A Third Look At Celibacy By Ron Murdock discusses the virtues and liabilities of sexual abstinence. It’s hard to say if celibacy is making a comeback or not. People are known to fudge on numbers, saying they’ve been celibate for any length of time. Their ego starts to over inflate the length of being celibate to make themselves look good in front of others, as if most of us really care one way or another. A rock star and pro athlete said they both had sex with thousands of women. For some reason I don’t believe the numbers concerned, as I don’t think people get as much sex as they say they do. On the other hand, others claim to be celibate to make themselves look good in front of their religious group.
The Virtues And Liabilities Of Sexual Abstinence
But there is no doubt that sex sells and has become too commercialized over the last few years. Just observe the majority of magazine covers and TV commercials that feature more skin than cloths or product that is being sold. I can’t say how well Viagra or Cialis are effective, as a person is attracted to another person or not, and all the sexual aids won’t change the situation.
I’ve been told that STI’s (sexually transmitted diseases) are hard to catch, something I take with a grain of salt. Even if it is close to being the truth, it isn’t going to matter if you’re the one that gets infected. Same with an unwanted or surprise pregnancy. Both are a life changing event that could have been prevented with some thought. In the case of pregnancy, one needs to ask if the other person is someone they want to raise a child with. All birth control methods have a failure rate which can contribute to creating more problems than it solves. Plus, sex can be an addiction for some and it isn’t an answer to any of life’s problems no matter how good an orgasm feels.
Now I’m not a religious person by any stretch of the imagination as I found there is too much in the way of peer pressure in organized religion. I appreciate my social contacts with women more as I see the whole person without the pressure or awkwardness of expecting sexual relations. I can’t emphasize enough that celibacy is a decision that a person must make for themselves and not be pressured by outside sources. If a person is told by others to be celibate, it could backlash against either person and be a magnetic attraction for people to be sexual active.
I do remain skeptical on the studies and polls that claim celibacy is the latest fad among all age groups. People may be uncomfortable, or outright lie when providing information, especially when the subject is ultra-personal like sex is.
Before deciding celibacy is the way to go for you, do a lot of soul searching. Sex has been used as an escape from various things in life or to avoid problems that an individual doesn’t want to deal with. But on the other side of the coin if celibacy is frustrating for a person it is wise to just leave it behind. Plus being celibate can’t be used as an excuse to avoid intimacy with another person which is just ignoring another problems.
Ron Murdock
