Emotional Purity
I read some great comments about emotional purity on another youth blog. Check out the link for the full version. Since we have been spending time in youth talking about purity, I felt this is another really important aspect that we need to discuss. This hits really close to home for me, since Jennifer and I dated through high school. Fortunately for me, we got married, so we didn’t have to deal with the heartbreak that she talks about. But as a youth pastor, I have seen this play through time after time. Good stuff here. Be sure to check out her practical suggestions on how to stay ’emotionally pure’ in high school.
Growing up in church, I’ve heard about purity…a lot. About every year or so we go through at least one sex series and talk about “how far is too far” and how to have a “pure” relationship. All these things are very important, and extremely relevant to people’s lives. However, I strongly feel that we overlook a HUGE part of purity that I feel is just as important as physical purity…and that is emotional purity. I see it all the time…two people start dating…they’ve grown up in church…they’ve had purity ingrained into their minds…they know how far they’re supposed to go. They wait and wait and wait to kiss…again…all good things.
But…instead of making out…they spend their time talking for hours and sharing all about their hurts and struggles, family problems, past relationships…they become best friends…learn to trust each other, they express their love for each other, spend all their time together, they know each other inside and out…they get close with each others family, and soon learn to depend on each other as a support and refuge for lifes struggles…and then…it ends.