By Peter Kennedy
"Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body." - 1 Corinthians 6:18
In September 2002, Erika Harold won the Miss America Pageant. Erika, who took her faith in Christ seriously, advocated that she would wait until marriage to have sexual relations with her husband. Her message on abstinence for teenagers did not sit well with the Miss America pageant organizers in Atlantic City and they ordered her to change her message. Then, in the face of controversy, they reversed their decision but made Erika promise that she would couch her message in the more politically correct theme of "teen violence."
She became a national spokesperson for Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, a national advocacy group.
Then in the first week of her reign, she also adopted a secondary platform for sexual abstinence. On October 8, 2002, Harold gave a speech at the National Press Club in Washington during which she stated that she would talk about sexual abstinence and that she "will not be bullied" into dropping the topic from her platform. Thirty-eight members of Congress sent her a letter of support, encouraging her to press on with her "healthy message of abstinence until marriage."
The Lord has reserved sexual intimacy for marriage. Today in prayer, if you are involved in an affair outside of marriage, flee from it and look to Jesus for strength. If you are not in an affair, seek to remain sexually pure and to honor Christ with your body.
"Within marriage, sex is beautiful, fulfilling, creative. Outside of marriage, it is ugly, destructive, and damning." – John MacArthur
God's Word: "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body." - 1 Corinthians 6:19-20
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