To begin with, this is an immediate, MASSIVE red flag. Upfront it’s pretty much a dealbreaker for JJ. Why? Because, RIGHT AWAY I know thatwaht she is revealing physically, is revealing all I need to know about where she is at emotionally and spiritually. 

‍

Ironically, we say that a picture is worth a thousand words and a thirst trap, or a whole Instagram profile of thirst traps is worth a thousand words…

• Her maturity and worth is seemingly built on the quicksand of other people’s opinions of her. 
• Her value is defined by others’ opinions of her body. 
• Her worth is defined by others’ opinions of her body. 
• Her identity is defined by others’ opinions of her body. 
• Her world is defined by this. 

‍

I don’t imagine we have too many thirst trappers joining in and listening to this episode but we all post photos that look great! There is a desire to have our bodies, clothing, hair, etc. be a point of admiration for anybody else. So then the reality of how far is too far comes down to MODESTY!

‍

1 Peter 3:3-4– “Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious.”

‍

An EXTERNAL adorning actually refers to SOCIAL or FINANCIAL immodesty. Meaning, the women at this time were really SHOWY, flashy, and fashionable. However, Peter does NOT forbid being fashionable. The verse is translated “do not let your adornment be merely external.” Peter directs women from hyper focusing on what is fashionable to instead focus on the “HIDDEN PERSON OF THE HEART.” 

‍

Overall, modesty is not EXTERANL, rather it is internal. The external is an overflow of the heart. The maturity, identity and wisdom of the heart. Modesty is not a list of rules, it is a spirit of the heart. When women dress WISELY, void of mitigating lust for a man, we are being motivated by the Spirit within us that motivates us to make changes in our dress and strive to be women who profess godliness without speaking a word! When you know WHO you are, unique, beautiful, special, and loved by God, you truly have less of a desire to reveal yourself physically. The desire to be known as unique, beautiful, special, and accepted has been QUENCHED by an ocean of GOD! 

‍

As a note, women AND MEN are responsible to dress in a way that is HUMBLE and CONSIDERATE of others! 

‍

Our response to thirst traps should be two things. First, wherever I go in the world, we have talked about the discipline of our stikey eyes. Two, it cannot just be discipline and being really good at averting our eyes. The avoidance of sin is not the CONQUERING of skin. There is WISDOM in reducing the temptation of our life! The root of CONQUERING is found in DELIGHTING in God and His Truth. We look at this person that is made in God’s image, is a brother or sister and we CHOOSE to CELEBRATE and HONOR God’s creation so much so that we have NO desire to reduce them to an image or sexual object for our selfish, sinful satisfaction. 

‍

JJ likes to operate on a one-strike policy. If there is ONE image or piece of content in his feed from an account, a girl, a meme page (ANYTHING), he cannot afford or have the desire to have it in front of him. It isn’t WISE. 

‍

Secondly, he prays. Specifically that God shows him and rewires his spirit to HONOR His creation. He prays that God would illuminate the ROOT of these thoughts, where he has been emotionally and spiritually unplugged, bored, angry, or frustrated. 

‍

Friends, we’re not helpless when it comes to thirst traps. They’re not something that will just keep coming for us over and over while we sit in the coner helplessly scrolling through. We have an active part to play in honoring Christ in every decision we make. We have the choice to choose who we follow and what we entertain. Let’s decide together to not entertain thirst traps. 

‍