Save It For The Altar: Your First Kiss

Today my mind has been on Christians in the stressful, worldly industries in our society- specifically the acting industry. I've been watching a television show that so far has held up some fairly good morals- monogamous relationships, sticking with the person you are with no matter what, family values, keeping it real despite Hollyweird's pull, etc. The characters stay away from all forms of physical intimacy in a boyfriend/girlfriend relationship except... kissing.

"Kissing?" they would ask, "What's the big deal? It's just acting." 

And yes, maybe at first it was just acting, but the second their lips touched, they were no longer indifferent to each other. An attraction has been formed. Why? Well, let's take a look at what scientists are saying now- that a kiss is not simply a kiss. It produces oxytocin, which acts like a neural glue to "stick" your emotions to whomever you kiss. Now, I admit that other scientists claim that actors can kiss without feeling anything, but I'm not sure I can really believe that because unless they hate the person they kiss, how is the glue "not working"? And way to confuse your brain! It thinks it's supposed to love one person, then in the next scene you kiss someone else and it goes "whaaaa?!" 

And then that makes me think, "What about those poor girlfriends/boyfriends/husbands/wives out there watching their beloveds 'performing' on stage?" How must they feel? And what must they be secretly wondering? It makes me feel so sad for them. 

And what about us everyday people that only kiss people we care about? Surely we aren't in danger here. Nowadays doesn't everyone kiss before they're married? Well, yeah, I have noticed this. Anyone with eyes can see it! But I remember something my dad told me after my first relationship tanked- rarely do you ever marry the first person you are in a relationship with. So that means everyone will probably kiss at least one person before they find the person they marry. But that's not the actual number, is it? According to one site, the average person dates 26 people and according to Scott Brown of The National Center For Family-Integrated Churches, the average woman will kiss 22 men! My poor brain is scrambled just thinking about such an emotional roller-coaster. 

So why do we do it? To attract the person we like, to confirm that we like someone, to show our affection, to feel confident and secure.... But shouldn't we already feel that way about the person we like before we even think about kissing them? 

Here is my proposal: for those of us who are not television stars, instead of kissing someone to confirm in our hearts that we "love" them, why don't we wait until the altar to show them that we love them? 

Just a thought.