How did women fall so far?

I was very saddened yesterday to hear of a parade this week in my city that features women riding on motorbikes topless down a very busy street. The organiser's of it held one recently in Auckland which had a huge turn out, thousands of men turned up to see these women shamed and defiled.

1 CORINTHIANS 6:18-20: " Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit [who is] in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's."

I had a discussion with my friend this morning about the parade and she made the point that it is so often assumed women in biblical times had it pretty bad, they were not encouraged or even allowed to speak in public,they were practically 'chained' to their home and family and lived lives little better than slaves. What people-historians and alike forget to mention is that these women held respect. Their sons held them in reverence, their daughters only had one role model. These women had class, they did not show off skin in degrading outfits, they did not objectify themselves to a group of lascivious men and they did not defile themselves and their fellow sisters all for a bit of fun.

EPHESIANS 5:5: "For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God."

If only the men that go to this parade imagine for one moment that it was not a total stranger, that it is their sister, daughter, mother ,wife. How quickly things would change ,they would run to cover that women's shame with a blanket. No longer would their stares and comments become 'meaningless'.

MATTHEW 5:27-28: "You have heard that it was said to those of old, `You shall not commit adultery.' "But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

My heart breaks at the acceptability of it all, that somehow it has become semi normal for women to take what God has deemed to be between husband and wife and share it with everyone. and if it saddens me could you imagine how it makes God feel to see his precious daughters nothing more than cheap thrills for lonely and desperate men, to turn young boys towards that which is dirty and defiled,this image will forever be imprinted on his mind and heart. He will carry into his marriage thinking that it is normal and acceptable behaviour. How did women fall so far?

MATTHEW 6:22-23: "The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. "But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!

I have seen in countries such as the Middle East, parts of Europe and Asia the men treat their own women with respect and dignity, they treasure and respect them. But on the alternate side of the coin some of them see a Caucasian woman and they think it is fine to grab or talk lewdly to her. Of course this behaviour is disgusting but can you really blame these men? Think of the movies, media and behaviour exhibited from Western countries. These men think that is is normal! Because all they have ever seen of our world is sexual display and uninhibited behaviour.

PROVERBS 5:18-21: "… rejoice with the wife of your youth…. Let her breasts satisfy you at all times; And always be enraptured with her love. For why should you, my son, be enraptured by an immoral woman, And be embraced in the arms of a seductress? For the ways of man are before the eyes of the LORD, And He ponders all his paths

I continue to pray for our country, city and this parade.

EPHESIANS 5:11-12: "And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret."