“You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.” Galatians 5:13

I know this week of Victory Calls have been straight-forward talk on a sensitive subject. I need to warn you, today’s will be the toughest yet.
For many of you reading this, the topic may be foreign to your thinking but I assure you it is a very real issue. I want to talk today about the power a woman has via her body.
Some women dress to attract attention. For a few, it is perfectly innocent but I am going to suggest (and you may choose to disagree) that for the majority of these women they are dressing with intention. I don’t mean that every day they get up and say, “Today, I’m going to turn heads,” but rather the selection of clothes in their closet betrays their heart.
I gave very little thought to this whole area before I came to Keswick. Through the ministry to hundreds of wives, I have made some observations and offer this conclusion: Women enjoy the sense of power they get from turning heads of men. It feels good to be noticed. Now, I’m not talking about all women, I’m talking about women in general. You may be quite offended by my conclusion but in the world of counseling I live in, it is very real.
Is there really power? Whatever you want to call it, men react to women. God made men visual. They are wired to be sexually aroused through what they take in through their eyes. But Satan has taken that which is good and twisted it so that men (in general) are confronted with the temptation to lust.
Let me share a quote from “Every Man’s Battle” by Stephen Arterburn and Fred Stoeker (this is written by men to men:
“Males Receive Sexual Gratification Through the Eyes: … We have our eyes and can draw sexual gratification through them at any time. We’re turned on by female nudity in any way, shape, or form. … We have a visual ignition switch when it comes to viewing the female anatomy. … Visual sexual gratification is no laughing matter in your fight for sexual purity. Given what the sight of nudity does to the pleasure centers of our brain, and these days it’s pretty easy to see many naked or near-naked women, it’s no wonder our eyes and mind resist control.”

As I am writing this the thought occurred to me that lust may look different in women than in men. I’m going to throw this thought out for your consideration. Is it possible that lust in women is manifested through their dress and the sense of power to entice?

Ladies, knowing that men are prone to lustful temptation, the law of love warrants that we, as women, seek to love them by being mindful of our attire so as to be a blessing rather than a temptation.

Diane

Diane Hunt is part of the Development and Addiction Recovery teams at America’s Keswick. In addition to being a Biblical Counselor, she is a Women’s speaker for retreats, conferences and events. She is a regular writer for Victory Call and one of the authors of Crossing the Jordan Bible Study. She has been married to her husband John over 28 years. She has 2 adult children, 3 grandchildren, 3 adult step-children with 7 grandchildren making 10 in all. She delights reading and teaching, but mostly laughing at the funny things her grandchildren say and do.