I’m not trying to be intentionally belligerent or even snarky, but I keep hearing this phrase from many non-believers, liberals and even some Christians. They keep saying that “abstinence doesn’t work”. Really? How is that exactly? The only woman in history whom I have ever heard about becoming pregnant while abstaining from sex is Mary the mother of Jesus Christ our Lord. I know of no other instance of a woman abstaining from sex and still getting pregnant.Perhaps I have missed something or some evidence that suggest that abstinence does not prevent pregnancy and if so, I hope someone enlightens me quickly, because I have been telling both of my daughters for years that abstinence does work in preventing unwanted pregnancy. I want to ensure that if I’m wrong, that I stop doing this.
The truth of the matter is what really doesn’t work is disobedience! The bottom line with this “abstinence not working” issue is that the proponents of this policy are either lying or incredibly deceived (most often by the lure of “convenience”). They won’t shout the truth: “Disobedience Doesn’t Work”. That is what our children should be hearing. This is what has led to the explosion of teen sex and teen pregnancy that the “non-abstinence” crowd is supposedly trying to prevent. The problem with this approach is that it requires a judgment on behavior. Especially our children’s behavior. A judgment that tells our kids – no, shouts to our kids – that disobedience is wrong. Rebellious behavior doesn’t work! But we can’t have that. Instead we “dumb down” our kids by suggesting that they are going to have sex anyway, so give them condoms and birth-control.
I liken this issue to the following verse of scripture that speaks to our responsibility as Christians even to our own children: But if you cause one of these little ones who trusts in me to fall into sin, it would be better for you to have a large millstone tied around your neck and be drowned in the depths of the sea. “What sorrow awaits the world, because it tempts people to sin. Temptations are inevitable, but what sorrow awaits the person who does the tempting. (Matthew 18:6-7 NIV) If you are a parent reading this post, are you doing the tempting with “practical” offers of condoms and birth control?