Premeditated Purity

I’m no law guru, but we all know that the punishment for murder is much more severe if that act was premeditated, or decided on beforehand. We make a distinction between a person who, caught up in the passion of the moment, commits a crime and one who plans every detail months in advance (cf. Num 35:10–24).
I believe that the Bible commends, and even commands, that our purity be premeditated. We all know it is important to be pure, and we never know when we might be caught in that one situation, that one moment of temptation where we might lose our purity forever. Scripture commands us to carefully, meticulously, and deliberately plan ahead of time to be pure. Consider 1 Peter 1:13–16: “Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; as obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: but as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.”
Notice the beginning: “gird up the loins of your mind.” We are familiar with the Ancient Near Eastern custom of “girding up the loins.” It meant to tuck the long folds of one’s robe up into the belt so they were ready for action. Here we are to prepare our minds for action and be serious about living as obedient children of God. We are not to live like unsaved people do (and we once did!) in lust and impurity, but we are to live in holiness, just as the God who saved us is completely pure from sin.
I want to focus on the idea of preparing to be pure. Don’t wait until you are in the middle of temptation to decide that you will be pure and holy. Decide now. Avoid places where temptation is likely. Stay away from people who you know are not interested in pleasing God or being pure. Practice premeditated purity in your life.