Friday, October 19, 2007

The Meaning of Purity

Recently my hubby read an article to me off the Internet about a Victoria Secret model who is proudly and vocally a virgin and plans to remain so until marriage.

For the sake of this blog, I didn't look up her name or any more details because my goal is not to impugn her, but take this concept of virginity and purity deeper.

One the one hand, I commend this model for her boldness and desire to live purely. On the other hand, the irony is a blaring neon sign. Contradiction!

While she promises no man will touch her goods until she's married, she parades around half naked before millions of men.


Men are visual. Men struggle with lust. And while this Vic Secret model has refrained from physical sex, she's mostly likely stirred mental sex with millions of men.

Jesus said if a man looks lustfully on a woman, he's committed adultery.

Just because we don't do the deed doesn't mean we are pure. I always had a beef with the wording of the True Love Waits pledge: "I'll remain pure until marriage."

Like after marriage you can be impure? Purity is a life long virtue. One that has to be maintained with vigilance - before and after marriage.

To this fancy underwear model, I'd ask, "So, it's okay to cause the husbands, fathers, brothers, boyfriends, cousins, uncles, and friends of the world's women to lust in their hearts, even for a second, because of the way you display yourself?"

No, it's not. Raise the bar, ladies. This model might feel protected and untouchable at her high level, unaware of what actions she causes. It's the chain reaction, the trickle down lust effect.

She feels safe and secure in her purity stand, but down at the common every day level, some man in a bathroom with his wife's/mother's/sister's Vic Secret catalog is... well... not keeping it so pure. (Catalog sales were 400 million at one time.)

Men I know desiring to walk in purity refuse to have a Vic Secret catalog in their homes.

It's not one or the other, ladies. How we behave, dress, flirt is also part of purity. Not just keeping a man out of our drawers. Men, how you act and behave impacts your purity.

If Jesus words are true, and they always are, millions of men have committed adultery with Vic Secret models.

If this one really wants to be an example for young women, she might consider not walking around in her underwear. The other trickle-down effect is millions of young women wanting to be like Vic Secret models and buy these soft, sexy underthings for showing off to... um... who? Boyfriends?

Let's be honest,
we live in a world where a school board voted in birth control for 11 and 12 year old girls. The fight against purity and virginity is raging. It can't be maintained without constant vigilance.

You can't walk around showing the goods and expect young women to be pure. Shopping for
sexy underwear only makes a woman want to show them off. Sooner or later, some dude's going to see them, sooner or later, he'll coax them off.

The title of the blog is to get us thinking. Jesus said if our eyes causes us to stumble, take it out. If we steal, cut off our hand. If we hate, we've murdered. His point?

We're all guilty! We've all fallen short of God's glory. Sin is serious business. I've got to up my level of holiness! How about you?

After all, we are His favorite ones. I want to love Him like I am favored.

7 comments:

  1. I deeply appreciate this post, Rachel. I hope/pray there are tons of teen girls reading your blog!

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  2. Hey Rach - I have just done some speed reading of the last few posts to catch up! Thanks for your words of encoutragment, wisdom and discernment!

    Hugs

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  3. Good post. It blew my mind when they were talking about giving 11 yr old girls birth control. 11!!! They should still be playing with barbies and having tea parties. Giving an 11 year old birth control.... isnt that sorta of like child molesting?? Their innocence has just been demolishied!

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  4. Anonymous2:26 PM

    WOW! You said everything that I've always wanted to say and just didn't know how. I hope that model gets to read those words. If she's concerned about her "purity", maybe you've given her something to think about. Thank you.

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  5. Thanks Rachel, What is this model thinking?? It really pains my heart to see the young girls 11 yrs and up wearing such low cut tops, midriff showing and shorts so short they may as well be wearing just their underwear. Peer pressure and fads are their guideline instead of an attitude of modesty. A Christian young lady near and dear to my heart dresses like this and it saddens and hurts me so much. I'm praying the Lord will somehow, some way convict her heart about they way she dresses.

    Love Mom

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  6. Ya know, just the other day I was at the mall and went into Children's Place to get Asa some PJs. It's a KIDS store (babies, toddlers, Pre-K)....I walked past a display and then did a double-take. I went back and I could not believe my eyes! There were stacks of sexy leopard-print underwear with red lace trim attached for LITTLE girls!!! They were high-bikini cut too, not the typical little-girl underwear. What's even more appalling...parents buy this stuff for their kids! It's like we want them to hurry up and grow up but wonder why so many girls have sexual encounters earlier and earlier....and we're shocked about sexual predator stories we hear! HELLO! When your 5-year-old is sporting leopard panties and mini-skirts, it draws unwanted attention!

    OK. Off the soapbox.....just so irritated about all this. Great post, Rachel! Society is so duped.

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  7. Great post! So many people don't understand that purity goes beyond technichal virignity. You did a great job with post!

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