I guess I'm a prude.

"Origin:
1695–1705; < French prude a prude (noun), prudish (adj.), short for prudefemme, Old French prodefeme worthy or respectable woman."

From dictionary.com

Finding worth and being respectful have been themes in my recent life.

WORTH:
I realized at some point that it is better to find worth in Christ than in other or even in self (high expectations can bite you sometimes). It is better to find worth in Christ than in what you have. I worry about young people. The way they act, dress, and talk often shows that they aren't finding their worth in God, but they are finding it in the way they are treated by the opposite sex or by their peers or in something other than where true worth is found. It bothers me. Maybe because I remember trying to find my worth in things that came up short. Maybe it is because I still do try to find my worth in things that come up short. Maybe this is a struggle for women their whole lives. I'm not sure, but whatever the case is, I think that knowing where your worth is found is a big deal.
When you look at the definition ("good or important enough to justify;" dictionary.com)of the word, it is really makes sense that this is a big deal. We are not good or important enough to justify. I am not good. I am not important enough to justify. Until I state who I find my worth in. Once I say that I am good because of what Christ has done for me, it is clear that this is true. Once I say that I am important enough to justify because Christ brought justification (just-as-if-I'd-never-sinned) that on the cross, it is clear that this is true. I am good and important enough to justify when looking through Christ-colored glasses. He did that for me.

Respect:
It dawned on me recently that all sins are a lack of respect for God. My husband often has said, "If you break the first commandment, you break them all." The first commandment is "You shall have no other gods." According to Luther's Small Catechism, that means that "We should fear, love, and trust in God above all things." If we break any of the other commandments we somewhere must have failed to fear, love, and trust in God above all things. It dawned on me that that means that when I sin, I am being disrespectful to God.
I decided that if being disrespectful to God is something that God would hate (and God does hate sin), then being respectful is something that should be important to me.
When I decided that it was important to me, I saw how important it was to teach this concept to my children. That's why you'll find Allyssa in her room, in the dark, on her bed for a set number of minutes when she swipes her hand in the air when she gets frustrated with me. If I don't teach Allyssa to respect me, then how will she ever understand that she needs to respect God?
Let's follow that train of thought through. My child does not learn to respect her mother. My child learns to disrespect all authority because she learns that it is not important to respect her parents. My child does not learn to respect God because she doesn't know how to be respectful. My child sins by not respecting God. This, sadly, could lead to the sin of rejecting God. That would lead to Hell.
That sure puts things into perspective! Maybe that seems a little extreme, but, as a parent, I've got lives on the line, and I'm not willing to risk them!
I'm also not good at this. I need Christ's forgiveness because I am not always respectful. Just as I forgive my children when they are disrespectful to me, my God forgives me.

So what does this have to do with being a prude??

I have been struggling recently about wanting to do something. I really would like to do this thing. I can't though. I can't because I feel that by doing it I would be compromising my values. I feel that by doing it I would be finding my worth in places I shouldn't. I feel like I would be turning myself into an object.

I guess I'm a prude.

I think I might be proud of it.