There's more to sex than mere skin on skin. Sex is as much spiritual mystery as physical fact. As written in Scripture, "The two become one." Since we want to become spiritually one with the Master, we must not pursue the kind of sex that avoids commitment and intimacy, leaving us lonelier than ever—the kind of sex that can never "become one." There is a sense in which sexual sins are different from all others. In sexual sin we violate the sacredness of our own bodies, these bodies that were made for God-given and God-modeled love, for "becoming one" with another. Or didn't you realize that your body is a sacred place, the place of the Holy Spirit? Don't you see that you can't live however you please; squandering what God paid such a high price for? The physical part of you is not some piece of property belonging to the spiritual part of you. God owns the whole works. 1 Corinthians 6:16-18 (The Message)
In college I took a class on sexuality and one of the most eye-opening and concerning classes was on teens and sex. By far this group is at the greatest risk, and is engaging in the most risky behavior. This is an epidemic that the national media is choosing to ignore and it is literally killing our kids.
There are many dangers to a young person’s becoming sexually active. The ones parents freak out about the most are AIDS and pregnancy. Somewhere on their mental list is the STD and with the marketing of such drugs touted as preventers of cervical cancer and herpes there is a mistaken view that if we could just eliminate the possibility of getting a disease or pregnant than we could relax some.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
I am going to give you a little anatomy/biology lesson here about why the young body is not ready physically for sexual activity. You need to know teen sex is happening among those in your child’s school.
Half of all students in 9th through 12th grade have had sexual intercourse. And of those having sex, between 12 and 20% have had more than 4 or more sexual partners in their young lives.
This is harmful in a variety of ways. Physically there are some pretty significant differences in the body of a teenage girl and an adult woman on the outside and on the inside.
For example, you can see the difference in the external skin of a teenager and a woman in her 20’s. The older woman’s skin is tougher and harder and more difficult to penetrate and so it is resistant to viruses and pathogens where the teen’s skin is softer and more pliable and is more vulnerable to the same bacteria. The internal skin of an adult woman is also more resistant to virus penetration than a teenagers is.
The female reproductive organs also have some significant differences that cause a younger woman to be at a higher risk to disease in sexual activity. There are differences on a cellular level with respect to sexual organs, there are immaturities in the internal “construction” of the female anatomy, and the fluids inside the teenager’s body are different than those of an adult woman. These immaturities in the teenager’s body seem to lead to a much higher infection rate and because many of these diseases are not diagnosed, they have a greater risk of Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID).
The early onset of puberty creates significant problems for girls. They are still little kids in their emotions and thoughts and they are being confronted with changes in their physical bodies that expose them to things they are not ready for whatsoever!
A 7 year old girl is (or ought to be!) still thinking about playing with dolls and is not thinking about all the things being a “woman” requires.
Girls who physically develop early are often made fun of, or worse yet, they may become a target of other girls who would be jealous or consider her a freak, or boys who would want to take advantage of their bodies and naiveté. One reaction to such teasing and taunting is that the girls begin to realize the effect they have on boys. Some young girls have increased sexualized behavior both flirting and enticing the boys. They realize this gives them tremendous power. They become objects more than people, and use their bodies in attempts to gain acceptance.
There are dangers in sexual activity for teens.