Sex SHOULD = commitment, even though it doesn't always. IMO, you shouldn't have sex with anyone unless you feel incredibly serious about your relationship with that person. Sex is far too casual nowadays, I believe.

Obviously things change between two people when you have sex. I think it's unfair of you to ask these things of Saphira considering the fact that she technically just wouldn't know since she hasn't experienced it. Sex always changes the relationship between two people. Theoretically, it's supposed to make the relationship stronger.

Sex isn't contingent on whether or not you value someone's love. You grow to appreciate and value MORE things about your partner that you previously weren't aware of or were unable to explore before having sex. If you haven't had intercourse and you decide to do so after having a stable relationship with someone for a period of time, and you are committed to that person, then yes, you will value your partner more for sharing their body with you and you will be able to learn even more about your partner and grow together. Sex intensifies that love you had previously.

From a religious/personal belief standpoint, it's about saving yourself for someone else. It's a sign that you really love someone that you're only willing to allow that one person to explore your body through intercourse. People wait for marriage because marriage isn't supposed to be temporary, it's supposed to be a permanent status of your relationship, and you're supposed to "complete" the marriage by giving your bodies to one another. It's a sign of your love and committment to one another.

I personally, because of my upbringing, have a very strong feeling about this. I respect my body and myself and for those reasons, I would only want to share something so personal with someone that would want to spend the rest of his life with me. That's not to say if you don't abstain, you don't appreciate yourself, but that's how I feel about ME. I just feel like it's something incredibly special and it should only be shared with one person... your life partner. I think it shows not only how much you appreciate yourself, but how much you care about your partner that you're unwilling to share your body with anyone besides that person. If you decide to have sex with several people and get intimate a little quickly, then it devalues your body, your love, and your sense of yourself, again, IMO. I think sex is EXTREMELY important and EXTREMELY sacred and should only be experienced with someone you care INCREDIBLY deeply about. I just take a very serious outlook on it.

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