Why I Won't Be Reading Fifty Shades Of Grey

For those of you who know me well, you know that I have always had strong judgements/opinions and glide on the border of being a prude. I stand by this depiction and wear it as a badge of honor. I will preface this by saying that in the recent years I have been blessed with a much less judgemental heart and attitude. And this, only by the Grace of the living God. Growing and learning each and every day I have come to trust and lean on the knowledge that He has the final say, which thankfully relieves me of the burden to condemn others. Not my job..., anymore. Yay!

So please, please, please know that I am NOT judging, nor condemning; this statement particularly applying to those of you who are in the throngs of Mr. Christian Grey himself. I only know of this book's contents from a friend who is reading it. I personally have no desire to delve into the murky depths of this literature, for I am quite visual and tend to be more old school Catholic in terms of the guilt that would plague me and have me wanting to pluck my own eyes out for the images that would surely be burned into minds-eye and forever set me on the path to hell. Dramatic, I know...I tend to be very passionate, especially when I am on the defense.

{And yes, I am aware that the book is more than "that"  and that the characters are endearing and the love story enchanting. Got it}

Don't get me wrong, I love a hot steamy novel as much as the next girl, but something about this content has my insides turning uneasy. Like I mentioned above, its the images that get burned into our minds and hearts. We are called to guard our minds and our hearts. No doubt these images would be hard to shake. And to be honest, I do firmly believe the the world is going to pot, because of lustful desires. Sinking quicker and quicker and no-one even being aware that its happening right in our own backyards.

{Welcome to our very own, twenty first century Babylon.}

         ...And on a side note, lets not fool ourselves into believing that the young and impressionable are not catching on to the hoopla, its on YouTube, SNL, Ellen, and very accessable; parodies left and right...anyone think of what it would look like for our teens to get their hands on this? This would be their classroom for intimacy?  Kind of scary to think our kids could follow suit. It's all the rage, how could it be offensive? When every mom in America is reading it. Loving it. [Just a thought.]

I have always, always, always been extremely offended by lust and explicit sex, be it visual or contextual, my spirit finds it putrefying. I know a lot of you will say you can separate reality from fantasy, and that's a great concept, in theory. We are sexual beings, God created us that way. And sex is wonderfully glorious and divine, in the eyes of the Lord and in the context in which He designed it.
   
It takes a lot of strength and courage to swim in the other direction. A lot. Because as a human being, I'll admit, I sometimes feel as though I'm 'missing out on the fun'. But I hold on tight and with everything I've got to the truth that is whispered to my soul. It's okay to not blend in...to maybe look like a stick in the mud.

I'll spare you the sermon and just leave it at this. I have four kids. My desire for their adult journey is simple. To be solid in their faith. To be blessed richly in their marital unions. To follow biblical principals in their marriages. To not fall for the nonsense that is 'This World'. To learn from mom's mistakes and take heed. I wish, I wish, I wish I had this knowledge when I was married.

So with that, I bow out graciously and wish you happy reading.


.......due to a tremendous response to this post, there is a sequal....SEE "The Real Reason I Won't Be Reading Fifty Shades"  http://aheartinspired.blogspot.com/2012/06/real-reason-i-wont-be-reading-fifty.html