It’s all over the place. You hear about it way more than your parents did when they were in school. Most of you even have classes about it.

But one place seems to be silent about sex: the church. You probably don’t hear about it in Sunday school, and if you do, it’s probably something like “Don’t do it” and that’s pretty much it.

Even in my Christian high school, classmates talked about sex. Girls in my school got pregnant. Yeah, adults told us not to do it, but we never had an opportunity to ask any real questions.

About Me
But, despite all that, I was a virgin until I got married a year ago, and I’m proud of it! I had this incredibly precious gift that I had saved for only my husband, and I got to give it to him with God’s blessing.

Sounds fluffy, doesn’t it? The world doesn’t use words like precious or gift or wait when they talk about sex. They talk about wow and desire and what a rush.

But sex is God’s creation, not the world’s. Is the world’s way of whoever, whenever, whatever as exciting and free as they say it is?

No way!

Does God’s way of saving sex for marriage make it boring and routine?

No way!

The world would say I’m weird. Waiting until marriage? What? The world would say for sure that I really missed out.

Know what I say?

“You bet I did!”

I missed out on a lot of things. I was missing out on:

• Fear of Disease:
Am I going to die of AIDS from sleeping with this guy?
Does he have a sexually transmitted infection and not know it?

• Fear of Comparison:
Is he thinking of other girls when he’s with me?
Does he wish I were more like _______?

• Fear of His Past
How many people has he been with before me?
Am I important to him at all or just another body?

• Fear of the Future
Will he still care about me once he gets what he wants?
What if I get pregnant?

• Fear of Lies
He says he loves me, but does he really just want sex?
He says guys can’t help themselves, and that’s why he keeps going even after I say no.

• Fear of Not Being Good Enough
If I’m not better than any girl he’s been with, he’ll find someone else.
Will he laugh at me because I don’t know what to do?

• Fear of Being Caught
Is God watching this?
What if my parents find out?

Yes, anyone who chooses God’s way is missing out on the world’s way. Thank goodness!

I will never, ever regret choosing to wait until marriage to have sex. Why? Here are only some of the reasons why God’s way is so much better:

1. No AIDS or STIs.
2. You trust each other—you get to love without fear.
3. No worries about the past. My husband cared enough about me, even before we met, to save himself for me. That’s very sexy.
4. You get to make love as much as you want without guilt!
5. You know he loves you, not just your body. And it’s going to last.

In marriage, you get to be as sexy as you want, and God totally approves. Have you ever read the Song of Solomon? The wife writes some really racy stuff about her good-looking husband, and God approved it so much that He put it in His Book for the whole world to read.

God’s Plan
So maybe your Sunday school teacher doesn’t talk about sex. But God does. And He wants it to be better for you than anything the world can offer.

God knows the pressure you’re getting from the world. He hears what your friends are saying. But He doesn’t want you to give in and accept a cheap substitute for the awesome gift He wants you to have! Think of settling for one piece of candy right now when you could get a free shopping spree at the candy store if you waited.

God’s way is always worth it. I know. I like what Elisabeth Elliot said: “It was inexpressibly worth the wait.”

The next time somebody tells you you’re missing out, think of those verses in Song of Solomon, allow a coy, secretive smile to curve up the corners of your mouth, and say “You bet I am!” Then walk away.

They’ll probably spend the rest of the day trying to figure out just who’s the one who’s really missing out.