Spiritual Benefits of Pre-Marital Sexual Abstinence

If a survey were to be carried out to discover the most thought-about and talked-about thing in the world, we may find that it is ‘sex’, closely trailed by ‘money’. You do not need to possess an uncanny sense of perceptiveness to see that our planet is sexually ultra-charged, and NO ONE is immune from this pervasive influence which has been deftly forged, exaggerated and enhanced by the global media. To all intents and purposes, sex rules our planet and it may very well be the biggest motivation for industry and the drive for success.

Therefore, sexual chastity has become an anachronism, and in the event that it is seriously mentioned or suggested, the ensuing response is most likely scorn and derision. Virgins are considered almost abnormal in our world today; a species on the verge of extinction. Abstinence makes no sense. And celibacy? That’s simply crazy…in our world today. That’s pretty much like advertising grinding stones and analogue phones .

I remember Doris, a decent and beautiful fifteen-year-old S.S. 3 (12^th grade) student in 2011, who, when our English lesson digressed a bit, told the class that she couldn't marry a virgin. For her, she didn't mind being a virgin, but the thought of her future man also being one was simply unwelcome. Of course, her reasoning was: a virgin husband would make an inept lover, the thought of which she couldn't brook.

So where am I going with this? Is sex to be proscribed and blacklisted?  Is everyone supposed to lead a celibate life? Of course not! Let me expressly say that sex is one of the most sublime pleasures there is, and this is the primary reason why it has got us in a wad.  I speak from the standpoint of a young Christian man, who has lived the sexually active, then the celibate, and more recently the life of unfulfilled and frustrating sexual activities.

From the perspective of a Christian mystic, I daresay that the gravest consequence of sustained sexual activity outside of marriage is isolation from God leading to an erosion of spiritual authority. In other words, the selfish indulgence of this pleasure truly makes us estranged from God, whose Spirit is our source, our force and power, thus leaving us spiritually open and vulnerable to the whims and caprices of all sorts of contrary forces before whom, we are by ourselves helpless.

This may explain why the most powerful mystics and spiritualists, whether in African Traditional Religion, Buddhism or Hinduism, subject their sexuality to some principled regulation and containment. Sex is a spiritual binder, knitting two souls together and this is the primary reason why God, who ordained sex, has urged us to enjoy it in the context of marriage alone.

Admittedly, as with every worthwhile venture, this can be difficult. But sexual abstinence or temporary celibacy remains a life-giving seed whose fruits blossom on many levels; it is a melody that reverberates in many dimensions ranging from the mundane to the profound.

We have peace with God and in our spirits, we are confident in the exercise of our spiritual authority through Christ, and are covered with no openings for the intrusion of capricious spiritual forces. By extension, an exercise of discipline in this difficult area will translate to other soulish and mental disciplines that may benefit us in other temporal areas of our lives Let us therefore go to God in prayer and ask for the strength to live above our often-illicit sensual desires and we shall be the better for it. We were made to be whole in body, spirit and soul.