We have now entered the season of lent and for many Christians this means fasting from ‘something’ in order to pray and prepare themselves for Easter. Traditionally, people will abstain from partaking in something they normally have on a regular basis and then Sunday is their “feast day,” the day when they will enjoy whatever they are fasting from during the 40 days of lent.
A reader wrote us asking our opinion on the idea of giving up sex during lent and we thought it would be a great discussion. My personal opinion is that, as with so many other aspects of sexual activity in marriage, it really depends on each couple. I don’t think it is innately good or bad. While I would be more concerned if the couple wasn’t intimate at all for the entire time between Ash Wednesday and Easter, if the couple holds to the belief of including Sundays as a feast day 🙂 I can see how this could be a good thing for them if God was leading them to fast from sex Mondays through Saturdays during lent. The Bible even speaks to the issue of a couple abstaining from sex for the purpose of prayer and fasting so it’s not out of the realm of reason to consider it (1 Corinthians 7). Paul warns though to limit the time of the fast so that the couple isn’t tempted.
So my opinion is that as long as both the husband and wife agree to it, I don’t see a problem with this and can see how it could actually be a blessing to them. Sunday sex could be really awesome in a case like this.
So what do you think? What would your reasons be for fasting or not fasting from sex? Â Do you think you could get on board with this? Do you think it could make your sex life better? Do you think it would cause you to pray more about your intimacy than you do now? I’d love to hear your thoughts on this!
Christian Nymphos 