Free 2011 Hooters Callenders

The American people are admirably supportive of their troops and this week we received a stack of free 2011 Hooters callenders. The girls photographed are all admirably fit, curvy and, without doubt, easy on the eye. I gather these women love to model and this recognition of their beauty is a sought after 'career' move! The photos are not overly intimate and the poses could be taken as more suggestive than provocative. Both single and married colleagues have eanestly taken ownership of these callenders and displayed unabashed joy at the content, so you therefore have to ask, where's the harm?

Wrong question, don't ask where's the harm, that's a minimilist approach. The question is, what's the benefit? Is not your life about what you are becoming? Are you not work in progress? I tell you, near naked women are of no benefit to a man living far from his wife, in the predominant company of men, with time on his hands. We are taught in 2 Timothy to treat these young women as sisters, in Genesis that women are shown as the apex of God's creation, created equally in his image deserving of dignity, value and worth. To answer this question you have to start at the Truth or your simply going to follow a lie. "Don't give up on me now, read on!"

We know, given that the majority of people still choose marriage, that these callender models have a husband, they may not have met him yet, but he's out there. Do we value mums who are dignified? Do we appreciate women who care, nurture, cherish, are generous and modest? Do these callenders help or hinder men acknowledging women's privileged role as Mums, respected parents of sons and daughters?

Consider one of these girls as a sister and reflect on the sad fact that it is likely she is a victim of abuse. Perhaps from a predatory male, who has persuaded her to give her body away cheaply, away from the safety and love of a marital covenant. Perhaps her father neglected or abandoned her mother at a vulnerable time when she was growing up. Perhaps a trusted male in her life exploited her trust and she now holds her body in low regard open for exploitation by the highest bidder, be it a boyfriend or Hooters. Imagine that as she grew people have passed judgement on her standard of beauty, sizing her up like a cow in a show, encouraging her vanity, self image, surface beauty, not showing her true love, treating her as precious, unique, with real purpose, worth and soul deep beauty. Young children carry truth into adulthood and abuse comes in many disguises! Men - your wife is your standard of beauty not a girl who is giving her body up for public display!

Am I a prude? Ask my wife, I promise she'll tell you no. The more I love her the lovlier she gets, the stronger our affection becomes and the better it gets. When I was younger I wondered how it could get better, now I know, and photos of girls dressed for the beach do not help. Does it breaks my heart to see these girls and know they are prisoners to a world that sees them as objects? yes. Do I have grave concerns for men unable to love their wives as Christ loved the church, sacrificially, continuously pouring out his love? absolutely.

This is an unexpected way for God to answer the prayers for purity I have offered since being in the Hindu Kush? It's tough maintaining a covenant with my eyes with a pleasing smile and deep curves in the line of sight. However, what the Devil may see as opportunity for sport I see as a gift to talk about Jesus: His love and respect for women, his healthy, pure and counter cultural relationship with women, his creation of women as helpers of beauty and wisdom and ultimately his death as sufficient for the forgiveness of all: Hooters models, adulterous men with lustful minds, sinful men like me.

Please pray that these pictures provide a chance to tell people about Jesus. About his plan for their marriage as a model of His Gospel. About His love for wives, sisters, mothers and daughters. These pictures embroider the Devil's playground where his captives think they roam free; but beware, "don't believe everything you think", you are fenced in. Even writing this blog evokes unwelcome memories of a time when I considered porn to be a legitimate art form, instilled when I was about twelve. Do not be fooled! given the size of the industry, $10billion in the US alone, there will be porn addicts reading this blog. Do away with the triggers that tempt you to escape, for in doing so you are being drawn into a darker, lonelier place, the enemies terrain, which is loveless, abusive and ultimately empty.