Back in the days when I was young, there was a difference between right and wrong, good and evil. Not everyone chose to do right, but there were consequences for wrongdoing, and many suffered because of a person's wrong decisions or lifestyle.
Today though, anything goes. Women do not want to be keepers at home. Some women really want to be men. And some men want to be women. People are not content to be what God made them and they have a discontent on how they were designed.
But even back in my day, there was temptation for young people to give into sexual practices that were forbidden by God. This is nothing new though, even though people believe that in this day, we have more freedom to be sexually expressive.
First of all, God's word never changes, and He has a lot to say about sexual relationships outside of marriage. My concern is for young women who are looking to date men. Looking for a man to marry one day, is not a bad thing, but it could lead to trouble if it is not handled properly.
Let's take something that is common to all generations; the pressure from a guy to have sex. I think every generation has had this occur in it. It starts like this; "I love you. If you really love me, you will have sex with me." If any guy says this to you, and you are a woman dating this man, please don't believe him. He does not love you and he wants to use you to satisfy his sexual drive. He may promise marriage to you, or that he will take care of you if you get pregnant. That is a lie. He has no intention of doing that, and you need to put up boundaries to protect yourself from men who would manipulate like that.
But let's go a little further. Some would think it is ok to have sexual relationships outside of marriage. If 99% of the people are having sexual relationships outside of marriage, does that make it right? What if God says that it is wrong? Is God's word more powerful than the percentage of people who are opposed to what God says?
God's word says that He will judge the immoral (see Hebrews 5). People can make it ok to have sex outside of marriage, but in God's eyes, it is never ok, and it never will be.
So, if you wander outside of God's boundaries, and you end up pregnant, what will you do then? Many would say that having an abortion is the answer. But is it really? What does God's word say about that? Psalm 139 talks about God forming a person when they are inside the womb. It doesn't matter how the person got there. He or she may be the product of rape. He or she may be the product of two children who had sexual relations. Whatever the reason is, the forming embryo is not just a piece of tissue. It is a full fledged, undeveloped human being, who will continue to live even after the body is killed or dies. Also, babies who are being formed inside the womb can feel pain. They feel the pain of rejection from the mother, but even worse, they feel sharply the pain that comes from a knife that stabs him or her that is in the 'doctor's' hands. They have nerves that work. They have blood going throughout their bodies. They have heartbeats and brainwaves. A mom who chooses to have an abortion either doesn't understand what takes place during an abortion, or, she has lost her conscience, possibly due to the hardening of her heart against God as she tries to make her man love her, whom she can never seem to please. Frustration and anger set in, and God is blamed for her man not loving her. But she continues to do whatever he wants so she can hang onto him and not lose him, even if it means murdering their baby.
Years ago, women loved having babies born to them. They spent much of their time taking care of the babies they had. It was considered an honor to have children. The Bible says that children are a gift from God. What has happened though today? We have been duped by people, especially self-centered, self-serving men, who think they can do whatever they want and that it doesn't matter to anyone else. They can rape women, even their own daughters (this actually is very common in America). Pornography is rampant in America today. Men are not willing to pay the price to have a sacrificial relationship with a woman, and they are unwilling to support and live for a woman who will take care of the needs of the man. Men want the easy way out, and the most gratifying way they can find, even if others are hurt by their actions.
So we have men who lead women into sexual relationships and then they send the woman off to an abortion clinic to have his baby murdered. The woman probably wants to hang onto her man and will do whatever he wants to please him so she doesn't lose him. The woman who does this though has already lost her man. He doesn't love her. He hates her. He loves only himself. Plus, this is very degrading to women.
So my recommendation to women is a warning to never get involved with a man who is selfish in this way. Even those who profess to be Christians can be deceivers. Sometimes they will take their authority and use it to take advantage of a woman. Make sure the man is learning to love God, and is growing in grace and humility. You will never find a perfect man, but you can find a man who fears God and is hungry for knowing God more. That is what you need to look for in a man. Never let any man degrade you like this. Never let any man take away your dignity. Never let any man remove your boundaries. They are given to you from God and are there to protect you and to keep your dignity in place.
