Nothing makes you glad you are alive like hearing some of the things kids do these days. What do I mean? Well...
Basically a parent called me out of the blue and brought up a moral dilemma. Suffice to say he's worried about kids (his kids) having sex. He asks two questions that I believe are important, but only half the battle...
1.) If they are going to do it anyway, shouldn't I just try to make it as safe as possible?
2.) Did Jesus ever say anything about this kind of behavior?
First, if teenagers are going to do it anyway, shouldn't we protect them? This is on par with asking if she should provide heroine needles to druggies (Its already being done in Canada). What we don't need is another Christian admonition to stop having sex. We don't need people to throw their hands up and say, "oh the abomination!" What we really need is a desire to love kids regardless of their actions. The underlying question below the safety issue is, "Is this an act of love"? Pass out all the condoms you want. Is it an act of love or desperation? Teach our children about sex before MTV does. Is that just futility speaking? It is a proven sociological fact that the average age of sexual maturity is going down while the average marriage age is going up. Swapping to pastor-mode for a second, the three greatest temptations for any human being is money, sex, and power. One of the problems with the Christian response is that sometimes we have thrown all our eggs into one basket. Cross this line and I won't love you anymore. What if I could convince my child that I love them regardless if they got pregnant in high school? What if I could convince myself I'd love them if she got pregnant in high school?
We, as Christians, don't win by trying everything until we find our weakness. We win by loving regardless. Now, this means parents have some tough choices to make and I'm sure our answers lie somewhere between "My way or the highway" and "Do whatever you want, I love you" Love has nothing to do with the abuse of money, sex, or power.
Second, what would Jesus say about you two having a quickie before your parents get home? Ha! I know what I heard at Auburn - "Its not premarital if you don't plan on marrying her." Well...despite what some Christians might tell you, Jesus doesn't directly address this issue. Suuuuure, Solomon had like a gazillion wives and even more concubines (read: not married to but having sex with them), but what does that have to do with the whole one flesh thing!? I believe Jesus would uphold the worth of the person while encouraging the ability to avoid temptations to devalue another human (again read: love them).
Would love your thoughts?
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