By Staff Writer Abbie Miller

So, I know there are tons and tons of people today facing sexual temptation. It comes at them from every front. It looks lovely, desirable and bewildering. It immerses us in the idea of instant gratification; feel good now, forget the consequences. It takes tremendous strength to stand against such pressures.

But then, you’ve got people like… us. We’ve made a commitment to stay pure until marriage. We may have started wearing a ring, writing letters to our future spouse, and praying for them faithfully.

Okay. Great. That’s all fine and dandy. (And it really is!) But what if we don’t feel particularly tempted? Maybe we’re not dating, or in any kind of relationship. Maybe we’ve just been through a hard breakup or a desolate desert-place.

What about the here and now, if we’re not being physically tempted? Should we just sit back and chill, and stock up on spiritual protein for when the real struggle comes?

Actually, I’ve begun to realize that there’s a whole ‘nother battlefield: Purity of the mind.

Frankly, for the last couple years, I haven’t really seen purity as an issue in my life. I haven’t dated. And to be honest, there are no prospects on the immediate horizon. So while I go about living my (relatively) drama-free life, the matter of sexual purity is rather, well… irrelevant.

Or so I thought.

When the topic was broached here on RTF, I thought – and I’m not kidding you – Oh… I kinda forgot about that whole purity thing.

Is that terrible, or is that terrible?!

But then God said to me, Abbie, what about your mind? (We’re on a first-name basis, He and I

I began to see what He meant. What do we read? Watch? Listen to? Talk about? Joke about? Who do we hang out with?

If you answer just a few of those questions honestly, you’ll begin to see what I mean. Our minds are constantly being bombarded, whether we realize it or not. And it becomes a real chore, trying to sift through all the influences and keep only the good ones.

So, maybe we’ve stopped trying.

*Raises hand guiltily*

I know I have.

I’ll be the first to tell you: I listen to some music where a lot of the lyrics are very sexual.

I adore movies, and I watch a lot of ‘em. But many of today’s films are saturated with sexual messages, scenes or innuendo.

I’ve even read some books that were definitely not helpful to a Christian striving to keep a pure mindset.

All of that and more contributes to the battle that is being waged for the purity of our minds. Take a look at your mind. (Figuratively speaking, of course.) Envision a wide, flat field. On one side are the sexually impure influences, looking all dark and grody. And on the right, there’s the pure, solid, godly influences, showing up white and silver, gleaming and clean.

Now step back and look.

Solemnly ponder.

And ask yourself…

…Which color occupies more territory on the battlefield of my mind?