The Ghost Pepper effect – guest post by Dan

I’m honored to have Dan writing a guest post here on Song of Virginity. Dan is a pastor, author and a speaker. An easy going guy which you can tell if you go visit his blog Learning to be Full of Grace and Truth – He is also a dad and a husband!

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My oldest daughter Maggie likes this YouTube show called Good Mythical Morning. The show stars two friends, Rhett and Link, who does crazy fun things. One of the stunts they pulled was taking what is called “the ghost pepper challenge.” The video showed both of them eating and swallowing a ghost pepper, and then seeing who could go the longest before reaching for some milk or ice cream for relief.

This bit of bravery buried itself like an evil seed in Maggie’s psyche, and grew into a desire to do her own YouTube video of a ghost pepper challenge. She talked her youngest sister Rachel and her friend Liam into doing it with her. So great was her desire to go through with this, that she spent her own money on 3 ghost peppers, 3 half gallons of milk, and a gallon of ice cream and some sherbet. Perhaps the best thing was her desire to try and stand out by wearing a blue full-body suit while she did it. She made me film the event:

Maggie’s ghost pepper challenge

To Maggie’s credit, she was the only one of the three who actually ate and swallowed the pepper. And she kept it down!

But it was not long before Maggie realized that what looked so fun and entertaining on TV was much more difficult in real life. It was about thirty minutes of burping, burning, crying, jumping, sweating, and exclamations of “fire!” amidst eating frantic handfuls of ice cream. When it was all over, she had a new respect for Rhett and Link, and vowed never to do it again.

What does this have to do with sex and virginity? Nothing really. But it makes the great point;

What we see on TV and in the movies is not the whole story.
Hollywood makes casual sex look enticing, desirable, and (most importantly) doable without any real unforeseen consequences or relational fallout.
But, just as Maggie found out that actually taking the ghost pepper challenge cost her a lot more pain than she had expected, casual sex outside of marriage brings its own brand of “ghost pepper effects” that are left out of the theatrical presentations of it.
And just as Maggie was still feeling it this morning, the effect of sleeping with someone don’t just fade away — it lingers.
In fact, it can haunt you like a ghost; even if it is with the person you end up marrying. I know, I am speaking from my own experience.

The “ghost pepper effects” of extramarital sex are not because sex is bad, but because God designed it to take place in the marriage relationship.

If there is anything I have been learning about sex, it is that sex is not a good thing; It is a great thing!
After all, it was God’s idea, and He doesn’t do lame ideas! I can tell you from experience (and I have 25 years of experience with my wife) that it is freakishly awesome!

… If you are tasting those hot “ghost pepper effects” and feeling guilt or shame from going there, all that heat can be wiped out by God’s grace.
There is no mistake, sin, or choice that can stand up to the omnipotent force of Jesus’ grace. If you are a Christian, confess your sin to Jesus, He forgave you long ago for it. Let that grace wash into your heart and cool and soothe your soul.
If you are not a Christian, go to Jesus and ask for His help. You will find that He is ready and willing to do so. He will always answer “Yes” to that prayer.