Why Purity Is Important

Today I was asked a question by a baseball teammate. It was the first time I have ever been asked this, and I was taken aback for a moment. The question he posed has inspired reflection upon my day, so I thought I’d share. My friends’ inquiry was simply this:

“Do you plan on staying a virgin your whole life?”

 Before I tell you what I answered, I’d like to clear something up. I’ve been razzed a bit throughout my baseball career. “Andy’s Catholic,” “Andy doesn’t cuss,” “Andy’s not exploiting all the great girls the high school has to offer.” These are the kind of things I hear regularly, but I hear them willingly. This is the status quo I have set for myself, and I intend to keep it. I don’t judge my teammates or impose my will upon them. I simply show them another way. 

The teens of our generation don’t know that they can be happy and fulfilled without their sexual romantic relationships. I find this saddening, and I’m sure it pierces the deepest flesh of Jesus’ Sacred Heart. His children, dying rampantly from AIDS, killing their unborn children, spending fourteen billion dollars a year on the pornography industry. All because they didn’t know a way out.

So when my teammate asked that question, I replied, “Well, yes, unless God makes a drastic change in my life and wants me to get married.”

“So you’re never going to, even have a little fun?”

“Not that kind of fun.” My teammate proceeded to ask me in explicit terms if I had ever, shall we say, committed impure actions with oneself. I responded that I had not and that I wasn’t planning to, with a firm emphasis on, “I stay away from that crap.” My friend retreated into his thoughts for a moment.

“Are your parents in a cult?”

 I chuckled.

“Nah, man.”

He then told me, “I don’t think I’ll look at you the same way ever again.”

I’m not sure if his last comment was good or bad, but I hope I planted some seeds for him to think about. I don’t want him (or anyone) to look at me the same way as everyone else. I relish the opportunity to be different. I can tell you this: I have never met a married couple who wished they would have lost their virginity earlier, but I’ve met plenty of people who regretted their promiscuous youth.

In answer to my friend’s question- Yes, I plan on remaining pure throughout my life. It is a struggle, a temptation, every time a scantily clad woman walks by. It is a mighty war to be fought, broken down into small increments of every day choices, but I choose purity. I choose to fight, and win, so that teens can see a way out. A light at the end of a tunnel, in Jesus, shining through me.

 That is why purity is important. Because it is rare, and very, very valuable.

Your brother in Christ,

Jacob