"Doable"

This time next week, Lord willing, Beverly and I will be in San Antonio. I am really looking forward to spending some time with my woman -- alone. We are going to take the scenic drive there (US 281). We're going to eat lots of Mexican food and do lots of walking.

In fact, I will be on vacation Monday through Saturday. So, obviously, this blog site will also be on vacation.
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My friend Ron Carlson wrote an excellent article I want to share with you. I already sent it to some of you in an email. It is fairly lengthy -- but you will find it worth the reading:

“Doable”

It costs a lot more money these days to keep Madison Square Garden up and running. It’s not heating oil, extra handicap parking spaces, or a deteriorating infrastructure that have sent costs spiraling upward. Rather, a steady flow of sexual harassment lawsuits are eating away at the bottom line.
Recently, an 11.6 million dollar judgment was levied against CEO James Dolan and the Garden. Knick’s coach Isaiah Thomas was fingered as the primary culprit, accused of crossing the line in “discussions” with female employee, Anucha Browne Sanders.
The Knicks could sign another washed-up veteran five years this side of prime for that kind of money.
Following the verdict, Browne Sanders encouraged other women in the organization and beyond to come forward and speak out against sexual harassment in the work place. At least one of the New York Rangers’ cheerleaders has responded in the affirmative regarding the negative instructions of her male bosses who demanded her fellow dancers should look more “doable.”
Can you imagine a respectable man in the corporate world making such a crass statement?
My guess is that such language and influences are part of the daily dialogue. Sports franchises represent only a small fraction of businesses that hire attractive, well-structured women to expose their bottom lines. Remember, this is sex-saturated America where sex sells and sexual magnetism easily translates into money and power.
Everybody, regardless of gender, is in some degree guilty. Professional cheerleaders are not ignorant of their job description. They understand they are eye candy, paid to jiggle and wiggle. Don’t be so naïve to believe any of the rhetoric appealing to artistic expression and athletic prowess.
Since respectable men don’t like to be seen at strip clubs, they can get the same sights and sounds for free at a Cowboy or Maverick game. It’s the same fantasy, the same buzz, and the same ancient exploitation.
Anybody really think that a turned-on Herod would have offered half his kingdom to a young dancer ill-equipped to stimulate lust? John the Baptist lost his head because the king was more interested in sex with a “doable” teenager than justice for a prophet.
Women know what works. They can titillate a man with little clothing, properly dispensed, as well as with no clothing. Who buys a thong for comfort? I can’t imagine that a haywire push-up bra is all that comfortable. A size twelve body stuffed into size eight jeans balancing on four-inch heels is simply not assembled for ease of movement.
The enormous pressure our culture exerts on women to look and act sexy is destructive and insane. They ought to sue us all for defamation of character. Instead, the majority plays along.
If Dancing with the Stars is really about dancing, then why are the female contestants required to possess augmented breasts and wear costumes with more slits than garment? Why do the male dancers thrust their hips that way?
The answer is no mystery. The sponsors demand high ratings, and those ratings are achieved by attracting a voyeuristic audience that loves raw sexual energy and hopes it’s contagious. This formula requires dancers who look “doable.”
The comical exploits of the East Texas television station that hired a young and unproven journalistic talent with massive implants to anchor the evening news has drawn some surprising criticism. The station’s basic response has been, “If you’ve got it, flaunt it.”
This popular motto, incidentally, does not come from scripture.
Folks with “it” (we rise up and call them blessed), often get paraded around like the dog-eared boy at a carnival.
A number of years ago, I made the mistake of taking my teenaged sons to a giant car show. It turned out the cars were accessories for the “car-babes,” who my boys found far sleeker and more attractive than the lines of a new Buick.
“It’s time to ‘flee youthful lusts,’ ” I told them as I dragged them back to our old sedan. I was talking more to myself.
Want to know how far we have plummeted in our disrespect for simple modesty and sexual sensibilities? Far enough that porn stars are pop culture’s new media darlings. Jenna Jameson, Queen of Hollywood porn, is regarded as a national treasure in the way our grandparents revered the wit and wisdom of Will Rogers. She is a multi-millionaire, partly because she markets a line of anatomically precise silicone body parts designed to pleasure a man. And proud of it!
Respectable men, I mentioned earlier, hate to be seen at strip clubs. That doesn’t mean strip clubs have not become respectable. I read an article recently explaining that entertaining clients at a “Gentleman’s Club” is now a legitimate business expense. Corporation accountants still prefer clients pay for their own lap dances.
Most tragically, we are raising a generation of young women who believe it’s a good thing to look “doable.” High School girls walking to school often look like hookers lined up on Harry Hines trolling for johns.
We have an entertainment industry full of super models, super sluts, and super stars, many who possess no legitimacy outside their “hot and sexy” appeal as “doable.” I saw an advertisement claiming that Britney Spears’ and Paris Hilton’s secret sex DVD’s are a primary staple of any good video library. These girls not only look “doable”; they are!
I could go on and on, but you already know the score. We are still in the middle of a sexual revolution where the insurgents are inflicting heavy damage. We resemble the culture of Jeremiah’s day where folks “have the brazen look of a prostitute who refuses to blush with shame” (Jer. 3:2-4; 6:15; 8:12).
This is front-line, in-the-trenches spiritual warfare for Christians. Over and over again the New Testament writers admonish us to “flee immorality” and leave our old pagan lusts behind. The Holy Spirit demands we practice our sexuality in ways that are healthy, holistic, and holy. Keep in mind that God wants us to establish and maintain sexual purity because our bodies “are a temple of the Holy Spirit” (I Cor. 6).
Don’t expect culture to stop the sexual harassment any time soon. Expect Las Vegas to come to a community near you soon. Anticipate pornography to become mainstream entertainment. Don’t be surprised when folks close to you cross over to the “doable” side.
We’re under attack. It’s time to take up the full armor of God (Eph. 6:10f) and do battle. The bodies and souls of our children are at stake. Victory in the Holy Spirit is doable.