't want this to come off as judgmental to anyone who doesn't agree with my views. If you don't, that's alright. But this is what I believe about what purity is - and what purity isn't.

Purity isn't saving your virginity for marriage. That's a personal decision. And plenty of people make this decision, based on morals, religion, and choice. I feel that saving oneself for marriage has become a game for some people. A game of how far can I go to do everything but lose my virginity?

That's not purity.

Purity involves more than just the physical body. It involves the emotions and mental processes as well. What you put in your mind is probably the most important aspect of purity, more so than what you do with your body. I have seen this so much in my own life. When I read secular novels glorifying casual sex and worldly possessions, watch television shows and movies with racy humor, and listen to music with messages of one-night stands and partying, it becomes so much harder for me to remain pure. I stop reading my Bible as much, rely on myself more than God, and my mind begins to accept these actions as OK.

And it's not.

Purity means being pure in body, mind, and spirit. It's not an easy process and not something I have mastered. But I have found that to be pure, we have to live pure. It means getting rid of books and music and TV shows that glorify impure behavior. It means to set ourselves apart from the world. It means to stop compromising and looking for gray areas.

I'm so sick of living a mediocre life. And I don't want to have a mediocre relationship with God. All too often, I see people (and I'm also guilty for doing the same) putting God in a box and not fully living the free life He designed for us. We don't realize how much more God desires for us. I want to be a girl who lives my life solely for God's approval and not for the world's. I want to be a girl whose life shines with Christ's light. I want to be the girl who has "it" - and I want that "it" to be Jesus Christ.