Top Ten List

Dawn Eden has written a terrific article for Inside Catholic called "10 1/2 Reasons to be Chaste".

Here's her ten-point-five with some comments from me...

10. Find Joy in Unexpected Places

Oh, it happens! After all, dating (or courtship) is supposed to be the time where you find out how compatible you are. You discover that you like the same movies or enjoy playing the same sports. You laugh together, share stories, and build the ultimate friendship. When you get married, that love that you've been building comes to the ultimate climax in the bedroom, and continues to sustain you until death, as do all those other joys from the dating period. If we skip the dating period and go straight for the climax, your missing out on lots of happiness.

9. Experience True Freedom

There's nothing free about not being able to say no to sex. Your not free if you cannot control yourself.

8. Fornication Is a Mortal Sin

And don't you forget it! Jesus said it, his followers said it, the Church still says it to this day. Countless other religions also agree, Christianity is not alone here. Sex is reserved for marriage.

7. Annoy Relatives

I'd like to add friends as well. Chastity bothers the heck out of people either because they wish they had it or because they don't want you to have it. Which is kind of the same thing. But it can also be a great teaching moment. Be a living witness to truth!

6. Be the Kind of Person You Would Want to Marry

I'm yet to meet someone who dreams of marrying someone who has been around the block. It starts with us though. If we want to marry someone who has saved themselves for marriage, we also have to save ourselves (or recommit ourselves). Guys, when you date, think of your future bride. Ladies, think of your future groom. Those images can really help when remaining chaste and seeking a significant other.

5. No Foams, No Jellies, No Pills, No Shots, No Sponges, No Latex, No HIV, No STDs, No 'Honey, It's Just a Cold Sore'

As Dawn put it... 'nuff said

4. Build True Intimacy, Not Forced or Premature Intimacy

Good things come to those who wait. There's nothing intimate about flinging your clothes off with a stranger or even a friend who has nothing binding him/her to you. True intimacy takes time. It takes getting to know someone.

3. Deepen Your Relationship with God

Like all sacrifice, it leads us closer to Him who created us and created our sexuality. Like fasting, and prayer, our minds are locked into God while we anticipate and we are strengthened by it.

2. Dramatically Increase Your Odds of Having a Lasting Marriage

The statistics are clear. Chaste couples stay together much more often than couples who were engaged in premarital sex.

1 1/2. Fornication is Still a Mortal Sin

Indeed

1. Learn How to Love Others the Way God Loves You

By dying on the cross. Except that His cross was much more difficult than ours. When we can resist our own urges, we can actually see the needs of others. By taming our desires, we make way to love like Christ, unconditionally.

Props to Dawn for a great article.