I have been a terrible flirt throughout most of my life. I didn’t see any harm in it, and couldn’t really understand why other girls/women would give me the evil eye. “No harm in a little fun”, said the voice in my head, “I am not doing anything really serious and would never follow through…!” Being popular with the guys was what I knew and what I was comfortable with. Girls and their emotions confused me. So what if their men were having more fun with me?
Hmmm….
Facing this truth has taken the last decade. Stopping the flirting and joking was easy enough to do, but it only has become apparent in the last little while what was really going on.
I wasn’t honoring other women.
I wasn’t honoring myself as a woman.
I was using my power for damage, and not good.
We, as women, have amazing power. To influence whatever we want to…be it culture, society, perceptions of beauty, politics, business, religion, and men. Why do you think the enemy went to Eve? He knew if she was convinced with the lie, she could influence Adam.
Power!
And what do we as women in society do with it? Often our power is used to shame other women, and we create competition instead of harmony. We talk about accepting ourselves in the beauty that God created us in…and then post provocative pictures of ourselves on social media. We flirt with men that don’t belong to us. We bring the self-esteem of other women down, and create insecurity. We are still sowing seeds of discontent by promoting false messages of beauty. We promote plastic surgery instead of inner beauty. We promote buff bodies instead of inner health.
What is honor? It’s quite an “old-fashioned” thought isn’t it? For me personally, honor means that I look at someone and bring them up. I don’t create competition, instead I speak truth and encouragement. I don’t flirt with anyone else’s man…because it doesn’t honor the other woman, and it definitely doesn’t honor my husband. I dress in a way that honors my femininity, without being provocative…because I don’t want someone else’s man to be tempted, and then compare me to the woman he has.
Honor is dying in this society. We promote pornographic pictures as expressions of freedom. Celebrity women are more naked each year when the award ceremonies come out. This isn’t freedom…it creates lust, envy and insecurity. It doesn’t make another woman feel stronger, she just starts to doubt her own form and feels insecure when watching it all on the screen with her man beside her.
It’s time to start honoring other women! We have a powerful voice. Let’s use it to bring glory to God, instead of ourselves. Let’s embrace the beauty in each other, and speak words of encouragement and exhortation.
As a group united we are unstoppable. We are a group full of color and ability! Let’s embrace the diversity instead of promoting a plastic version of what is “sexy”.
Start taking it forward. Compliment another woman this next week. Tell someone that they are talented, smart, beautiful, and inspirational…and watch the eyes start glowing.
It’s a beautiful thing!!!