The Societal Cancer We Don't Address, Part 4 of 4

The best way for me to conclude this post is for me to be very clear on what I'm calling for.  

Yes, in my previous post I said that we need to get rid of all pornography.  I can understand if your immediate response is, "Yea, like that's going to ever happen!  It's about as likely as us getting rid of all greed."  Why would I call for something that I realize is unrealistic?  By addressing pornography one person at a time, we can see the consequences of pornography (broken homes, wrecked lives, drained bank accounts, sexualized culture, etc.) get real help by addressing it one person at a time.

Here's what I'm realistically calling for:  I'm calling for each person who is reading this to do away with pornography in your life.  I urge you to, first, stop watching it in all forms, even the subtle yet real promotion of sex through movies that treat sex and sexuality in a casual way.  Second, I urge you to stop endorsing, stop attending, and stop allowing your children to go to movies that have nudity in them, that clearly are using nudity to attract viewers.  Third, I urge you to take the high road.  Use Covenant Eyes or Net Nanny or another service that either keeps you from certain sites or keeps you from viewing sites undetected. These sites have done an excellent job of both keeping trash out of your home and eyes while not hindering you from doing normal things that you need to do on a day-to-day basis.  Fourth, I urge you to have high standards of screen watching in your home, that computers be in plain site of all, and that hand held devices be highly monitored.  If you have cable, satellite, or a video streaming service, utilize the parental controls as if you're physically protecting your home from a predator.

Do your part.  Say, "Not in this home.  Not in this place.  Not on my watch"  Then, take it a step further.  Be an advocate of healthy respect of other people, that we see each person as valuable, no matter their mental capacity, their history, their affiliation, their race, or their age.  That you go out of your way to ask them questions, to look them in the eyes and listen to their response, to treat them with truly unconditional love.  Be that person that looks that girl in the eye and says, "Hi!"  Especially, dare I say (and I regret that I have to say it this way, but our culture has already judged women this way), those girls who are not accepted because of their looks or who have bought into the lie and are clearly seeking to earn a place in society by the way they dress.

IF you're a young man and you are of a dating age, I urge you that, if you find a girl that you like, treat her with respect.  Open doors for her, don't make any sexual advance on her, tell her that you've chosen not to have sex until marriage because you don't think it should be the basis for marriage.  And if you don't believe this then don't be dating at all.  Because until you're at a point when you can love a girl the way God has made her inside and out, you have no right dating.  Be a man!

If you're a young lady and you're reading this, I urge to be the woman that you were made to be by treating all others with respect, by not making sexual advances on a boy; by dressing in such a way that you don't need to be noticed physically in order to be accepted; by not watching things that will feed the romantic fantasy in your life where the next boy that says the "right thing" will sweep you off your feet.

Let's address this, not by villainizing every man that's had a bad thought about a woman, not by blaming women who "dress to kill," and not through well-worded social media quips.  Rather, let's each repent of the part that we've played and let's each respect and love people for how God created them, not how the world has defined them.

Please, do your part, that's what I'm asking.  Do your part.

The Societal Cancer We Don't Address, Part 1 of 4

I'm sick and tired of the duplicity going on in our society; the two-facedness regarding sexual immorality.  
     On the one hand, we are legitimately and rightfully up in arms about the sexual harassment we see in the headlines.  We should speak out against it and it should be made public and we should take steps to get rid of it in all facets of our society.  Yet, we will not get rid of it until we stop turning a blind eye to pornography. 
     We practically celebrated Hugh Heffner after he died.  What has he added to our society?  I (and many others) would say he has destroyed our society before he has added any single thing.  He has legitimized pornography in our society and has introduced many people, young and old, to things that ought not be for public consumption.  What has happened?  We have become, in essence, a sexualized culture. 
     Before I make this next point, I must clarify that every wrong action has personal responsibility involved in it.  Yet, we cannot ignore the things in our culture that contribute to sexual harassment and date rape and the irresponsible, unhealthy sexual habits of many.  With all the images and sexual content in print media, TV, movies, and the internet, it's no wonder that men have a fantasy that all women want them.  Men have been convinced that they can have whomever they want at whatever time they want.  Just this morning, there was a study connecting pornography to the change of peoples' approach to relationship.  Most of us do not need an official study to prove that.
    For example, we allow things like the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue and celebrate models that have finally made it to the cover.  We say that it's all good even though SI sells loads of ads for this issue for one main reason - these women wear next to nothing and have bodies that few women can live up to - adding to the fantasy world that contributes to the problem. 
    The problem?  We are introducing boys of all ages to view women as objects to be had, not people to be respected.  Not only that, but these boys are being raised by dads who grew up in a culture where Playboy is normal, where music videos regularly feature women dancing in all kinds of sexually suggestive ways, and where Madonna is lauded for being "honest about her sexuality."  Now, artists like Miley Cyrus lose their innocence before our very eyes and not only do we not blink but we "reward" such public sensuality.  Miley gathers her riches and receives applause for humanitarian efforts while she's not held responsible for the road she leads our young girls down . 
     So are we OK with never addressing the reason why many people go down that road of sexual harassment and an almost uncontrolled sex life?  Do we really want to know why seemingly normal men have a fantasy life that every person would be shocked by? Yes, even as a pastor, I know what I'm talking about (end of part 1).