"One of the best analogies on the need for modesty that I've ever heard. And from a girl too. Good stuff.
"Let’s try and put ourselves in a guy’s shoes. I think we can all agree that as girls, exercise is important to us. We want to stay healthy and are often working on getting fit. We work out and stay away from carbs or sweets. We use all of our willpower to not eat the chocolate cake on the counter! Now, let’s pretend that someone picked up that chocolate cake and followed us around all the time, 24/7. We can never get away from the chocolate, it’s always right there, tempting us and even smelling all ooey gooey and chocolate-y. Most of us, myself included, would find it easy to break down and eat the cake. And we would probably continue to break down and eat cake, because it would always be there. Our exercise goals would be long gone in no time.
This is how I imagine it is for guys. Girls are walking around all the time with barely any clothes on at the beach or pool! Guys can never get a break from it, even if they’re trying to see past all the bodies to find the smiles and personalities within the girls.""
A friend of mine posted the above quote on Facebook, I wanted to use it to emphasize it's seriousness.
As a culture, men are inundated with images of sexuality from a very young age and it's incredibly hard to flee from these images without being some what of a total hermit. Even young adult TV shows on the Disney or Nickelodeon networks have begun to become more sexually charged. I have had to limit what my oldest son watches when it comes to shows like iCarly or even Zack and Cody (though no longer airing).
When I turn on the television during prime time, or even before prime time if the show itself is not hyper-sexual the commercials are. Go on to the internet and it's no better. What is a man who is striving to flee sexual immorality to do? Well, I'll go to church. Wait a minute. What is that young attractive girl wearing? Her cleavage is certainly "out" today. That skirt that she is wearing is pretty short, and I am pretty sure she isn't wearing any underwear based of off the amount of time I have been staring.
Looking turns into staring, then staring into imagination. Whether you are a married man or not, the images that you have previously seen whether intentionally or not are now superimposed in your mind over the face or body of that woman you have been staring at. Now you have replaced her face on a snippet from that porn that you looked at when you were alone.
Sound familiar? I like to hope that it does. I like to believe that I am not some sort of sexual deviant, that the thoughts I have and the mechanics of thought I think are similar to many men. There is always room for a few men to not have these issues but I would like to believe that if polled, 9 out of 10 men would admit to this while the other would lie about it.
I appreciate modesty in women, I appreciate it because it allows for me check myself and turn my imagination off. I also appreciate when my beautiful wife dresses modestly because I know that it can block the imaginations of other men. I like knowing that only I get to see my wife in the most intimate of situations. Though I know I cannot control the thoughts of other men, I know that I can have comfort in the fact that aside from wearing a burka, my wife is doing all she can.
I also appreciate when women realize the effect they have on men. Unfortunately many women do realize this effect, and use it for evil instead of good. Men are driven very strongly by our sexuality. It's in our DNA to procreate and when untamed it can be a terrible tool of destruction. I don't think anyone would deny the consequences of an adulterous marriage. Even if it's healed and pieced back together, there are lingering effects.
The only way I have known how to deal with these desires is to continue in the Word and prayer. When I am actively pursuing God, I don't struggle as often with pornography. Oddly enough, when I am on deployment, away from my wife (my sexual outlet) and I am putting forth a ton of effort to get closer to God, the temptations that I feel on a normal basis slip away. You would think it to be the opposite.
"Let’s try and put ourselves in a guy’s shoes. I think we can all agree that as girls, exercise is important to us. We want to stay healthy and are often working on getting fit. We work out and stay away from carbs or sweets. We use all of our willpower to not eat the chocolate cake on the counter! Now, let’s pretend that someone picked up that chocolate cake and followed us around all the time, 24/7. We can never get away from the chocolate, it’s always right there, tempting us and even smelling all ooey gooey and chocolate-y. Most of us, myself included, would find it easy to break down and eat the cake. And we would probably continue to break down and eat cake, because it would always be there. Our exercise goals would be long gone in no time.
This is how I imagine it is for guys. Girls are walking around all the time with barely any clothes on at the beach or pool! Guys can never get a break from it, even if they’re trying to see past all the bodies to find the smiles and personalities within the girls.""
A friend of mine posted the above quote on Facebook, I wanted to use it to emphasize it's seriousness.
As a culture, men are inundated with images of sexuality from a very young age and it's incredibly hard to flee from these images without being some what of a total hermit. Even young adult TV shows on the Disney or Nickelodeon networks have begun to become more sexually charged. I have had to limit what my oldest son watches when it comes to shows like iCarly or even Zack and Cody (though no longer airing).
When I turn on the television during prime time, or even before prime time if the show itself is not hyper-sexual the commercials are. Go on to the internet and it's no better. What is a man who is striving to flee sexual immorality to do? Well, I'll go to church. Wait a minute. What is that young attractive girl wearing? Her cleavage is certainly "out" today. That skirt that she is wearing is pretty short, and I am pretty sure she isn't wearing any underwear based of off the amount of time I have been staring.
Looking turns into staring, then staring into imagination. Whether you are a married man or not, the images that you have previously seen whether intentionally or not are now superimposed in your mind over the face or body of that woman you have been staring at. Now you have replaced her face on a snippet from that porn that you looked at when you were alone.
Sound familiar? I like to hope that it does. I like to believe that I am not some sort of sexual deviant, that the thoughts I have and the mechanics of thought I think are similar to many men. There is always room for a few men to not have these issues but I would like to believe that if polled, 9 out of 10 men would admit to this while the other would lie about it.
I appreciate modesty in women, I appreciate it because it allows for me check myself and turn my imagination off. I also appreciate when my beautiful wife dresses modestly because I know that it can block the imaginations of other men. I like knowing that only I get to see my wife in the most intimate of situations. Though I know I cannot control the thoughts of other men, I know that I can have comfort in the fact that aside from wearing a burka, my wife is doing all she can.
I also appreciate when women realize the effect they have on men. Unfortunately many women do realize this effect, and use it for evil instead of good. Men are driven very strongly by our sexuality. It's in our DNA to procreate and when untamed it can be a terrible tool of destruction. I don't think anyone would deny the consequences of an adulterous marriage. Even if it's healed and pieced back together, there are lingering effects.
The only way I have known how to deal with these desires is to continue in the Word and prayer. When I am actively pursuing God, I don't struggle as often with pornography. Oddly enough, when I am on deployment, away from my wife (my sexual outlet) and I am putting forth a ton of effort to get closer to God, the temptations that I feel on a normal basis slip away. You would think it to be the opposite.
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