Love at First Sex? Finding Purity in a Sex-Crazed WorldParaugs

Tempted

We’ve all dealt with it at different times in our lives. When temptation came to me, I was a 14 year old girl and a baby Christian of no more than a year. I was young. I was vulnerable. I didn’t know much about life or scripture yet. I was raised in a home where we didn’t talk about spiritual things or go to church. I had just become an easy target for the deceiver, Satan.

Temptation comes in many different forms and sometimes in ways that we don’t immediately recognize. It could be a commercial, a song lyric, or a movie scene. For me, temptation came in the form of a boy. He was 16 and already in high school. I remember being excited that someone was interested in me! The dorky junior high girl! And I didn’t want that to end. We dated for about 3 months before he used the L word. We thought we were in love, but that can be a very tricky word.

To a lot of our culture, love equals sex. Sex equals love. It’s no wonder that after using the L word, he started to pressure me to have sex. It’s what we see in movies, tv, social media and on and on. I told him, “I don’t feel right about this.” Him asking was unexpected and frightening. I didn’t know what to think. He took my no, but continued to ask every day for about 2 weeks. I was really starting to feel the pressure. I didn’t want to let him down. After all, I thought we were in love. He had an answer for my every concern. “We won’t get caught and no one will know. It won’t hurt, but it will be fun. We’re in love, so this will be good.” I still didn’t feel right about it, but the next time he asked me, I caved.

My initial temptation was not a sexual urge, but a temptation to fit in, to be loved and accepted. Isn’t that what we all really long for? Someone to connect with that accepts every part of us? God wired us for relationships with each other and a relationship with Him. What I didn’t know as a young girl is that some relationships can hurt you. This is not what God had in mind for me. He had much better things waiting around the corner, if I would only trust Him!

When Jesus was here on this earth, He was also tempted by Satan. We will read and listen through Luke 4:1. Satan tempting Jesus:

1. Food to satisfy hunger. When Satan told Jesus to turn a stone into bread, his temptation was not just to satisfy His stomach, but to make Jesus stop trusting God the Father for provision. Jesus replied, “man shall not live on bread alone, but on the word of God.” Matthew 4:4
2. Power and authority over all the kingdoms of the world. Satan told Jesus that he would give Him power and authority over all the kingdoms if Jesus would worship him. Jesus replied, “You shall worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.” Satan was trying to win Jesus over by offering Him things that the Father would already give Him. He knew He already had power and authority.
3. God’s protection. Satan told Jesus to throw Himself off the temple and God would send angels to protect Him. Jesus replied, “You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.” He already had protection from the Father and didn’t need to test it.

In each of these temptations, Satan tried offering Jesus things He already had from the Father. He knew that God would take care of His physical hunger. He trusted in God’s provision and God’s word. Jesus knew that Satan was lying about having true power and authority to give Him. What power he does have is short-lived. He knew that God has true power and authority over heaven and earth and is the only One worthy of praise. Jesus knew that He already had God’s protection. He didn’t need to put that to the test. After resisting each of these things, Satan left Him until a more opportune time. Satan will leave us too, when we resist him and turn to God and His word.

I resisted my temptation for a while, but eventually I crumbled. At this point in our relationship, our hanging out had replaced any reading of scripture and most of my prayer time. If I had stayed in the word and sought God on the matter, I believe I could have avoided a lot of heartache and sin. I also didn’t tell anyone about this pressure my boyfriend was putting on me. A good, godly friend is invaluable. When you feel tempted and unsure of what to do, seek God first, but then also seek a trusted friend.

Do you believe God has already given you all the things you need? God knows your need for food, sleep, relationship, and yes, even sex. Are you longing to be loved- truly loved? Truly understood? I wish as a young girl I had understood that Jesus had all of these things waiting for me first in Him, and years later in my husband. Know that the love and acceptance you are looking for can only come from trusting Jesus as your Savior! He is the giver of all good things! Will you trust Him to fulfill your every need in His time?