Bristol Palin's Interview

This past week, Greta VanSustern conducted the first ever interview granted by Bristol Palin, the eighteen year old daughter of Alaska Governor and former Vice-Presidential Candidate Sarah Palin. Bristol made the news back during the campaign because she was an unmarried, pregnant teenager. That in itself isn't newsworthy, since they are quite common; but she was the daughter of a newly famous politician who was a big supporter of abstinence education over safe-sex education for public schools. The interview, of course, would delve into that subject in an attempt to discredit abstinence education; so that's what I want to think about today, considering the mind of Christ.

First, I want to commend Bristol for doing the hard thing - giving birth to her baby and determining to raise it herself (with the help of a supporting family). All too many women opt for the easy way out - terminating the pregnancy through an abortion. Bristol chose to save her baby's life. Also, Bristol expressed no regret about giving birth to her son. She expressed the joy of this miracle of God. Indeed, her baby was knit together in her womb by God (Psalm 139:13-16), and God considers even the ones we might call accidents His gifts. Psalm 127:3 says: "Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb is a reward" NKJV. Bristol truly seemed to believe that, and she appears to be a very loving and caring mother.

What I do take exception with, however, is her responses to the questions Greta asked about abstinence based sex education. Not only did her answers show how little some teens really know about the world, but the answers were just plain wrong. She made the statement that abstinence was unrealistic in our day and age because premarital sex is just so prevalent. It is true that premarital sex is prevalent in our day, but that doesn't mean that abstinence doesn't work. To say that abstinence is unrealistic because no one follows it is a poor excuse. Can you imagine Noah telling God, "But nobody else is living righteously. Why should I?" He would have missed the ark too, like everybody else. Haven't we been told often enough not to follow the crowd?

To say that abstinence didn't work because she got pregnant is like a man who got sick from ignoring the warning labels on a vial of poison and drank it anyway. Had the label been heeded, he wouldn't have gotten sick. Likewise, if abstinence had been practiced, there would not have been an unplanned pregnancy. Quite simple.

And isn't that God's plan? Didn't God determine when He created the home and marriage, that a couple should wait to have sex until they were married? Certainly sexual temptation is strong, which is why Paul wrote to the Corinthians, "But if they cannot exercise self-control, let them marry. For it is better to marry than to burn with passion" 1st Corinthians 7:9 NKJV. Marriage, in part, is God's design to prevent sexual sin.

But what if a couple in love can't get married for awhile? 1st timothy 2:22 gives this advice, "Flee youthful lusts" NKJV. 1st Corinthians 6:18 says it even clearer, "Flee fornication" KJV. If I may paraphrase that, it means, run as fast as you can! Don't let yourself get into situations where you place yourself in danger of falling into immorality. The back seat of a car parked on some deserted lane is not the best place to maintain ones purity. Don't get into those situations. If you find yourself getting into one of them, run as fast as you can. But don't say that abstinence doesn't work if you aren't willing to try it.

Our culture has made it the accepted thing for couples to pair off at ever younger ages, forming romantic relationships and "going steady" even in grade school. But that isn't Biblical. Paul counseled his young protege Timothy to treat the "younger women as sisters, with all purity" 1st Timothy 5:2 (NKJV). Who would ever consider getting romantically involved with his sister? Kiss your sister? Yuck! Well, it's not quite the same, I know. but the idea is this, you wait to get romantically involved with someone until you can legitimately marry them. If not, the fires that burn within can burn out of control into immorality.

Young people, give abstinence a chance. It works every time it is really tried. Parents, support abstinence education in our schools instead of safe sex education. Abstinance is the only 100% safe method, by God's design.