Olympic Counter Culture Sexuality

I have been enjoying the Olympics over the last 2 weeks.  It is amazing to watch what these athletes can do.  And they make it look so easy.  One of the Team USA olympians getting a lot of attention is Lori "Lolo" Jones.  She is an accomplished athlete who has won 3 NCAA titles, 11 All-American honors during her time at LSU running track and field.  She competed in the 2008 Olympics in the 100 meter hurdles and did the same this year    just coming short of getting a bronze medal.  There is a lot of drama surrounding her place on the team leading up to her race.  

But what many in the media focused on in the days leading to her competition was not her athletic ability, but her virginity.  Just like Tim Tebow, the media seems amazed when any accomplished, good looking adult choses to remain abstinent.  Both of these athletes have helped to put a new face on abstinence.  And the amazement surrounding their choice reveals how countercultural the biblical view of sexuality really is.  Being a virgin isn't just a fate left for nerdy, unattractive, pathetic people who were raised by puritanical Christian parents.  It is a real choice selected by accomplished adults who are good looking, head turning attractive.  

Loir was interviewed on HBO and said this about her decision to remain abstinent: “It’s just a gift I want to give my husband. But please understand this journey has been hard. There’s virgins out there and I want to let them know that it’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life. Harder than training for the Olympics. Harder than graduating from college has been to stay a virgin before marriage. I’ve been tempted, I’ve had plenty of opportunities.”  Sounds like this is a woman who discipline, self-control, who takes biblical morality seriously.  Even when it is not an easy path to follow.  And to Lori, a path more difficult than training for the Olympics.  

God created us as sexual beings to enjoy this experience.  God, our creator, also established that the place for sex to be enjoyed is in marriage.  Why?  Is God a cosmic kill joy who gives us a desire and then limits when He says we can have it? No, and let me illustrate it by looking at the Olympics, specifically swimming.  The Olympic committee requires that each swimmer must have a clearly defined lane within which they must compete.  Why?  Imagine that there were no lane lines and when the gun sounded, swimmers jumped in from various locations on the sides and started swimming in any direction.  The result would be chaos and even injury to the swimmers.  The lane lines protect each swimmer from interference and provides the best opportunity for the swimmer to succeed.  

God has done the same thing with sexuality.  He places it in the confines of marriage to protect us from harm and to provide the best place for it to be enjoyed. Marriage protects you from sexually transmitted diseases and the guilt and pain that can come from the "one night stand" and other sexual encounters.  Sex once a couple is marriage provides a context of unconditional love and commitment for the couple.  

So instead of looking at Lori Jones as an idiot, it seems to me that she is a lot wiser than the people who seem bent on making fun of her.  

Blessings,
Dr. Paul