Why I Wear a Purity Ring

I've worn a purity ring since I was fourteen years old.  My dad gave me my first purity ring as a birthday gift.  It was the typical silver band with the words "True Love Waits" etched across the front.  You can get it here.  I loved the ring.  I loved its message and simplicity.  I loved what it stood for in my life.  I loved how blunt its words were.  "True Love Waits."  Nobody would ever question what that ring meant to me.

I lost my ring last summer, much to my dismay.  My new ring is also silver, although this one displays a pearl right in the center.  You can find it here.  It isn't as obvious that it's a purity ring as my first one, but I love it just as much.  It almost looks like a wedding ring, but with a pearl instead of a diamond.

I wear a purity ring as a symbol that I choose to remain pure before marriage.  When I say pure, I mean that I won't have sex before marriage, of course, but I will also try to keep all of my thoughts and actions pure as well.  I choose to stay pure so I can honor the Lord, my future husband, and myself.  I don't want to give away something that was meant for one person.  Hebrews 13:4 says, "Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure..."  I want to honor my marriage, even before I am married, as a gift to my husband.

1 Corinthians 6:18-20 says, "Flee from sexual immorality.  All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body.  Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?  You are not your own; you were bought at a price.  Therefore honor God with your bodies."

My purity ring is a tangible reminder of my choice to remain pure.  I wear my purity ring on my left hand ring finger.  In a way, I see my purity ring as a pre-pre-wedding ring.  A wedding ring is a symbol of one's commitment to their spouse.  An engagement ring announces one's commitment to a soon-to-be spouse.  I wear my purity ring as a symbol of commitment to my future husband.

I wear my purity ring as a reminder of the commitment I've made to God, to myself, and to my future husband.