Now, I'm not going to sit here and write this blog telling you that you shouldn't watch the annual Victoria's Secret Fashion show. But, I will sit here and tell you why I won't. If you do, I will not judge you. I cannot see your heart and I do not know your thoughts. Only God can judge you on your heart posture. It's not because I think I'm 'holier than thou,' or that lingerie is sinful. I can already hear some of your thoughts. When I write, I have this thing where I can somehow view what a disagreeing reader might be thinking. This is why this blog has been so difficult for me to write. In fact, I should have written this article before the fashion show even aired this year, but I knew the response I'd receive wouldn't be fun and I knew writing it would be difficult. It wasn't until after the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show when I started to feel guilty. I was scrolling through my twitter feed when I began to see some of my girlfriends tweeting things that made me sick.

"Why would they air the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show during finals week? Way to kick me while I'm down."

"I was just starting to like my body until I turned on the VS fashion show."

"I need to lose about 1098 pounds by tomorrow. Thanks, VS."

It made me sick because I have struggled with thinking these things before as well, and I wanted so badly to reassure them and take away the root of what was making them feel that way. Almost every tweet that I read that night from the girls I follow on twitter, aside from a few, were filled with self-hate and discouraged mindsets. They even posted photos of themselves next to pictures of the VS models and would caption it with a laughing emoji and something like "good try lol." They make a joke out of it, but I can promise you there are some girls out there that haven't eaten as much as they usually do after watching the show this week. By that I mean, there are some girls out there who are hurting their bodies to try to fit into the world's standards in an effort to receive praise and affirmation from their peers, simply from watching women walk down a runway in next to nothing.

I'm sure you all have heard about Kylie Bisutti. She was a top notch VS angel several years ago who quit, because of her beliefs. ("Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised." Proverbs 31:30) In various different news reports, it's said that Bisutti admitted to still buying from VS even after she quit her job. Shocker right? Well maybe to the world, but not to me. You see, Bisutti didn't think the lingerie was wrong. She thought that the WHO was wrong. WHO she was allowing to see her body in that lingerie. WHO she allowed to tell her what she was and wasn't supposed to look like. WHO she allowed to change her perspective of how beauty is defined. WHO she wanted to lead and be a voice for. WHO she was supposed to be, personally, as a God fearing Woman.

You see, lingerie is a great thing. A great thing to wear as a gift to your husband. It is not for everyone's eyes. God commands us to be modest for a reason. Possibly it's because it not only causes men to stumble, but it also causes other women to compare in ways they shouldn't compare themselves. This kind of comparison is a dangerous comparison to make. I can already hear the girls right now. "Well, it's not our fault if a guy lusts after us. They shouldn't see everything in such a sexual way. I can wear what I want." HALT. That is NOT biblical. It is selfish to wear something you know might cause another man to stumble into impure thoughts. People will give me slack for saying that, but it's the truth. We have the right to dress our bodies in the styles we like, but look at what 1 Corinthians 8:9 says about it: "But take care that this right of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak." Girls, a lot of men struggle with impure thoughts and sexual temptations. God created them with this natural want, but He created it to be a want that a husband has for his wife, and his wife alone. When you are okay with dressing immodestly, you are okay with the possibility of tempting another woman's future husband in a way that is supposed to be sacred for their marriage. In a way, you aren't holding respect for your brothers in Christ and you are discouraging them from walking in purity.

Now that all of that had been said, Let me tell you why I don't watch it. Because I mean, I'm a woman, right? I can watch and see what I might like to wear for my husband in the future, right? Yes and no. If you can honestly watch that entire show and not allow the enemy to take over your thoughts once or twice, then power to ya. But I know that if I were to watch that show, I would walk away feeling insufficient, unworthy, and defeated. I would probably start an unhealthy eating pattern and I'd probably be more tempted to dress up, or dress in less, to catch a compliment or two from a guy. I'd be in search for affirmation in all the wrong places, places I wasn't designed to find it in. It would create a longing for approval from men in ways I should be longing for approval from my husband only. If I was in a relationship, I would probably be more prone to step into sin based on the sudden need to feel at least half as praised as the naked bodies strutting down that runway. I'd start to strive after the things the world views as holy, compared to what my God views as holy and it would tear me to shreds.

DO NOT let that be your goal girls. That is not what your thoughts should be dwelling on, or what your heart should be after. It's an empty dream and you will torture yourselves trying to live up to something that holds no true value for you. You are adorned and loved by The King of Kings. Let your husbands be proud of the fact that you know you're beautiful because your Maker says you are.

Don't let their names fool you. Angels can destroy you.

"Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it." Proverbs 4:23