“Many people think of purity only as sexual purity. However, spiritual purity includes pure motives, pure speech, pure thoughts, a pure heart and more.” These words in the first chapter of Pursuing Purity and Spiritual Beauty clearly describe the theme of Virginia Lefler’s book. Her call to purify each area of our lives resonates strongly in a world that is corrupted by impurity and sin. The need to be instructed about sexual purity is great. We are bombarded by so many immoral and unrealistic views of sex, and we can’t deny that these images have some influence in our lives. Virginia gives sound teaching on the subject of sexual purity, using scripture and practical lessons that are needed more than ever. Many women think that marriage is the “cure” for impurity, but in fact the tendency to bring impure thoughts and ideas into the marriage bed is rampant. This causes many women to be dissatisfied with their husbands and their sex life. When we approach sexuality the way God intended, it can be fulfilling and satisfying, drawing husband and wife closer both physically and emotionally. These issues are covered in the book in a clear and helpful manner. But, as Virginia claims in her opening chapter, that is only a portion of the issue of purity in our lives. Purity is a quality of heart and mind and action that we should all endeavor to claim. This quality is what makes us beautiful and precious to God. The subject includes our speech, our motives, the clothes we wear and many other topics that are covered in this book.
Virginia also makes sure that we understand certain words that are often overlooked in our modern vernacular, with definitions and descriptions that help to make them crystal clear. For example, I was intrigued by her explanation of the word “propriety” from I Timothy 2:9. The Greek word (sophrosyne) refers to a “habitual inner self-government, with its constant rein on all passions and desires”. She writes: “With sophrosyne you can turn your thoughts from things that might be harmful to you; things such as worry, self-hatred or jealousy…” Propriety guides us in our choice of words, our choice of clothing and even our choice of thoughts.
