a pledge for purity by Rachel|chrsitian articles

With sexually transmitted diseases on the rise, more people are abstaining from sexual activity. About 12,000 teens contract an STD every 24 hours, and those are just the ones who get tested.

Programs such as Worth the Wait target teens and young adults with advertisements encouraging them to save sex for the right time and stage in their adult lives.

According to www.worththewait.org, STDs are one of the most common types of infections in the United States. Most people infected with an STD are not even aware they have one. Those are only a few reasons why abstinence is gaining popularity.

Pam Stenzel is an abstinence advocate. She is an internationally known speaker and founder of Enlightened Communications. Stenzel speaks to 50,000 teens a year about sexuality and the importance of abstinence.

"AIDS is not the only disease out there, and it's certainly not the only disease that's killing people," Stenzel said while speaking to an audience of young people. "And yet we still have teens who actually think, 'Well, if I don't get pregnant or I don't get AIDS, well, then I don't have anything to worry about.' No way."

Stenzel uses Christian principles to get her point across.

"I love the law of God for two reasons," she said. "No. 1, it protects. No one gets hurt. There would be no pain, sin, disease or death if no one broke the law of God. And No. 2, it's easy. It's not complicated. To God, either you're married or you're not. If you are married, go for it, with the person you are married to."

On Feb. 14, the state of Ohio celebrated its second annual Day of Purity. According to the cause's web site, www.lc.org/dayofpurity.htm, the Day of Purity is a time when the nation's youth can make a public demonstration of their commitment to remain sexually pure in mind and actions. The founders of the Day of Purity believe society is bombarded with the message that people should become sexually active at a young age and experiment with their sexuality. Valentine's Day now offers a time for people to take a stand in opposition.

People from other states have adopted Ohio's Purity Day.

"What an awesome way to show the world and our friends that we have the Lord behind us as our strength to control these desires that were naturally put within us, so that we would be able to share with that one special person one day," said a teenager from Minnesota. "I'm grateful we have a God that offers us this gift of purity and a day of accountability that will help us remember to remain pure until we are wed."

Even though more than 30 STDs are out there, with 30 percent of those being incurable, pregnancy seems to be the top concern among those who partake in premarital sex.

"Pregnancy is survivable," Stenzel said. "You have a four times greater risk of contracting a disease today than you ever have being pregnant."

According to Stenzel, pregnant teen girls in the United States are carrying 2.3 diseases on average.

"Birth control makes a girl 10 times more likely to get an STD," Stenzel said.

Although pregnancy most likely won't kill a person, Stenzel acknowledges that there is no easy way out of an unplanned pregnancy.

"Abortion is painful. It's not like going to the dentist and getting a tooth pulled," she said.

Another reason people are choosing to wait is to avoid getting a broken heart.

Stenzel said she believes there is only one way to know if your significant other really loves you.

"Put a boundary down," she said.

The Bible also provides ways to recognize true love.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (NIV) states, "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.

"Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres."

Stenzel was a counselor at a Crisis Pregnancy Center for nine years. Her advice to people who find themselves in a compromising situation is to get help.

"The best choice is before you have sex. After that, it's going to get really tough.

"You are going to have to live with whatever you choose to do for the rest of your life."

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