Truemag

  • Home
  • About
  • Grief
  • My Book
  • Events
  • Ministry
  • Contact

Magic Mike or Tragic Mike? The Christian Woman and Her Entertainment

Ok, so I’m not exactly in the pop culture loop. I know you are surprised, right? But I have noticed here lately there seems to be a growing market for the desperate housewife types. From high-profile, raunchy novels to movies about male strippers, the world is offering women an outlet for their sexual frustration. “Oh to be kissed like THAT!” is the desire of our heart.

So can my Christian faith co-exist with this entertainment? Can my marriage remain unharmed by the influence of these types of pleasure?

I want to reference back to an article from a couple of weeks ago, on pornography.  Just as deadly as porn is to our holiness and our marriages, the seemingly more benign, culturally acceptable versions for women are as well. Do not be deceived. The enemy of your soul has laid his trap.

Let’s feminize Jesus’ teaching from Matthew 5:29-30:

But I say, any woman who even looks at,  reads a book about, or fantasizes about, a man with lust, who is not her husband, has already committed adultery with him in her heart. So if your eye—even your good eye—causes you to lust, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your hand—even your stronger hand—causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.  -Jesus

That pretty well has the holiness covered. But the teachings of Jesus are full of similar admonitions. He simply desires your utmost purity of heart. He warns us:

“Don’t you understand either?” he asked. “Can’t you see that the food you put into your body cannot defile you? Food doesn’t go into your heart, but only passes through the stomach and then goes into the sewer.” (By saying this, he declared that every kind of food is acceptable in God’s eyes.)

And then he added, “It is what comes from inside that defiles you. For from within, out of a person’s heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness. All these vile things come from within; they are what defile you.” Mark 7:18-23

I know that there are Christian women reading this who will scoff. They don’t want to give up their fun. I know them. I have even watched some of them fall. What is crazy to me about that verse in Mark 7 is that I used to separate all those fruits of the heart, as if they stood alone. But life has shown me that once the evil thoughts are allowed to penetrate one’s heart, the rest of those things will grow like interlocking thorns of the souls.

I have watched women who started reading the Cosmo sex articles and romance novels. Maybe it wasn’t the best thing to do, but it wouldn’t go farther. But the discontentment with their ho-hum life filled with kids, chaos, bills, and less-than-studly husbands, became a struggle. The struggle within grew and the lies began to flow along with excuses to avoid being home. “I have to work late” or “It’s girl’s night out.” Those excursions led to propositions from other men at the bar or on the dance floor. Those propositions were deflected for a short time, but the way they made these women feel was exhilarating, like a real life romance novel. Eventually, the propositions were not refused until they found themselves in the bed of another man. Maybe after the first one-night stand, remorse followed. But even then, the pull to that life was stronger than the desire to be a wife and mother. The pride, greed, envy and slander and wickedness all worked together as the supporting cast for what ended in a full-blown affair. Adultery. Jesus pleads with us. He warns us that THIS is what will defile you.

So when you think that reading  50 Shades of Grey or catching the late night viewing of Magic Mike are innocent fun. I beg you, think again.

Read the follow-up: Magic Mike or Tragic Mike? Part 2: How Do I Break the Chains of Sexual Sin?

Jul 2, 2012Serena
Tweet3
Share165
Pin2
170 Shares
How Does Understanding God's Plan Change My Prayer Life?Magic Mike or Tragic Mike? Part 2: How Do I Break the Chains of Sexual Sin?
Comments: 15
  1. Evan
    10 years ago

    The question that your post raises is why you seem qualified to draw the line for all women based the passages you quoted, and pass judgement? Why is the picture in your post “innocent” enough to post? Didn’t you use that picture precisely because it evokes the sentiment you are condemning in your post? What happens if a woman sees a man and woman kiss passionately in public and desires that for her own marriage, is that a sin? Is Danielle Steele okay but E.L. James not? Is Tennessee Williams okay because it is classic literature? How about Song of Songs? The problem with your approach is that you’ve decided rather arbitrarily for every other woman what you think is meant by biblical admonitions against sexual immorality and lust. You’ve assumed that perhaps because when you encounter nudity or sexuality, you feel guilty or feel lust for someone other than your spouse, then that’s the way every other woman feels too. But, what if they don’t? My wife is reading E.L. James… her thoughts are about us, which is clear not only in the way she has communicated with me about it but in the way it has increased her passion towards me. It’s not leading her away from me; it’s reminding her of intimacies that we share.

    ReplyCancel
    • HCR
      10 years ago

      Just a quick note: Even if watching these movies/reading these books doesn’t cause one to lust, sinful acts should not be entertainment for us. This includes TV shows filled with fornication, adultery, or any other sins listed in the Bible. We are supposed to flee sin as christians— not make entertainment of it.

      ReplyCancel
    • T
      10 years ago

      Though you have taken offense by her blog’s content (in that you think it’s judgement and not careful facts laid out from scripture) I think you may be missing the point. She isn’t passing the judgement, she is warning of the One who will. I would rather someone tell me I am walking into a ravine and stop me rather than have them watch quietly. If this author feels called to point out that God wants purified hearts, not children (of His) making choices that will later hurt themselves, then i think she should state her case. To clear the air further, we aren’t (and I don’t feel the author was either) to judge according to the person beside us – Jesus is our only standard by which to compare ourselves, so your statement on comparison is confusing.

      On the subject of Song of Songs: that was a purified relationship that God had formed together and was a part of. He wants married couples to have passion, and to find pleasure in one another. The only rules God makes are for our heart’s condition and a part of that is purity (not “abstinence purity” mind you, but the open, vulnerable, and honest fidelity between a couple and their Heavenly Father).
      Women are made in a beautiful way; we are drawn into the emotional and the feelings, and like God intended, guys are drawn to the visuals. Women may not think of the hot-to-trot character while kissing their significant other but they will definitely have expectations unfulfilled because the “emotional porn” has formed an attachment to their feelings. Advice from a married couple recently: anything your spouse needs sexually, you must be a part of (even if not in the formal way) so that the inner heart-to-body connection is always triggered by you. I think that is brilliant, and so true.

      Personally, I have to stay away from “emotional porn” because real expectations will never be filled by imaginary expectations. Plus, who feels clean after seeing that stuff? No one is my guess. I have found so much more fulfillment and adventure in my real life after chucking the fake stuff. And I’m not as grouchy; because God has shown me contentment within all of my “current situation”s.
      — Xoxo Be Blessed —

      ReplyCancel
    • Darla
      9 years ago

      Dear Evan,

      I hear your concerns…but I think you may be missing the point. This is a warning.

      And speaking from my own experience, I can validate that warning. I started where you and your wife seem to be. But you don’t know what’s really in your wife’s head.

      Over the years that “passion” that on the surface was helping us grow closer spilled outside of my relationship and into acts of immorality that I could never have conceived of.

      It destroyed my relationships with both man and God…and only by the grace of God (through writers/messengers like this one) was I lifted from the depths of sexual immorality and addiction that I’d sunk to.

      Don’t think that an evil seed can bear good fruit or that a weed will only grow where you want it to. I did.

      ReplyCancel
  2. Elizabeth
    10 years ago

    I disagree with what you say about the post. We are supposed to avoid evil and dwell on what is right. Not all woman are like your wife and what she says in this article is not condemning or saying what she says is the rule. It is a reminder of the snares and traps Satan puts out for us. Being a stay at home can become very routine and “boring” and books/movies with lust and sex and fun filled lives make it hard for some us.
    This article is a gentle reminder what Satan does to lure us away from God. Sometimes the smallest thing can plant a seed that will grow an then next thing we know we are falling.
    I appreciate the article and what she has to say. I will make my own decision of what she states and research I do on my own, the searching of scriptures we should do no matter who says something.

    ReplyCancel
  3. JaneAnn Brock
    10 years ago

    JaneAnn Brock Great post. Just read from a web site different comments about Fifty Shades of Grey including “portrayal of sadomasochism”, “felt like I was cheating on my husband because the books are that good” Someone that I know read the books and hid them so no one would know. All I know is that when Christ returns I hope he finds me reading the bible not E.L. James.
    2 minutes ago · Like

    ReplyCancel
  4. Renee
    10 years ago

    Post is right on. I read books by VC Andrews (ew!) that my best friend introduced me too and by Anne Rice when I was a teenager. Jesus led me out of that sin. The fad for those types of books, now Twilight and all imitations thereof are ensnaring women of all ages. My sister has finally woken up from it as she is in a Christian book study on “The Excellent Wife” and she told me how she cherished me for not stopping praying that the little girl who saw the face of Jesus (my sister) would not be entangled by Satan and led to hell by these books. He is faithful!

    ReplyCancel
  5. Susan
    10 years ago

    Also remember that even though one woman may be able to ‘fantasize’ about her husband in the ‘novel’ she is going to be an example to someone. Some young lady, child, etc is going to look at what she is doing, reading, saying and think that if it is ok for that Christian lady it must be ok for her too. Everyone, without exception, is an example to someone, even if they don’t know it yet. Would she stand up in worship services and state loudly and proudly “I am reading this” and feel the conviction of being ashamed or confident that she is doing something to be proud? If for any reason she is ashamed, she needs to rethink what she is doing.

    Sorry, didn’t mean to be so ‘preachy’ but it pricks me in the spirit to see women so blatantly push the limits for their own souls. I realized a long time ago that soap operas were a danger to my daughters because they taught them men were disposable. If you have marital problems, it is ok to find another man even before the divorce is final for the prior one. The women in soap operas pride themselves on how many times they could remarry. Quite disturbing how Satan sneaks into our lives and gradually warps our very psyche.

    ReplyCancel
  6. Christy
    10 years ago

    Really enjoyed this post. It can be very sad how blinded we can be, and how unguarded we allow ourselves to be. If marriage is supposed to be a reflection of Christ and the church then why wouldn’t satan be working to destroy it? Coming from a marriage whose husband was addicted to pornography which led down a dark road of infidelity. After that I relized how much I needed to guard myself . Prior to this finding, if I wanted to wear something more revealing for my husband in public, it was okay. I was ignorant to the fact that I could be causing another womans husband to stumble. Why would I want to cause that hurt in another woman’s heart, that I have to
    repeatdly feel. I do believe there are people out there that have good, and passionate marriages. No matter our circumstances we still have to be an influence to others. Because not everyone feels content in their marriage or with theirselves. Our job as Christians is to independently depend on Christ for everything. And the reward for this is not needing to be pleased by our husbands, kids, and entertainment. Because He is the only one who can fufill us. But we are human and we waiver in and out of this. When God knows that we are replacing Him for the other things, that’s when He will give satan the upperhand to test us. None of us enjoy be tested. And if we are not guarded, the consequences of our fall is not worth it.

    ReplyCancel
    • Serena
      10 years ago

      Beautiful insight. Thank you for sharing from your heart.

      ReplyCancel
  7. Anna
    10 years ago

    I completely agree. My husband just asked me the other day why I hadn’t read the grey books yet, I replied that I honestly felt that the Lord would not be pleased for me to read such books. Many women in our culture today believe that as long as they do not commit the act theirselves that they have done nothing wrong. What they don’t realize is that this is a way for the enemy to slip into their lives/relationships. In the end, rather you are a christian or not, the enemy will still attack you, only more so if you are fighting him back. I am a fan of anyone who will take a stand with our God , too many are afraid of what society will think , instead of being concerned with what God will think.

    ReplyCancel
  8. michelle
    10 years ago

    A wonderful post!
    What is going on with woman these days??.. they condemned their husbands for years for doing this crap..but somehow they justify it now?
    Sin is sin.and the bible is very clear on this kind of thing!!
    And to the above gentleman who said that his wife reading stuff like this creates more passion with him…ummmmm, do you realized most woman are not thinking of their husband during those passionate times..but in fact are fantasizing about who they saw or read about and sadly using their spouces body to act out the fantasy ..lets be real here people!

    ReplyCancel
  9. Gina
    10 years ago

    I was raised to be a strict Christian, stymied by the paradox of loving a God who apparently loved me enough to send His son to die for me so that I would not be damned, yet would judge me so harshly anyway and send me to burn forever in hell for something as minuscule as a white lie or a negative emotion… How do you love a God you must fear? So many contradictions! I remember having panic attacks as a young girl, fearful of being sent to hell if I inadvertently lusted over a crush at a swimming pool and was hit by a bus while going home, before I had a chance to hit my knees and ask forgiveness.

    As a recovered fundamentalist Christian, I can offer you this advice: Don’t be so hard on yourself. God made you, ALL of you, the warts too. He did not make us perfect, and by your yardstick, all humans will “sin” every day, probably over and over again. If you lay out all the scriptures (which were written by men, not God) they will contradict each other many times over. God gave you a conscience instead, to gage right from wrong. If you really pray and meditate, listening to your God-given intelligence and refuting what has been told and taught to you by other humans, you will see and understand that the scriptures are there only as a history and vague reference – nothing more. Again, they were written by men, not God. Men are human, capable of deception and error. Stop reading books written by men and start listening to your heart and mind, which is of God. God will tell you how He wants you to live, and when you begin to really listen, you will see there are many more important things in this world to concern yourselves over than what movies to see and what books to read. Now, go out and BE the difference you wish to see in the world!

    ReplyCancel
    • Serena
      10 years ago

      Gina, I appreciate your thoughts and your experience. But I think you and I have a fundamental difference in world view. I do believe that God used men to pen the scriptures, but I operate on a daily basis on the belief that God inspired them to do so (2 Tim 3:16). I find no other viable reason for a collection of writings spanning 1500 years, by at least 40 authors of diverse education and culture and 3 languages to have such fluidity except my faith tells me something divine gave it life. I am by no means a legalist. I live by and for the grace of God. But with that, I believe that in my pursuit to love and be in a relationship with a holy God I must pursue holiness. With that, my husband and I counsel and minister every day to people who have been enslaved by sexual addictions. Those addictions have led them to abuse their bodies and to abuse others. If they simply listened to their hearts they would continue live out every sexual fantasy that came to mind and continue on their path of destruction. God’s holy word is perfect and liberating. I have dedicated my life to spreading the message of freedom through Jesus Christ. “God has united you with Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made him to be wisdom itself. Christ made us right with God; he made us pure and holy, and he freed us from sin” (1 Cor 1:30). Thank you for reading and for sharing your perspective.

      ReplyCancel
  10. Anon
    3 years ago

    The thing is women are routinely shamed for being visual and women with porn addictions are more likely to be subject to abuse from their husbands, especially with my husband beating and shaming me for looking at porn and this destroying my lap in front of my two boys who are both five.

    ReplyCancel

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Serena
10 years ago 18 Comments Marriage, Womanhoodmarriage, pornography, romance novels1,671
A Wordy Woman
Top Posts & Pages
  • Husbands Submit
  • Doing Church When The World is Upside Down
  • Can Christians Follow Marxism?
  • Is Submission a 4-Letter Word?
  • The Christian, Abortion and Voting
Recent Posts
  • Husbands Submit
  • Doing Church When The World is Upside Down
  • Can Christians Follow Marxism?
  • Is Submission a 4-Letter Word?
  • The Christian, Abortion and Voting
Categories
Sign up for A Wordy Woman
* = required field

powered by MailChimp!
Networks
2015 © A Wordy Woman