I didn't want to hurt the feelings of the teary blonde in front of me, I just
wanted to reach across the table and smack her hard on the forehead. But if you take scripture seriously, you don’t
do things like that. Especially when you
giving counsel to overwrought, over tired and overworked mothers.
Older women likewise
are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are
to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands
and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and
submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled.
Titus 2:3-5
See? Nothing in there about smacking people on the
head, no matter what translation you study.
I wasn't angry, although I should have ended the
conversation 20 minutes sooner. Everything
sensible had been said and Sweet Ms. Sniffles and I were lost in the backwaters
of a bottomless emotional bog. I was
frustrated, deeply frustrated and wanted to hit someone so that I could feel
better.
[Note: If
the word “submissive” in the previous scripture has you upset, you need to take
your turn. I’m grumpy and we can talk about your issues later.]
I am writing
dear friend, because this was not the first time I wanted to smack a beautiful 20 something. In fact, it was the
third time in a month. I have concluded
therefore that: 1. I need to book some time with my therapist regarding anger
issues and 2. We need to have a talk. So
let’s get to the root of the issue…
Are you
spending time watching naked people make love on TV?
What about
vulgarity? Are you watching dysfunctional
narcissist souls make a spectacle of themselves?
Back to the
naked thing, are you watching fully clothed people? People who could walk outside in any given scene
and not get frostbitten in embarrassing places?
I don’t mean
to get personal, total lie – yes I do, but we need to go over some
basics here.
Psalm 101:3 ESV I will not set before my eyes anything that
is worthless. I hate the work of those who fall away; it shall not cling to me.
I don’t mean
to surprise you by mentioning the fact that life is hard, relationships are complicated and marriages are impossible. If this is
true, then why are so many of us making things more difficult by feeding our
hearts and minds a diet of Netflix based lust and nudity? It just doesn't make sense.
I recently spent time on the phone with a woman who was unhappy in her marriage.
After spending a month trying to diagnose the source of the discontent I
learned what she did with the last 3 hours of her evening. She would watch a show or two to “de-stress”
and relax. That was a polite way of
saying she would watch a show that was so sexually charged she would spend the
better part of the next day wondering why her she and her husband never made
love on the kitchen table.
Two words:
unrealistic and unhygienic.
It would be
a tragic cliché to pretend that this was the only problem in that
marriage. But increasingly, women are
turning to entertainment to relax only to find themselves immersed in imaginary
worlds that take up a great deal of mind space.
Characters in TV shows wear lust like a garment. Exactly when do we tire of the “I-am-so-bad-for-you-but-sex-will-be-so-good-but-it-won’t-be-worth-the-therapy-you-will-need-after-we-are-through”
game? The answer is never.
That is why
we are told to stay away from things that mess with our minds and
emotions.
Proverbs 4:23 Keep and
guard your heart with all vigilance and above all that you guard, for out of it
flow the springs of life.
Darling
Friend, could we try something new in the month of October? Could we, the minute the Holy Spirit warns us
about a program we are watching, turn it off?
Turn it off and then do two things: tell someone you love one thing that
makes them precious to you, then engage in an activity that would bless Jesus.
Romans 12:2 ESV 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be
transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what
is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
I am
convinced that if we could learn this skill, our lives, families and marriage
beds would be blessed.
Praying for
you this week,
Karen
FYI: I always share my writing with those who I write about BEFORE I post. In case you are worrying I am a horrific counselor. The exception to the rule applies to my nearest and dearest. Those brave souls and I have come to an understanding, they tell me what if off limits and I mostly listen to them.
