Food. Shelter. Education. Jobs. These are the basic needs many Americans are striving to find in a struggling economy. Yet, one of the hottest debates recently has been whether or not churches and other religious institutions should provide contraceptives for their employees. In a time where even health care is hard to find, the last thing employees are worried about is whether or not they will be able to get contraceptives.

The issue is not one that should come to the forefront when we have so much more to deal with, but what it says is that we have become a society obsessed with sex. The purpose of the church is to help us restrain ourselves, but this concept could diminish for good thanks to churches providing contraceptives to their employees.

Churches can no longer preach abstinence and give out contraceptives at the same time. If they do, all we have is more of the hypocrisy that already plagues many churches.

It’s as though it’s not the church shaping society anymore. Rather, it’s the society shaping the church. The fact that unwanted pregnancies have become more frequent should not mean that the church should provide contraceptives. It should not mean the church should not teach the meaning of sex as it is described in the Bible.

As it is the media does a wonderful job of distorting the meaning of sex. Now the churches could provide a helping hand and distort the value of sex instead of teaching about sex in the right context. Ultimately, what we have is a free for all for contraceptives. As churches spread contraceptives at will, a mad rush to get a piece is likely to break out.

Such an incentive could lead to even more chaos and add to a society already full of  lust. Some contraceptives will be used for the purpose of affairs. Others will be used  for a wild night out. Prostitution businesses will also receive an added boost thanks to more citizens with more contraceptives.

We are not in a time where we need to provide contraceptives. We are in a time where we need to highlight the dangers of having sex before marriage and more importantly, at an early age. We should be sending a message to younger people about the consequences  rushing into sex. We should be distinguishing the difference between pleasure and love. Sadly however, we are only getting more confused.

Women in particular are being more exposed as they are taken advantage of by men who appear to love them. More importantly, rape is still a huge concern in our society. And the reality is that an employee who seems perfectly normally can be a rapist. Should we reward such a person?

What›s next? Churches will be required to provide designated drivers?

What people also forget is that contraceptives don’t guarantee prevention of birth and they certainly don’t guarantee the prevention of STDs.

Churches have many roles in the community. Advocating for safe sex is not one of them. The focus of the church should be on providing more books for adolescents. It should be about providing more scholarships and promoting education. It should be about organizing more community events, and building a community where sex, drugs and violence are less prevalent.

And in a time where churches are filled with hypocrites molesting children, why send any kind of message that says sex is ok? Moreover, why contradict the message that is sent in the work place? How can we stop sexual harassment in the work place while at the same time providing condoms?

There are many organizations that can already provide contraceptives. Churches cannot get involved in this matter, if we can even call it a matter at this time.