Growing up in a Southern Baptist church, purity was something we were taught from a young age. I learned about it not only at church, but at home too. Out of all the things I was taught in my youth group, DO NOT HAVE SEX was definitely glorified. Most of my friends received purity rings and we would joke that when you didn't have your ring on you, "forgot your purity at home" or if you lost your ring that meant you "lost your purity." I was always a rebel and only wore mine on special occasions. HA. Abstinence is a huge matter of importance in baptist churches, and for a good reason. Sex isn't something you should be apathetic about and can end up giving you more than you bargained for (aka another human being.) I know lots and lots about sexual purity, but I've come to realize that there is so much more to being pure than having sex.
God telling the Israelites to destroy Jericho is a great example of just how pure our God is and how badly he wants us to be pure.
" They devoted the city to the Lord and destroyed with the sword every living thing in it- men and women, young and old, cattle, sheep and donkeys." - Joshua 6:21
They killed everyone. Even the animals. What kind of God makes His people kill innocent women, children and animals? People who are against Christianity use passages like this to prove that Christianity is not a religion of peace. They look and this scripture and say our God is not merciful or kind. God had a very strong and valid reason for annihilating these people. Canaanites (the people who lived in Jericho at the time) practiced intense idolatry, incest, bestiality, child sacrifice, molestation, prostitution and other evil practices. If God left even a small child or a few cows, they would be a cancer to the Israelities for years to come. God of course saved Rahab (who was a former prostitute- ironic, right?) because she recognized God as her own, and did away with her old life.
God values purity so much that he will go to extremities like mass murder to keep his people from evil. He protected the Israelities like a father protects his child. You don't always understand why your parents won't allow you to do certain things, but as you mature you look back and see they were merely protecting you.
In Habakkuk, when God is having to punish the Israelities for their wickedness by letting the Babylonians conquer them, Habakkuk cries out to God, "Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrong. Why then do you tolerate the treacherous?" God can't even look on evil. He is too pure and holy. He let the Israelities be conquered by the powerful Babylonians because He was more concerned with their purity and holiness than their happiness. If we don't stay out of Satan's snare, he allows Satan to punish us so we can hopefully turn back to Him.
Purity isn't always easy to get back. God is full of mercy and wipes away our iniquities the minute we ask Him to, but that doesn't mean we won't struggle. I'm trying to look at purity from a "precautionary" stand point. By being pure in what I look at, what music I listen to, what conversations I have, how I spend my time, etc. I can avoid having these consequences. "Do {this} now, and you won't have to worry about {that} later."
"Create in me a pure heart, O God..." Psalm 51:10
