Let's break this down with even further honesty:
1. People age. Elizabeth Taylor was easily considered one of the most beautiful women of all time, with access to all of the best beauty treatments and care available. But all the money and doctors in the world couldn't stop her from aging. I agree that people can work on taking better care of themselves, but at the end of the day, the loss of physical beauty is just going to happen.
2. People's medical and life condition changes, and it's an impossible standard for women to remain "gorgeous" at all times. The woman who has cancer isn't thinking, "How can I be at my most gorgeous to appeal to men 24/7."
If I wanted to look my absolute best, it would probably take me 2 hours (my hair is very finicky and not easy to style to glam standards.) There's no way I'm using up that kind of time every day. Any guy who accepts me would hopefully understand I have other more pressing obligations.
3. People often want standards in others they don't qualify for themselves. Women want men who can provide -- but how much of an expectation are they allowed to have? Should a woman be expected to pitch in and help? Men want women who look like supermodels -- as they balance their beer on their gut, which is sticking so far out that it doubles as a shelf. But by golly, God's will is for them to have a young, beautiful wife!
One of the reasons I'm single is because I do try hard at diet and fitness, and am not interested in men who want a "thin, beautiful, fit woman" but look 9 1/2 months pregnant themselves. I'd reconsider if it wasn't for the hypocritical expectations.
4. Beauty does not always equal happiness or self-esteem. I always wonder about Sarah. Even at an advanced age, powerful men desired her -- so much so that Abraham was willing to hand her over to abusers more than once to save his own neck. I often wonder if Sarah thought her beauty was a blessing or a curse.
And there are many modern day Sarah's. I once knew a woman who has always been beautiful, and, as this can be the case with many beautiful people, she was unfortunately noticed by the wrong people throughout her live, starting as a child. Her abusers included a pastor, a policeman, and school coaches.
Later on, she won a local beauty pageant -- sweeping every category, which had never been done before -- but she did it because she felt led by God to do so, and used her platform to speak publicly to men in powerful positions against all forms of sexual abuse. She told stories of watching them shift uncomfortably in their seats throughout her presentations.
5. The Bible says that Leah had "weak eyes." For whatever reason, Leah was not seen as beautiful, but Rachel was. Would God then pat Jacob on the back for not loving Leah? I know he was tricked into marrying her, so that's not a fair comparison.
But does this mean that this is God's verdict? Leah's example shows us that for whatever reason, there are believers in Christ who will not be seen as beautiful. Does this mean God has ordained for them to be overlooked and cast aside for those who are? Perhaps part of God's answer came in the form of Leah bearing so many sons, which was so highly prized in that day.
6. Christians all stand on the verdict that "God wants whats best for them," and so they believe God's best is their definition of what's "best" is surely what God has for them. I've seen several dating profiles of women who believe God wants them to have a 6-figure husband... or men proclaiming that by God's insistence, they must have a hot wife who will never change and stay eternally young and beautiful.
But is this what God will say when we get to heaven? That we all had a God-given right to what we ourselves deemed as the best God should be giving us?
7. You wrote above, "Men also have thoughts on someone to take care of them when they are elderly, a young woman suits that perfectly: cleaning house, groceries, general errands."
Do you not think older women wouldn't need the same things? Who do you expect to take care of them? Or do men also feel it's not their worry or concern, because the priority is to have their own needs met? (And I understand that some women can be just as selfish.)
THIS is the question I bring before God, and these days, on a near-daily basis: Lord, is THIS what you planned for humanity? Young women being caretakers to elderly men, then when these men die, the women are left to fend for themselves? If a woman can no longer serve an older man's needs or purpose (even if it's just because she's not young,) do they just age out, and become useless except as free volunteers in other parts of society?
Who then takes care of the older woman when she needs someone to run errands, clean, and buy groceries?
Is this who your view of God is?
A God who believes in creating young women that are perfect for older men because they can take care of them and look good for them... but as they get older... They no longer have any purpose or reason to be desired, even though they have the same needs as the men?
I know I'm going on a long ramble here, but I find the subject intriguing. If women were designed to be the "fairer" sex -- creatures to be protected and to some extent, looked after by men -- at what point did God say the tables should turn and young women should look after elderly men, with no plan as to what will happen when he dies and leaves the now older woman to fend for herself?
1. People age. Elizabeth Taylor was easily considered one of the most beautiful women of all time, with access to all of the best beauty treatments and care available. But all the money and doctors in the world couldn't stop her from aging. I agree that people can work on taking better care of themselves, but at the end of the day, the loss of physical beauty is just going to happen.
2. People's medical and life condition changes, and it's an impossible standard for women to remain "gorgeous" at all times. The woman who has cancer isn't thinking, "How can I be at my most gorgeous to appeal to men 24/7."
If I wanted to look my absolute best, it would probably take me 2 hours (my hair is very finicky and not easy to style to glam standards.) There's no way I'm using up that kind of time every day. Any guy who accepts me would hopefully understand I have other more pressing obligations.
3. People often want standards in others they don't qualify for themselves. Women want men who can provide -- but how much of an expectation are they allowed to have? Should a woman be expected to pitch in and help? Men want women who look like supermodels -- as they balance their beer on their gut, which is sticking so far out that it doubles as a shelf. But by golly, God's will is for them to have a young, beautiful wife!
One of the reasons I'm single is because I do try hard at diet and fitness, and am not interested in men who want a "thin, beautiful, fit woman" but look 9 1/2 months pregnant themselves. I'd reconsider if it wasn't for the hypocritical expectations.
4. Beauty does not always equal happiness or self-esteem. I always wonder about Sarah. Even at an advanced age, powerful men desired her -- so much so that Abraham was willing to hand her over to abusers more than once to save his own neck. I often wonder if Sarah thought her beauty was a blessing or a curse.
And there are many modern day Sarah's. I once knew a woman who has always been beautiful, and, as this can be the case with many beautiful people, she was unfortunately noticed by the wrong people throughout her live, starting as a child. Her abusers included a pastor, a policeman, and school coaches.
Later on, she won a local beauty pageant -- sweeping every category, which had never been done before -- but she did it because she felt led by God to do so, and used her platform to speak publicly to men in powerful positions against all forms of sexual abuse. She told stories of watching them shift uncomfortably in their seats throughout her presentations.
5. The Bible says that Leah had "weak eyes." For whatever reason, Leah was not seen as beautiful, but Rachel was. Would God then pat Jacob on the back for not loving Leah? I know he was tricked into marrying her, so that's not a fair comparison.
But does this mean that this is God's verdict? Leah's example shows us that for whatever reason, there are believers in Christ who will not be seen as beautiful. Does this mean God has ordained for them to be overlooked and cast aside for those who are? Perhaps part of God's answer came in the form of Leah bearing so many sons, which was so highly prized in that day.
6. Christians all stand on the verdict that "God wants whats best for them," and so they believe God's best is their definition of what's "best" is surely what God has for them. I've seen several dating profiles of women who believe God wants them to have a 6-figure husband... or men proclaiming that by God's insistence, they must have a hot wife who will never change and stay eternally young and beautiful.
But is this what God will say when we get to heaven? That we all had a God-given right to what we ourselves deemed as the best God should be giving us?
7. You wrote above, "Men also have thoughts on someone to take care of them when they are elderly, a young woman suits that perfectly: cleaning house, groceries, general errands."
Do you not think older women wouldn't need the same things? Who do you expect to take care of them? Or do men also feel it's not their worry or concern, because the priority is to have their own needs met? (And I understand that some women can be just as selfish.)
THIS is the question I bring before God, and these days, on a near-daily basis: Lord, is THIS what you planned for humanity? Young women being caretakers to elderly men, then when these men die, the women are left to fend for themselves? If a woman can no longer serve an older man's needs or purpose (even if it's just because she's not young,) do they just age out, and become useless except as free volunteers in other parts of society?
Who then takes care of the older woman when she needs someone to run errands, clean, and buy groceries?
Is this who your view of God is?
A God who believes in creating young women that are perfect for older men because they can take care of them and look good for them... but as they get older... They no longer have any purpose or reason to be desired, even though they have the same needs as the men?
I know I'm going on a long ramble here, but I find the subject intriguing. If women were designed to be the "fairer" sex -- creatures to be protected and to some extent, looked after by men -- at what point did God say the tables should turn and young women should look after elderly men, with no plan as to what will happen when he dies and leaves the now older woman to fend for herself?
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