Last time we examined paranormal phenomena. Before that we took a brief look at Mormonism. However, now we are going to take a look at a more practical issue regarding morality and a missing sense of purity in relationships.
First let me say that I did not find this article by looking through MSN's match-making articles. It was on the front page of MSN when I read it, but has sense been moved to an archived location. Having said that, I want you to understand that much of the information is absurd, and I am not quite sure that some of these statistics can even be measured. Nevertheless, there was one particular point that caught my attention. The #8 quirky fact about kissing is that "the average woman kisses 29 men before she gets married."
Now think about this in perspective. If the average woman kisses 29 men before getting married then that means that she has kissed 28 men who may, and probably will, eventually be someone else's spouse. I am sure that this number can be equally applied, and may even be higher, for men. Today it seems that people have embraced the idea that they should try out "marital benefits" before getting married to see if they are compatible. But why is it so important to know if another person is a "good kisser"? Is it so important that people would make a decision to be married or not based upon one's ability to kiss? If it isn't, and people really won't make their decision based upon kissing, then why is it being done before marriage? Wouldn't it be better to wait until marriage to have that kind of physical intimacy with another person? Ephesians 5:3 says, "But do not let immorality or impurity or greed even be named among you." 1 Thessalonians 4:3 says, "For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you abstain from sexual immorality." Too often sexual immorality is conveyed as "sex before marriage," but couldn't it also be considered any intimate contact before marriage?
It seems that in many ways the standard for what is considered "immorality" continues to get lower and lower as the culture begins to move further and further away from any objective view of morality. This unfortunately means that the "so-called" standard of morality that many Christians use is partly based off of the world's definition of morality. The proof to this point is evident in the change in American culture and custom. Over a hundred years ago a man would not consider kissing a woman or being in a room alone with her outside of marriage. In contrast, today couples are given very few limitations if any. Now my problem is not with the standard of the world changing. I would expect it to do nothing other than become more and more sinful. My problem is with the standard in the church changing. If we say that we believe in an ultimate objective standard of truth and morality then it cannot change. How is it that certain things are morally acceptable today that were not over a hundred years ago? The answer is very simple, the church is looking too much to the world's standard of morality. For many Christians the idea is not to go the opposite direction of the world, but rather to stay just far enough away to remain distinct. And if we are honest we will admit that the dating scene in the church is not much different than the world. While couples may not be engaging in sexual intercourse they still proceed to kiss and break up until they "find" the right person. This kind of middle-ground morality is exactly what Paul condemned in Romans 12:2 when he said, "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind."
