Beyonce, The Superbowl, Death, and Life

So I think Beyonce is a sweet, talented woman. Pretty voice along with a childlike vulnerability I find endearing. I mean, "You're love's got me lookin' so crazy"? I just think that's cute. So given this, can someone please tell me why in the Super Bowl half time show we saw a brief glimpse of crime scene evidence marking/outlining during that dance part where she was on the floor? There has been an ever increasing and disturbing trend in the fashion and entertainment industries around women being portrayed alongside symbols of death. Women, whom God breathed His very own breath of life. Women, for whom Jesus spoke fondly, and for whom He destroyed a culture of dishonor.

Let's recount for a minute some things that don't seem right in our portrayal of women. A fashion trend of skulls on clothing? How about the emaciated look, thick black eyeliner, or American Apparel's propensity to put forth ads of women looking like rape victims? Trends of vampires being sexualized?

 Now let's contrast this with who women actually are. Created in God's image. The Bible tells us that a man who finds a wife finds a good thing! It says that a wife of noble character is worth far more than rubies. If you read through Old Testament law, you find a beautiful tenderness in God's heart towards women, especially in vulnerable positions (those captured from foreign lands, widows, wives, daughters, etc.). And then Jesus. Oh, Him. Jesus goes to the women who are cast out. He goes to those who are accused. He goes to those whom no other Jewish men would have spent time on in that day in order to rescue and to speak kindness to, including those with their colorful sexual histories made public. And He doesn't go in secret. He defends them publicly, forgives, and speaks new life to them.  The first people He appears to when He rises from the dead are women. That gets me every time.

The marginalizing of women back then isn't so different from how it is now. Women are portrayed as objects of visual and sexual pleasure, but not much else. I mean, why would wrinkle cream be so popular if we believed that at the core of us, we get better with age since we grow in character? And women who are portrayed differently besides being an empty beauty are usually of the idea that they must fight and be aggressive to stand in that place, or that they must become less feminine.

But the truth is that beauty fades, and so does charm. But character shines brightly and makes a difference in the world! This doesn't mean physical beauty is bad or meaningless, but it does mean that it isn't the core of our identity. So if we are such objects of God's affection, bearing His image in and out, we ought to be celebrated as ALIVE! When you think highly of something, you dress it nicely. You don't paint the walls of your new living room with raw sewage, do you? Nor do you put your precious new baby in clothing with vulgar messages, but in something worthy of their innocence. And so for women, we should be dressed in beauty and loveliness, not things that speak of death. Not in items that show her sexuality as something for strangers to take, use, and throw in the trash. Afterall, God says the most worthy of attire that He loves in a woman is a gentle, quiet (meaning not uptight, but resting in His strength to guide your life) spirit. And He's the one that provides the strength and energy to dress in such loveliness if you only ask Him!