Ladies, I have to say you once again are checking in by record numbers to read this series. I am delighted that you are finding this helpful and suggesting to your friends to check in as well. We have covered a whole lot of ground here in these last several blogs. Now I am turning our attention to some difficult subjects - still keeping our central theme- that some of you have encountered.
It is hard to comprehend the level of hurt and pain that some women deal with due to sexual abuses. Adult women crying in my arms as they relate being molested by their brother, or father or step father. Women telling me of clandestine affairs that resulted in deep emotional pain for many years, women who were promiscuous as teenagers and live with the consequence of an STD. Women who believed the lie and surrendered their child to the "choice" of abortion. All of these bring pain and misery and hurt beyond comprehension.
Sexual assault is the result of our country's rapid descent into a cesspool of smut. Open internet forums (often unsupervised by parents) give children and young adults unfettered exposure to pedophiles and men looking for cheap and easy sex. Often, these young people get into situations they are not anticipating at rave parties, frat parties and while using drugs and alcohol.
Woman have come to expect men to be tantalized and taunted and aroused by micro-mini skirts and plunging necklines, thong underwear, and constantly sexualized behavior such as "grinding" and "dirty dancing." We have somehow come to think there are no consequences for these behaviors.
Christian parents who encourage and permit their young daughters to act and dress like common tramps, and sadly enough even young ladies in the churches are dressing to tantalize the eyes of men without thinking (or caring) about the effects of their actions on those men.
While the politically correct crowd is willing to completely absolve women of any complicity in this, I am not. I will say again, that any man who sexually assaults a woman is 100% responsible for his own behavior. However, our women are responsible for how they present themselves, how they dress, and the places they go and with whom (1 Tim 2:9, Prov 7:1-12; Jer 4:30) Our women are responsible for the language they use around men; suggestive and seductive or God honoring. The messages they send via internet and text messaging, and the pictures and videos they allow to be taken of them and posted all over the internet.
Ladies, as kindly as I can say this I have to tell you that you cannot play with fire and not expect to eventually get burned. You must keep in mind that God has designed men to be stimulated visually by a woman’s body, and if you are putting your body on display and promoting yourself as a sexual person you cannot be surprised that men want to take you up on what you appear to be offering!
This all being said, we live in a sin cursed world where the ugly reality is that women suffer from sexual abuse prior to marriage at the hand of fathers, and father figures, other relatives, and even friends. In the Old Testament there was strict punishment (death!) for a man who violated a woman (Deut 22:25-27). The New Testament does not give us any examples of women who were violated however the Old Testament narratives are rather graphic as to how these men were brought to justice (Judg 19:22-30; Judg 20:35; 2 Sam 13:6-29; 32-33)