Response: Sincerely, One of Many Girls Who Care--Comments

A ton of people replied to this article (see my original post here), and I guess it’s left for some pretty controversial conversations. A few of them grabbed my intention. So I will write the comment below, then my responses to them.

1. (Leo, December 20, 2014, 10:17 AM) Wow dude. She wasn’t proclaiming that Christians are better than everyone else. She is writing to Christian men, so her argument is going to be based within the construct of God. In case you missed it, she doesn’t ever put other faiths down. If she had been writing something encouraging to cancer survivors, would you have come on here and been like, “CANCER SURVIVORS AREN’T BETTER THAN HEART ATTACK SURVIVORS HOW DARE YOU!!!”? Also, if you can’t stand it when people can’t separate themselves from their religion that’s on you because many people try and live their lvies so that they are inseperable from their religion. If God is the most important thing in your life, then God is what you’re going to talk about all the time. I find it interesting that people don’t care if other people go on and on about sports teams or celebrities or whatever but when someone talks about God often the response is “KEEP YOUR RELIGION TO YOURSELF DAMMIT I DON’T WANT TO HEAR IT WHY ARE YOU FORCING THIS ON ME!” I understand that this comes from too many people often trying to force religion down others’ throats, but it’s unfair to assume that every religious person out there is doing that. Also, a man who “rapes, debases, and just ruins women” is clearly NOT striving for purity, in the same way that someone who watches eight hours of TV a day and eats cheeseburgers three meals a day is not striving for fitness. She is applauding the guys who keep their hands and eyes off of women and make a conscious effort to do so.

 For the most part, Leo, I think you’ve got things pretty much under control. I just want to highlight a few points in your comment that really stuck out to me. First, your comment about cancer was a great example that I really appreciated. I had never heard of it phrased like that, but I like it. You aren’t putting down cancer survivors or heart attack survivors, but you are just focusing on one for the moment. Then, your sports team analogy really stuck, too. Although, to be honest, when people just go on and on about sports or their significant others or specific celebrities, I get bored of talking with them. I hope my relationship with Christ shines through the way I speak and act even if I’m not shoving the gospel down someone’s throat. Lastly, your fitness reference was just plain brilliant. I thought about that while reading that comment, too, but didn’t think of any clever explanation like you did. Good work, sir.

2.  (LL, December 20, 2014, 5:23 PM) Well, it’s true that there will still be scantily clad women everywhere, but at least Anna is giving empathy and support to those guys who are actually try[ing] to think of women’s hearts and minds instead [of] only their bodies. She’s trying to do what she can to help.

    Nice. Thanks for pointing this out. But does scantily clad mean that their hearts aren’t in the right place, though? Take a woman for example, who was a prostitute. She just came to Christ earlier that week, and decided to try out church for the first time. Ever. She’s nervous, and she knows she should try to dress nicely for the occasion, but she doesn’t really know what nice is, and so she dons a short, tight, revealing dress, and wears “a little too much” makeup. She feels like she is dressing up. The rest of the church snubs her for dressing inappropriately. Whose heart is really in the right place here? I think it’s the woman’s.

3. (Ethan Dever, December 19, 2014, 6:13 PM) Thank you. I think I can speak for every young man who is striving to keep himself pure when I say that this article is a HUGE blessing and encouragement. Just to know that there are girls out there that really care is a major blessing. Keep up the good work, and I know the Lord will bless you.

Yep. I get it. Thanks for your encouragement. Why don’t you know that there are girls out there who really care? BTW. The point of the article is not to coddle you. Do not be confused. You still need to work to be a godly man, just as Christian women should improve themselves daily. Don’t forget that.

4. (Bobbie Jo Winebrenner, December 19, 2014, 2:39 PM) I just wanted to encourage you today about your post. While it is true that women need to learn to look the other way from the way society/media portrays men and the male body, I love that you were writing this as a female, to not only show men that it’s ok to turn away, but that it’s commanded that they do so. We live in a society that condemns the moral and commends the obscene and to take against that is brave and right. And it doesn’t shock me that you were automatically attacked after your article…people don’t want to be told what to do. However, if you live the way God commands, you’ll never go wrong…so stay strong and God bless you.

  Thanks for reminding us of this commandment. That’s actually a really good point! Why do we do anything? Because we want to? Because society says we should? Because it feels good? No. We do good things because God is the ultimate creator of good, and he expects us to behave accordingly. Of course, he doesn’t expect perfection from us. That’s what his Son died for. But he expects us to try. Lastly, thank you for your last sentence. “May God bless you” is such a better phrase than “do good and God will bless you,” don’t you think? God doesn’t bless us because we work for our blessings, as I said earlier in the original post. He blesses us because he wants to. Because he loves us. We don’t deserve them, otherwise they would be called compensation or dues. We don’t do anything to earn his blessings, and yet he lavishes them upon his children. And thank God for that!

Anyway. Those are the responses that I’ve had to the conversation. And I’d love to hear yours! Let me know what you think. What’s your response? It certainly provoked some strong thoughts and feelings from me, but I want to know what it spurred in you!