American men have been dumbed down in many ways by the mainstream media. For instance, do we really need to see women’s bodies to sell everything from toothpaste to tires? How ignorant do they believe American men are that they would want to view this type of vulgarity to buy a tire? The voyeuring of women is accessible in all forms of media including television, theatre and magazines.
What is even sadder to me is that it is not simply American men lured into the voyeurism of women’s bodies, it is the Christian men as well. Really, Christian men from coast to coast are Googling women’s bodies during commercials, movies and within magazines. Not only Googling, but actual offering more time to the television a week than with their own wife, children and God.
Take a minute and think for yourself how much time you give to the various forms of visual media. Are you offering minutes, hours or whole days to the influence of the mainstream media? Now, compare that to your connection time to your children, wife and God. How did you do?
Have Christian men been dumbed down as well? We really need to evaluate our heart and motives in using women’s bodies for entertainment purposes. Mainstream network television research sites up to 15 sexual situations or innuendos per hour. If you count the commercials, this statistic increases to 20. That’s 20 attempts at a Christian man’s heart that is given to Jesus.
These sexual attempts into your eyes, heart and mind often go unchallenged. Can you remember the last time you called adultery or fornication sinful or lewd in front of your children or wife? These sexual hits against your soul over time can desensitize your reality of what mainstream media is selling.
Paul calls us to love the “younger woman as sisters” I Timothy 5:2. If my sister dressed like mainstream television actresses do, I would have a talk with her about her clothing and her behavior. Amazingly, this act of voyeurism goes unchallenged among many Christian men today.
Many join right in and watch well-known actresses parade lewdly before their eyes on television. We call this entertainment. I think God; our Father is repulsed by participation in this willful voyeurism.
You may say that you are not voyeuring because you are not getting up and walking around the neighborhood looking into other people’s homes. No, you may not be physically walking around the neighborhood, but the principle is the same while holding your master of the universe controller–the remote control. For hours you view many other secret lives, bodies and sexual situations which is voyeuring other men’s wives and daughters.
We do not have to go into some secret place of the scripture to evaluate this behavior. The Proverbs tell us not to lust after her beauty in your heart (Proverbs 6:25). We can go all the way back to the very backbone of the Judeo-Christian faith to the Ten Commandments. The 10th commandment clearly states “thou shall not covet another man’s wife” Exodus 20:17.
These actresses are or will be another man’s wife. As Christian men, we are to not only “not covet” after these women; we are to actually hate covetousness. As Christian men, are we hating this active voyeurism in our television and media culture or do we just joining right in and teaching our children that lust and voyeurism is okay?
Not all men struggle with this form of media, but many Christian men are potentially weakened because they know this is feeding a fleshy appetite and not a spiritual appetite.
As Christian men, evaluate your level of voyeurism verses your level of hatred for the media’s portrayal of women on television and in magazines.
It breaks my heart that this generation, along with the previous generation of men, have worshiped, lusted, and objectified woman. If we as Christian men bow down to this idol, we will all pay the price. Our son’s will have to fight a greater battle of lust and perversion in their generation if we don’t lay down the remote control and instead offer up prayer to a God who can empower us to live and teach true Christianity to our children.
Truly, if Christian men spent 20% of the time they spent on voyeuring television in prayer, we would have the greatest revival in American history. Voyeurism is robbing the Christian army of men hours a day. An army embracing their enemy is not a threat to that enemy.
On the other hand, those that do not embrace this enemy are free to petition our God for our children’s sake to remove this lewdness from our land. We are the ones God needs in prayer to tear down such an entrenched stronghold in the lives of American Christian men and boys.
Next Steps
To learn more about True Voyeurism purchase the book. While you are reading this book, it if any time questions come up we are here to answer any questions. Feel free to email us at heart2heart@xc.org or give us a call at 719.278.3708.
