The wife hath not power of her own body, but the husband: and likewise also the husband hath not power of his own body, but the wife. Do not deprive each other except by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. 1 Corinthians 7:4-5
This can definitely be a sensitive subject and one that I've never touched on before, so I won't be spending too much time on this today. But I think it is something we need to look at if we are to continue on this journey of learning about being a virtuous woman.
First, I would like to point out that it is important, with any verse you read, to read the verses around that particular verse. You must know what context in which the author is writing. That is the same with these verses I am using today. You can't take one without the other.
Paul writes that we are not to deprive each other except by mutual consent. We can't deprive each other because we do not hold the power and authority to our own bodies. Our husband have that authority. I think it is important to point out here that it is not only the wife who does not have power and authority of her own body; it is the same with the husband. When we said "I do", God gave that authority over to our husbands and vise versa.
I chose these verses because I think as virtuous women we need to come to terms with that fact. We aren't giving up a freedom; we are trusting our husbands to care for us and protect us in our sexual relationship. Let me say that again: we are trusting our husbands with our bodies. Not our boyfriends; not our neighbors; not the person we just met. Sex is reserved for those who are in a monogamous marriage. We can still say "Not tonight", but only if our husbands agree.
I urge you to not deprive your husband what is rightly his, and don't threaten to deprive him. That will only hurt the relationship.
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