One of the most common excuses for teens having sex before marriage is the argument that “everyone” is doing it! And for years that truth became the devils war cry for teenage promiscuity. That “war cry” has been the main reason for so many teens indulging in unrestricted sexual activities. So let’s try to examine that “truth.”
Jesus once cautioned us about different truths. In Mark 4:24 He warns “be careful what you are hearing. The measure [of trust, thought and study] you give [to the truth you hear] will be the measure [of Virtue and Knowledge] that comes back to you.”
C.S. Lewis once said, “There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn’t so, and the second is to refuse to believe what is so!”
I remember reading a quote by Ellen DeGeneres in Time magazine. “I never wanted to be the ‘Lesbian Actress;’ I never wanted to be the spokesperson for the gay community. I did it for my own truth.”
Everyone has a “truth.” Jesus said be careful which “truth” you believe. Because what you believe, will produce the outcome of your life.
In a recent discovery during a research at UCLA, it was proven that belief produces your attitude, and your attitude produces your behavior. No wonder there is so much bad or risky behavior. It begins with bad belief. Bad Belief? Bad Attitude! Bad Attitude? Bad Behavior! And since teens want the truth, “and nothing but the truth so help me God,” here it is. The truth is: NOT EVERYONE IS DOING IT!
In a recent magazine poll, out of 15,000 girls ages 13-20, 98% claimed to be virgins, 73% of the readers were virgins. Of the virgins, 59% plan to wait for marriage and 49% are proud of their virginity.
To ease the pressure from this little truth that “everyone’s doing it,” we need to open up our eyes to the known “TRUTH” (Jesus said in John 14:6 “I AM the Truth.” Truth, according to Webster’s dictionary is “highest form of reality.” In other words… it doesn’t get any better than THIS!)
The known truth is not everyone is doing it!
Here are the Facts, according to the Alan Gutt-macher Institute, the U.S. Department of Health Services, and the Center of Disease Control: most high school students haven’t had sex. According to a recent large-scale study by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 51.6% of all high school students have never had sex.
In other words, most high schoolers are virgins: 78% of 15-year-old girls (and 73% of boys) have never had sex. If you add to the 78% those whose only sexual experience was involuntary, then about 84% of 15 year old girls have never had voluntary sex. This is a vast majority.
So, when the “Virgin Snatchers” come knocking at your door saying “everyone is doing it,” politely but firmly reply, “No they’re not. Because I’m not. I follow a higher reality… I believe in a higher truth. I follow Jesus!”
Pastor Steve and Becky Munds began working with young people in 1975.
They've been traveling and working in camps, prisons, detention centers, churches, concerts, conferences, and more than 35 international outreaches including Peru, Mexico, Russia, Jamaica, and England. This includes schools, colleges, universities, TV, radio, just to name a few.
Basically, if it involves young people, they've been there!