Sex and the Single Guy: Winning the battle for purity

The struggle for purity is intense. A college student himself, Joe Knable knows the great effort it takes for holiness. He shares insight from other singles, both male and female, with a straightforward style, and looks at God’s plan for sexuality and abstinence. Read this extract from his book Sex and the Single Guy...

Mark sat at his favorite table at Montevoni's and didn't wait long before his favorite waitress arrived.
"Hi, Mark! How are you?"
"Oh, hi, Theresa. It's been a while, hasn't it? I haven't seen you in here the last couple of weeks."
"Oh, classes have been busy, so I had to take some time off from work. It's hard to concentrate on waiting tables when you have four big exams to study for."
"Oh, I understand! I've been there. I miss college a lot, but not those exams."
Man, she looks really nice today. I’ve never noticed how attractive she is.
"So how is work, Mark? Has anything happened since the last time we talked?"
"No, it's just been another busy, stressful week. How about you?"
Why haven't I ever asked her out before? She's nice, she's really cute, and she's a solid Christian girl. I should ask her out sometime.
"It's been good, but it can get pretty old sometimes. But it's a great job to help put me through college."
"I'm sure it would be — I worked as a waiter for a couple of years when I was in college."
You know, I really like this girl.
"Yeah, I like it because they work with my class schedule, and the customers are so nice."

That's because her shirt is so tight. Does she have any idea what that shirt does to me? Those pants are also too tight... but I don't really mind.
"Oh, that's just because you're such a nice girl."
"Yeah, right. So how is your family, Mark? Did your sister get engaged yet?"
"No. We thought he was going to ask her last weekend when they went up to see my parents, but her boyfriend chickened out."
Wow, she has some great carves.
"I'm sure it will be any time now. How is your family doing?"
It was a slow Wednesday, so Theresa was taking more time to chat than she normally would. Mark liked that.
"Everybody is OK, except my dad," she said. "He went in for a routine physical last Tuesday, and the tests found something, and now he needs to go to see a specialist about it. It's kind of scary."
"I'm really sorry to hear about that."
Do you honestly know how hot you are?
"We think he's gonna he OK, but he was really tired and stayed in bed all week."
"That's not any fun at all. I had to stay in bed for a week last summer when I had mono; I couldn't do anything but watch TV."
However, I wouldn't mind being stuck in bed with you for a week.
"As soon as I get off work I need to go check up on him."
"That's really cool of you; I admire how much you care about your dad.
"I wonder what she'd let me do with her on our first date.
"It's the least I can do for the guy who's always done so much for me."
"My dad's the same way… Hey listen, Theresa, I know it's difficult, but don't forget that God is in control of this. Even if they do find something, God already knows about it, and there's nothing too difficult for Him to handle."
Man, I'd like to handle her. If we could have just five minutes alone…
"You're absolutely right, Mark. I just need to trust God with this. It's hard sometimes, but I do trust Him."
"Good to hear. Hey, I need to get going; I need to be back to work by one."
"Well, thanks for the encouragement, Mark. I really needed it. I'm glad I got to see you today. We should talk like this more often."
I'll tell you what we should do more often…
"You too, Theresa. Hey, I'll be praying for your dad, OK?"
I just want to take you and…
"Thanks, Mark; God bless you."
"See ya later, Theresa."
Do you know what I'd like to do? Man, I wish I could take you to the backseat of my car right now… Wait — what am I doing? What in the world is wrong with me? God, please help me!

You may have heard that men think about sex every 15 seconds. However, according to the Kinsey Institute, 54% of men think about sex every day or several times a day, 43% a few times per week, and 3% less than once a month.

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Sex and the Single Guy: Winning Your Battle for Purity
One lie from Satan has tricked most men out there: Single guys cannot live lives of sexual purity. But here’s the truth: we do not have to wait until we’re married to get our sexual desires under control! Another lie is that singleness is a rule-free time of experimentation. However, those experiments can cost you your dreams and even your life. At the very least, they will quench your fire and stifle your effectiveness for the Lord. Who wants to tell someone about Jesus when they feel so rotten over the sexual sin they were involved with the night before? It’s time to commit your sexual life to the Lord. Let’s live pure and holy lives, consecrated and set apart so our heavenly Father can use us more than we ever dreamed. God is moving, guys. He’s asking who will join Him. Will we follow our Father, or will we indulge our flesh? We can do only one — we’ve got to make a choice.