September 11, 2009

The white dress...

Flowers, white, and rings all seem to be on the minds of little girls at birth. From the big puffy 80’s sleeves to the 1900’s high collars, wedding dresses have been a staple in the fashion department for decades. Nothing has changed the traditional white dress. Sure we have the nontraditional bride who wears a red dress or off white dress, but your traditional bride who has dreamed of wearing white her whole life has not changed.

White is the symbol of purity something us apostolic women have heard about for years. The word purity has become a clique almost and through the years being used as a threat to those young girls in the church. But truly purity is much more than that it isn’t a scare tactic, it isn’t the white dress, it isn’t even just a command it has a purpose, a reason for being mentioned in the Bible.

Not until I took my Family and Marriage Counseling class did I truly think or put any thought towards purity being more than a command by God. So why than did my text book have one FULL chapter on purity? A secular university level course textbook speaking strictly on the importance of purity and sexual relations before marriage.

After studying out this chapter I learned something that has changed my life forever. Purity is not just a commandment by God to keep yourself to one man for eternity, but it is there to grant you a confidence in your decision forever. In this article I’m going to share with you the statistical data provided that proves that purity before marriage is not just a command but an unspoken truth teller to a successful marriages.

In the church we are taught that cohabitation, two people of the opposite sex living together before marriage, is not biblically correct. However, statistically if we are looking for a mate for life which is biblical than why is this world who has 33 percent of people claiming to be Christian, 85 percent in the United States, 93 percent in Brazil, and 99 percent in Mexico, than why do I ask are any of these statistics even needed.

In a study done in the United States in 1995 the probability of a first cohabitation break up after 10 years was 68 percent who were under the age of nineteen, 60 percent were ages twenty-twenty four and 43 were twenty five and older. So in ten years you have over 50 percent of all cohabitation ending and we still feel that we live a life of rules and regulations? So how can you tell me that waiting before you get married is not wise?

How about this for some good dirt, over all cohabitation transitions to the first marriage within five years by religious affiliation is 72 percent. We are teaching the bible and purity all over this world but we still have cohabitation happening at this kind of rate and they are Christians. If 72 percent are getting married because of religion than why did that belief not stop them in the first place?

Now onto statistical data of percentages of premarital intercourse. 84.9 percent women from the ages of 15-44 said that they had premarital intercourse and 91.3 percent of men ages 20-44 said they had. Are you kidding me! Sad to say that some of these are probably apostolic young people.

In 2002 at the age of 15-17 30 percent said they had premarital intercourse, 71 percent at ages 18-19, 78 percent at 20, 79 percent at 21, 90 percent at 22, 23 percent at 25, and at 24 over 92 percent. This tells me that we are still able to influence our younger generation but we must keep the older generation believing that life does not end if you don't find someone at 18.

The women ages 15-44 who saved themselves for marriage in the years 1995-2002 was at 14 percent but the women who had relations five or more years before their first marriage was 60 percent. Before 1980 there were only 7 percent of women who had been with someone five or more years prior.

Now we wonder why over 50 percent of all marriages in the United States end in divorce and it just gets worse every time. The second marriage rate is at 67 percent and the third marriage rate is at 74 percent. In Canada the rate of divorce for the first is 50 percent, second marriage is 72 percent, and third is 85 percent. If numbers keep increasing in divorce and in cohabitation why is it that we can’t find the common denominator.

Sexual relations before marriage are statically and biblically sound. We can look at these percentages and see that sexual relations outside the protection of marriage will bring nothing good. I know we should live our lives by the Book of Life and I would never say differently but why would you want to be apart of this world that shows no hope for happiness. To people in the world getting married is for happiness and it is but when we mess with the plan that God designed no good can come of it.

The white dress means purity and every little girl should be able to wear that white dress with pride and confidence. I don’t know about you but I’m ready to be proving to this world and to this younger generation that happiness comes from the Creator. Every young girl is having a young man created for her as I type. God did not create man to be alone. Don’t mess with God’s timing or divine plan He’s God and He knows way better than us.

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