Teen Pregnancy--Why Wait?

This week I watched in disbelief as Bristol Palin, the daughter of the spunky former vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin did an exclusive interview to talk about her teenage pregnancy and her new advocacy role for teen abstinence. The tragedy for me wasn't that a teen got pregnant, albeit the daughter of a popular conservative Christian politician. Teen pregnancy doesn't surprise me, a proverbial scarlet letter in a hypocritical system that mocks abstinence as being unrealistic, but then on the other end condemns teens who reap the consequences of their actions. "Let kids have sex!" is the mantra, but shame on them if they happen to get pregnant.

We did a survey of our middle/high school students at Calvary Chapel, and here are the surprising results:
Are you a virgin?
YES: 90%
NO: 10%
WHY are you waiting for marriage?
Among many GOOD responses, these concerned us:
“because it is not right"
"cuz, I am"
"cuz I am 11 and its gross!!!" (that was just funny!)
"because I want my first to be my best and all I know"
"because I’m 14 (a lot of kids put this)"
"my parents"
"because I have principles I want to keep”
(read more of this survey by joining the "Parents of Teenagers" Unifyer Group)

My frustration was that Bristol had supposedly learned her 'lesson', and the wisdom she proceeded to share should have been a 'been there, done that, got the t-shirt' nugget of wisdom that all teens should pay strong attention to. But her microphone lost volume and her platform reduced to a worldly stump when she uttered these words, "I think that kids just need to wait 10 more years. If I had just waited ten more years, things would be a lot better".
There was no remorse over sin, no sense that she had been breaking God's commands or violated her marriage covenant with whoever her future spouse might be. Instead of an exhortation to remain abstinent because it pleases the heart of God, yields obedience to His command, and preserves the purity and intergrity of the marriage bed, she actually said in as many words that "abstinence just doesn't work". Then she explained that pregnancy would be easier in 10 years.

Bristol, didn't your mom raise you to understand WHY abstinence not only works, but is biblical and possible if you walk in the Spirit of Christ who dwells within you as a born-again believer in Jesus? In the face of her pragmatic worldview, the only thing that didn't work for Bristol was birth control, or for that matter, self control.

-Pilgrim