It's Just a Little Eye Candy

Photo: johnsnape on Flickr, creative commons license

          Ladies let’s have a heart to heart. For years we as the female race have gotten after men for objectifying women. We have accused them of lusting after unattainable female images found in magazines and online. When a man mentions that a certain actress is hot we roll our eyes and tell them they are pigs, because real women don’t look like that and men should learn to have more realistic expectations of what a woman should look like. But recently I am finding that women have begun to act just like men when it comes to looking at the opposite sex. I really began to notice this on Pinterest where I can barely go without seeing a picture of a half- naked man on my screen that someone else has posted. Now I realize the females have always noticed a fine looking male specimen when we see them, but recently women have begun to objectify these men at the same level we accuse men of objectifying women. In writing this I have no intentions of making you feel guilty about your thoughts toward men, that is something you have to work out between yourself and God, but I do want to leave you with a thought. Remember the old saying "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil"? What we put into our minds has a very large influence over what we think and do.

           As a Christian woman I believe God has called me to live radically different than the world does. I realize that looking at attractive men seems harmless through the worlds eyes, but I know God has called me to live a life of integrity and respect. So when it comes to looking at images of half-naked men I choose not to out of respect for myself and for the men in my life. Having respect for men in our lives can prove difficult when we have gotten into the pattern of viewing some of them as eye candy. Now I know what some of you might be thinking. "But Alyson there is nothing wrong with noticing the attractiveness of men". And you are absolutely right about that. God created some beautiful creations there is no doubt about it, but what I am saying is that we need to protect ourselves. I am constantly having conversations with people about why I chose not to participate in certain activities. My response is always the same.   While there are many things I do not believe are sinful in and of themselves, I chose to avoid them in-order to protect myself from the sin that could result from it. For example I chose not to drink, not because I believe drinking is a sin, but because I have chosen not to put myself in a situation that could result in making the wrong decision. For me this same idea applies to looking at images of men. Yes noticing a man’s defined biceps and killer abs may seem innocent at first, but if I continue to look at these images my emotions may turn to lust and everything from there becomes a slippery slope.

      I realize that this may be a sensitive topic to some. Some of you may shrug it off and not take much thought to it. Others may take it to heart and feel convicted about this. Honestly I hope you do what is best for you. Again reflecting back to my post earlier this week, guarding your heart is so very important. We have such an important role as women of God that I would hate to see us throw it all away over a nice set of abs.