This blog has been on the editing floor for about two weeks. I have wrestled with it, deleted
it, re-wrote it, prayed about it and here is the final, finished product.
Before reading this, please know that my heart’s intentions
in writing it are not to condemn, judge or preach.
Unless you have been living under a rock buried underground
and covered by cement, you have heard about Magic Mike and 50 Shades of Grey. The
porno epidemic has been a raging problem for individuals and relationships for
years. But now, at the aid of social media and Television, it is almost
unavoidable even for those detached from all of the social media plug-ins. Shielding
our eyes, ears and hearts has become even more difficult than before.
I bet Satan is leaping for joy this very minute at how easy
his job has become. He gets paid off our sin and we are making him very rich.
He is still in the business of destroying people and relationships, corrupting
our children and killing our potential to live and lead a pure life.
I’m not implying that those who choose to read 50 Shades of
Grey or go to the Magic Mike movie can’t live a pure life. The abundant supply
of grace God gives us proves that we can. But I believe seeds are planted in
our hearts and mind daily whether we intentionally put them there or we are too
preoccupied to shield ourselves from them. We have to be diligent in protecting
what we allow into our lives.
I didn’t grow up pure or make decisions based on my faith. I
used my physique and wits to build all of my relationships. I had it and I
flaunted it. I wasn’t selective when it came to choosing boyfriends or friends
for that matter. Whoever gave me the most attention “won” but ultimately I was
the one losing. With every choice I made I was losing myself and the purity I
was born with. I continued to make decisions that made ME feel good in that
moment. It was all surface level satisfaction because deep down I degraded
myself and put a value on my worth that was so cheap anyone could afford me. Years
of bad choices and lack of self worth by the age of 18 I decided to move out
with my boyfriend. At 19ish I didn’t like the commitment school required so I
dropped a few classes with the best of intentions to make them up. By 21 I was
unmarried and pregnant and college was dead last on my TO DO list. From 21-24
we struggled in multiple ways; financially, emotionally and spiritually. By 24 I was pregnant again. At 25 my marriage was falling apart. By age 26 I was going
through a divorce and officially a single mom. I never finished college. I just
turned 28 on Tuesday.
My choices back then
paved the way for my twenties and I’m knocking on 30’s door! Your twenties are when
you’re supposed to grow, live and have fun. I wasted it because I didn’t
recognize or know my worth. I didn’t know God. I didn’t have to contend with 50
Shades of Grey, Magic Mike, Jersey Shore, Teen Mom, 16 and Pregnant or any
other trash TV like that when I was growing up. So imagine the battle our youth
faces now. There is more and more we have to protect ourselves from and
truthfully, I am terrified for my own children.
Aside from locking them in a padded room with no TV or radio, how do we
guard our children from sexual an immoral corruption?
As a youth leader at church, I get front row seats to the
teenagers and their daily struggles. Has anyone told them the value of their
virginity? Has anyone explained the long term effects of devaluing themselves? Has
anyone explained that their physical temptations are normal but how to tame
those desires and steward their sexuality appropriately? In today’s world
modesty is lame and sexuality is popular. A quick mobile upload and a few tags
later your worth is public domain for your 500 friends to see. We post in our
News Feed pictures and words that describe our worth to the world. Intentional
or not. We gage our importance on how many ‘likes’ we get or how many comments
our posts have; All the while ignoring God’s ‘likes’ and comments for our life
‘posts’.
Sadly the world captivates our attention to things that lead
us straight into sinful destruction. We are exposed to movies, books, websites
and people multiple times a day. It’s inevitable that things will sneak into
our minds and heart. Those unintentional seeds we allow to be planted are the
most dangerous kind.
I’m saddened and burdened by the way the world defines love. Love has
been corrupted into something that only meets a physical need. We are driven by
our heart’s desire. A friend once told me to be careful because the heart just
loves to love. That explained a lot of my past and broken relationships. I
allowed my heart to love anything and anyone regardless if they were
“profitable” to my life.
1 Corinthians 6:12-13 (Jackee paraphrased): Under the grace
of salvation provided to those who place their faith in Jesus as the one true
way to God, all things are permissible but not all things
are profitable. All things are permissible: under grace all is
covered by the blood of Jesus that allows a person to be seen without sin in
the eyes of God. Not all things are
profitable: there
are actions which will have natural, emotional and/or spiritual consequences,
some which will shape a heart in hidden ways.
In
closing this really long entry, I challenge all readers to be careful what we
allow into our hearts. There’s a children’s song that we should all apply to
our lives:
O Be Careful, Little Eyes
O be careful little
eyes what you see
O be careful little
eyes what you see
There's a Father up
above
And He's looking down
in love
So, be careful little
eyes what you see
O be careful little
ears what you hear
O be careful little
ears what you hear
There's a Father up
above
And He's looking down
in love
So, be careful little
ears what you hear
O be careful little
hands what you do
O be careful little
hands what you do
There's a Father up
above
And He's looking down
in love
So, be careful little
hands what you do
O be careful little
feet where you go
O be careful little
feet where you go
There's a Father up
above
And He's looking down
in love
So, be careful little
feet where you go
O be careful little
mouth what you say
O be careful little
mouth what you say
There's a Father up
above
And He's looking down
in love
So, be careful little
mouth what you say
Thanks for reading!!!
