MARSHMALLOWS

A professor said, "I'll give you each a marshmallow at the beginning of my lecture. You are free to eat it now but if you keep it until the end I'll give you another one!" He used this method to teach them that restraint is rewarding.

Recently some young Americans came over to share with youngsters here the joy they have found through sexual restraint. Sadly in Britain teenagers have been actually encouraged to indulge in 'safe sex' which in fact is very far from safe. Many are now suffering the miseries caused by sexually transmitted diseases and are dismayed to find the condoms they were taught to trust in can be penetrated by the AIDs virus. Because of this sorry mess, there are more abortions and about 9 out of 10 women who have had one say that they are now being plagued by a guilty conscience. Most of them said they would not have had an abortion if they had been told this would happen. Conscience of course is God's warning voice inside us. Unfortunately these days few are being taught to heed these warnings and so avoid bringing grief to God and to themselves.

There's a saying, "Love is like wedding cake, it's all the better for keeping!" The Bible says, "Love is patient and kind." [ 1 Corinthians 13 ]. If a couple are truly in love they will be kind to each other and restrain their natural desire for a sexual relationship till after the knot has been tied. However if they cheat and unwrap God's wonderful gift of the sexual experience before they are married, they will tarnish the gift and forfeit the unique joy of opening it for the first time after their wedding. Happily for those who have failed, Jesus offers pardon and power to the contrite who seek His help. [ 1 John 1:9 ]