An Altered Perspective.

Sometimes I wonder if we as women set men up for failure. We learn early on that men are visual creatures - but what does that really mean? I think it’s safe to say that we are far too quick to draw the conclusion that “men are pigs.” After all, most of them just stare at you as if you’re a piece of meat, right?

I hate to tell you this, but that’s just not the case. Men were actually created by the God of the universe to be visual creatures. And that’s that. But unfortunately, among many other things that the Lord created for good, a man’s visual desire has become drastically distorted. Beauty has become seduction, and visual pleasure has become lust.

You see, as women we don’t understand what really goes on in a man’s mind.  Even Christian men, who have nothing but good intentions. Good intentions and all, it doesn’t matter. Because the truth is, Satan is real. And he wants to torment their mind with lustful thinking, and unfortunately he is able to do so by using their sisters in Christ. Seems pretty ironic, huh?  We are commanded in 1 Thessalonians 5 to “encourage one another and build each other up”; when it comes to relating with our brothers in Christ, this means protecting them from thoughts that are difficult to avoid as it is, much less when we dress in such a way to encourage these thoughts.

In her book For Women Only, Shaunti Feldhahn emphasizes 2 points of what “men are visual” essentially means:

“A woman who is dressed to show off a great body is an “eye magnet” that is incredibly difficult to avoid, and even if a man forces himself not to look, he is acutely aware of her presence. Secondly, even when no such eye magnet is present, each man has a “mental Rolodex” of stored images that can intrude into his thoughts without warning or can be called up at will.” (p. 111-112)

For men, images linger. There is no such thing as a “mere glimpse” that is quickly disregarded. Nope - it stays there. You see, one decision to dress immodestly goes quite a long way. Showing off your body can not only intrude a man’s thoughts at the present moment, but it can intrude his thoughts weeks, and even months down the road. Do we really want to carry that responsibility around with us?

I beg you to constantly remind yourself of what we are called to in regards to our brothers. It’s time that we rise up and take it upon ourselves to protect them from thoughts that easily encroach their minds. In order to do so, we have to be mindful. We have to make God-honoring decisions. And we have to rise up to our calling: “Women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control.” 1 Timothy 2:9-10

-Bailey