An Encounter With A Female Pimp

Pimpess, as all the girls in school liked to call her, was the wildest girl to ever walk through the school's tall brass gates. Always wearing a skirt way shorter than the recommended length, sporting large hoop earrings and hair dyed with streaks of purple, she was not one to be missed or messed with. Even the teachers practically avoided her for fear of being attacked. Another thing Pimpess was also renowned for was bullying younger girls, especially if she found they were virgins or didn't have a boy friend. She would bully them until they agreed to be 'hooked up'. Everyone who wanted peace, had one of two options - befriend her or totally avoid her.

And 'totally avoid her' was what Carine, the new girl planned on doing as soon as she was briefed about Pimpess (the briefing which had now become a standard part of the induction).

One day while having lunch with some friends in the cafeteria, Carine had the unpleasant 'honour' of having Pimpess join her table. The day she dreaded had finally come.
'So Canine' Pimpess started.
'Er actually, it's Carine,' Carine gently pointed out.
'I see, Carine' she paused looking around the table as though to say 'this one thinks she's smart'.
'I hear you're a church girl.'
Carine did not reply.
'I take your silence for consent' said Pimpess. Carine meanwhile continued to chew mechanically on her chicken.
'I also gather you don't have a boyfriend and that in fact, you're still a virgin.' She raised her voice on the last four words and there was now a larger audience than just their table.
Carine almost choked on her chicken. 
'So, in your church, do they teach you not to have sex or else God will strike you down with some medieval plague? Did God really say you should not have a boyfriend or have sex and enjoy life? What sort of sad person would believe and live by such primitive standards?'
Carine was getting hot all over and was trying really hard to stay calm.
'Pimpess, God actually wants us to have sex, but only at the right time - in marriage.'
'I thought the right time was when you're 18...' someone said form the adjacent table.
'And who asked for your opinion?!' Retorted Pimpess.  To Carine she said, 'So what happens to those who have it before marriage, do they go to hell?' The sarcasm was so thick one could slice it with a knife.
'You will not go to hell if you repent, you still have a chance to change.'
'But why should I? If you're not having sex, you're not a complete woman. Besides, What is the difference between sex before marriage and sex after marriage, after all it's still sex?'
To which Carine replied 'What is the difference between 'lifting' a cereal bar off the shelf in a supermarket and paying for it at the till, after all, it's still a cereal bar? The difference is the value placed on it by God - the creator of sex. And speaking of completeness, you are never as complete as you were before you had sex. Your state of virginity is your most perfect and complete state. You see, what you have I can get whenever I want, but what I have, you can never get, ever again!'
And with that, along with a weak, yet encouraging applause from some of the kids on the nearby tables, the discussion was over.

Recently, I meditated on Genesis 3:1-5 (NLT) which I have broadly paraphrased in this story, except that unlike Eve who was swayed, Carine wasn't. I realised that the devil is still in the business of coming to us - subtly or forcefully - and perverting God's word. Just like he did with Eve, he uses people and things around us to question and challenge our beliefs. In the above fictitious story, we can see one of the strategies he uses on our youth today - bullying and the pressure to conform.

I love this question that was asked in the story - 'What is the difference between sex before marriage and sex after marriage, after all it's still sex?'
This is a question I once asked myself, as I was trying to understand why an act which was essentially the same either way, was good on one side and bad on the other.

What makes the difference is the value placed on it by God - the creator of sex. To access a thing of value, one must pay. To gain access without paying is stealing. This is similar to the 99p value placed on the cereal bar by the super market. Not only does the buyer of the cereal bar need to pay 99p, but they also have to pay in the correct currency.  Chances are if you went into a shop in London and tried to pay for a cereal bar with the equivalent of 99p in Japanese Yen, you would be shown the exit.

Likewise, God designed sex to be enjoyed by two partners in covenant relationship, having 'paid' (as it were) for their sexual gratification by exchanging wedding vows; and who through the act of sex continue to renew their covenant with and express their affection for each other.
God sees sex as a very important thing, hence why the devil tries so hard to pervert it.

Don't be deceived, God wants you to have sex and to have fun and peace of mind while at it (not guilt or an unwanted/ unplanned pregnancy). But you've got to do it right - in marriage. There is no better place to have sex than a place where you don't have to hide, feel filthy, guilty or ashamed. That place is found in marriage and YOU can wait for it. 

Remember, if God says you can, you can.

Shalom!