An open letter to heterosexual teenage boys:

This letter is supposed to be easy, considering I spent seven years as a heterosexual teenage boy and an additional three acting like one.

It’s not. I’ve been remembering how difficult it was to convince me of anything at your age.

When I was warned about risks, I ignored the advice. I felt invincible and didn’t mind driving down the highway at 100 mph; I didn’t care that others had fallen into trouble doing things I was considering doing. And think about the consequences of early sex? Not a chance.

So I’ll let others tell you why the proper use of a condom every time might stave off HIV and unwanted pregnancies but not a host of other maladies.

I’ll let others make the case that avoiding early sex is the spiritually correct thing to do.

I’ll just let you in on a few thoughts no one bothered to share with me.

Bedding numerous girls isn’t a rite of passage and won’t make you a man. It just proves that you are immature, that something other than your heart, head and soul is in control.

It is possible to abstain from teenage sex. You need to listen to the few voices that are willing to remind you of that reality because they are the ones suggesting that you can be better than you are, that you can discipline yourself, that you can mature into a man.

By dabbling in early sex, you create obstacles that will show themselves precisely when you want a meaningful relationship. That doesn’t mean you can’t overcome them. But you won’t have to bother with such things if you avoid early sex.

Your parents are not being hypocrites if they tell you to abstain even if they didn’t as teenagers.

Think about it for a second. If a former drug addict told you to avoid drugs, would you deem him a hypocrite or thank him for caring?

But if you hold off on sex until it’s time, you won’t get tripped up by the many potential pitfalls of early sex.

Life doesn’t offer many guarantees. Abstinence is one of the few.