DISCLAIMER: I am not saying or supporting the idea that everything is a woman's fault, responsibility and problem. Nor am I saying that women are bad or any such matter. The topic just happens to focus on girls and their power.
This blog is actually based of a devotional that I gave to my youth group a couple of weeks ago. It was my second attempt at giving a devotional and it went well enough had some discussion questions that I and the other leaders tried to answer. I wanted to make this blog before the devo, as it would have allowed me to put more study and focus into the idea before presenting it. That obviously didn't happen as I am writing this as an after thought.
I started thinking about this topic a couple of months ago. We all know the old adage “Behind every great man there is a great woman.” This phrase is thought to have been coined during the feminist movement during the 1960s and 70s where similar slogans such as “A woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle” also started. This of course is a very literal interpretation of the quote. I have slightly changed the original quote and came up with a new one. “Every great man can fall to the power of women.” My first thoughts on the topic immediately went to three famous great men: Samson, Samuel, and David.
1 Kings 11 tells the story of Solomon's fall. Earlier on God had told the people to refrain from marrying women from foreign nations. He knew that they worships false gods and idols and He wanted to protect His people from such evils. The Bible tells us that Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines that led him astray. This passage also repeats that God had told the people not to intermarry women from certain tribes “because they will surely turn your hearts after their gods” (verse 2). So what? Some guy fails because he has a bunch of wives, whats the big deal? Well, Solomon wasn't just some guy. First of all, he was the son of the great King David, a man who God said was after His own heart. David had served the Lord faithfully and diligently . . . though not perfectly as I shall mention later. Secondly, Solomon was given the chance to ask God for anything he wanted. His choice, was wisdom. Solomon was the wisest person who had ever lived. If the wisest person to ever live was influenced and lost his way to women, how much more so can the every day guy of the 21st century? Knowing God and the Bible more than any other person does not make you invisible.
The story of Samson's fall can be found in Judges 16. Samson was given physical strength from God. The only catch was that Samson could not cut his hair. (Sound a little like the modern day Rapunzel story eh?) If his hair was cut, he would lose his strength and be like a normal man. After a while of ruling the people and killing hundreds of evil Philistines, Samson meets a girl by the name of Delilah. It should be noted now that Samson is quite possibly one of the least wise people of all time. He quickly fell in love with Delilah, but she was evil and bribed by the Philistines. She told Samson that if he loved her then he would tell her the secret to his strength . . . because apparently there had to be a secret to his strength? Ever wonder where authors and producers get all their ideas – the Bible. Anyway, Samson lied to her three times telling her different ways to remove his strength. Each time Delilah tried it and found out it didn't work. Samson, being the idiot that he was, knowing that she had already tried his other three lies, eventually tells her the truth on the fourth round. She again tests his word and this time Samson loses his strength. He thought that he was in love and gave her everything, including his sacred gift from God. Great physical strength was taken by a seductive woman.
I already mentioned that God considered David as a man after His own heart. In 2 Samuel 11 we can find David's downfall. Prior to this David had become the second Kind to God's people. He slew a giant named Goliath, and married a princess. He was famous and successful. Unlike the other two stories, it can be argued that David's downfall was all his fault and the woman was more innocent. David had actually been setting himself up to fail. His men were out fighting while he stayed back. I found out that David had actually done a number of things prior to his fall that he should not have done. Anyway, the Bible does not provide with a lot of details of how it happened, but David saw Bathsheba bathing from his roof. He asked about her and discovered she was married to a man in David's army – Uriah. This did not stop him and David summoned her, slept with her, and got her pregnant. Some Bible scholars say that Bathsheba did not have a choice in the matter. David was king, and what a king wanted a king got. Could Bathsheba have done something different? Perhaps. Was it her fault this all happened? Perhaps not. Regardless, it was a woman that took a mighty God loving king and made him an adulterer and a murder (he later killed Uriah to hid his sin). Even the most God loving man fell to the beauty of a woman. How can a normal man be expected to act any differently?
Matthew 5:27-28 essentially tells us that looking is lust. This is where the devotional got a little shaky. Teenage girls have a hard time understanding why guys act the way they do. Men are very visually stimulated. It's why the porn industry is so big. I wrote a satirical paper about how women often dress too immodestly even if they are being unintentional. It is hard to explain to a teenage girl that the way she dresses is not helping her Christian brothers. Try getting around the idea that bikinis are probably never a good idea and strapless or low cut dresses and shirts perhaps equally as much. I have heard people say to guys use your imagination in an innocent way. However, it is my belief that probably all guys have an incredible and evil imagination.
The purpose behind all this is to try and let girls know that they have power. Power that they can easily abuse. Obviously, encouraging females to abuse their power over a man is not the purpose of this topic. Instead, it is to make girls wary of what they might be doing to their Christian brothers. It was also difficult to explain that yes, men do need to step up and be men and control themselves. Men should not be looking in the wrong places or setting themselves up to fail. But I just mentioned three gifted extra special men selected by God who all fell to a woman and/or her influence. Is it fair to women who are trying to innocently dress in something they find comfortable or something they think they look good in? No. But a fair is simply a place where pigs go to get ribbons. Being unfair does not change the reality of the situation. Women need to be conscious of what they can do to men, no matter how smart, strong, attractive, or “perfect” a man (or boy) is.
My challenge this time is simple. Are you living in a way that is uplifting and encouraging to your peers and brothers and sisters in Christ? Though it is less common, the opposite is possible and a man could be the one influencing a girl.
Your friend, brother, and companion in Christ,
-Zach Haas
Matthew 5:27-28 essentially tells us that looking is lust. This is where the devotional got a little shaky. Teenage girls have a hard time understanding why guys act the way they do. Men are very visually stimulated. It's why the porn industry is so big. I wrote a satirical paper about how women often dress too immodestly even if they are being unintentional. It is hard to explain to a teenage girl that the way she dresses is not helping her Christian brothers. Try getting around the idea that bikinis are probably never a good idea and strapless or low cut dresses and shirts perhaps equally as much. I have heard people say to guys use your imagination in an innocent way. However, it is my belief that probably all guys have an incredible and evil imagination.
The purpose behind all this is to try and let girls know that they have power. Power that they can easily abuse. Obviously, encouraging females to abuse their power over a man is not the purpose of this topic. Instead, it is to make girls wary of what they might be doing to their Christian brothers. It was also difficult to explain that yes, men do need to step up and be men and control themselves. Men should not be looking in the wrong places or setting themselves up to fail. But I just mentioned three gifted extra special men selected by God who all fell to a woman and/or her influence. Is it fair to women who are trying to innocently dress in something they find comfortable or something they think they look good in? No. But a fair is simply a place where pigs go to get ribbons. Being unfair does not change the reality of the situation. Women need to be conscious of what they can do to men, no matter how smart, strong, attractive, or “perfect” a man (or boy) is.
My challenge this time is simple. Are you living in a way that is uplifting and encouraging to your peers and brothers and sisters in Christ? Though it is less common, the opposite is possible and a man could be the one influencing a girl.
Your friend, brother, and companion in Christ,
-Zach Haas
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