Monday, January 8, 2007

A visit to Sodom...or was it Gomorrah?

I will warn you now - this post will offend people.  If you offend easily, just skip today's post and come back another day!

Many people think that the only problem with  Sodom and Gomorrah was the homosexual lifestyle.  I thought so for many years, yet when you begin to study you find that their sins went even further - these were cities that had given up any vestige of godliness and were involved in every kind of vice imaginable.  The Word says that they were "sinners exceedingly"in the sight of God. These were cities that I think reflect a lot of modern American cities today...and last week I visited one....oh my!

My mother likes to shop - I however did not inherit those genes (somehow my brother got them!) although I do love a good farm supply storeMoney mouth  Last week my Mom asked me to take her to Knoxville.  It is quite a drive for us and the traffic is horrific and is a bit more than my Mom wants to tackle at age 80.  So...we bit the bullet and went.  She had been given a gift certificate for Christmas to a store in the Knoxville mall.  It had been over a year (maybe two) since I have been to Knoxville except for picking up people at the airport.  And many years since I had been to the mall there.  Boy was I in for a surprise shock.

We were headed for Dillards, an upscale department store here in TN.  When we entered the store the background music (Dillards: it is supposed to be in the background!) was so loud that I had to shout for my Mom to hear me...it was also a horrible choice of music.  I felt sorry for the people required to work in such an environment - surely this would damage hearing over time!  We left Mom shopping for shoes and made a quick trip out in the mall - my boys were looking for two things; a Christian bookstore (which we never found) and a game store.  The boys and I play a lot of board games and love to go to game stores.  We found one called the Gameboard which, unfortunately was on the other end of the mall!

We proceeded in that direction and I marveled at the things I saw....note:  I was not marveling in a "Oh my isn't that adorable" manner....perhaps I should say I was horrified at the things I saw.  I spent a good deal of my time telling the boys - "keep your eyes to the floor", "look to the left", "look straight ahead"....I just couldn't believe the window displays - as far as I am concerned Victoria's Secret is purveying pornography!

Twenty years ago, Victoria's Secret was a place to buy tasteful, feminine, elegant (and yes - sexy!) lingerie - truly a woman's delight.  I shopped there and most of the women in my church did also - women of ALL ages.  What I saw in their window displays last week reminded me of a catalog I saw in high school called Frederick's of Hollywood - nothing but trash.  And the photos used to "sell" - I am shocked that they are allowed to display them - I thought things like that needed brown covers on them in public....Abercrombie and Fitch was just as bad.  And there were others.

And the way the people in the mall were dressed uncovered!  Clolthing (what there was of it) looked like it had been sprayed on, bellies were bare, pants were so low that if you sneezed....well.....And what is the deal with piercing all available body parts?  Even women in their 50s and 60s....I was aghast!  And MUST we show those available body parts to the entire world - note to the world:  "I really don't want to see your latest navel piercings!"  And don't get me started on tattoos for women - when I grew up tattoos were for men. My Mom and I were probably one of the few women not sporting a tattoo - perhaps I am way behind the times...and perhaps I can even understand (not agree with mind you) a young person's desire but why are women in their 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s getting tattooed? I suggested to my Mom that we stop in at the local tattoo parlor and get matching tattoos - I think mine should read NO NAIS! and I will place it right across my forehead Surprised Perhaps this is the newest thing in body jewelry - but you don't get to change it...and I wonder....when you get old, gain weight or get a little saggy  does the tattoo change with you - increase in size or relocate as our body parts tend to do?  Will that cute little butterfly turn into MOTHRA when you are 65?  No offense to my tattooed and pierced readers but I guess I am from a different generation.  And I still think private parts should remain just that - private!  So, if you place a tattoo on your derriere, or pierce your belly button - please keep those parts covered - just because you decorated them does not mean we all want to suddenly see them - they are still private parts Embarassed

And lastly, the public displays of affection that I witnessed between girl couples and boy couples and boy/girl couples....well - here is my take on it - the things that I saw, whether you are heterosexual or homosexual, belong at home behind closed doors and windows. "Some things just aren't done in public" as Grandma used to say (although I think she was talking more about spitting!)

I was thankful when we saw the game store....well for about a minute I was.  Although this store was full of wonderful and yes, even educational, games, it had at least as much pagan based garbage on display.  Truly the enemy has infiltrated every portion of society.  We got what we came for and quickly departed.  As we returned to Dillards to get Grandma we again had to run the gauntlet of obscenity - "look down, look right"  what I really wanted to do was scream "CLOSE YOUR EYES!",  grab their hands and run for the safety of my car!   What must God think when he looks down on this sea of unrighteousness?  How sad we must make our Saviour....who died for us so that we could avoid Satan's traps.

We picked up Grandma, made a few other stops (safe ones!) and headed for home. What a great feeling to return to our little farm in the hills.  So, Aunt Sue....as a favor to me, how 'bout next year you get Mom a gift card to a store a little closer to home because I don't think I ever want to go to Knoxville again!

12 comments:

  1. Oh I agree, I agree. I really am shocked at what stores are allowed to display. And also I worked retatil part-time one year. Somewhere, somebody did some study and decided that shoppers spent more money if the music was louder. It just about drove us CRAZY! We literally couldn't hear the customers sometimes. We had what I thought was a very sensible store manager and I thought maybe she didn't realize just how loud the music was since she was back in her office. Nope, she knew - the directions to crank it up had come from the corporate headquarters. Ugh. Personally it makes me spend less money because I just have to leave before it drives me nuts, but go figure.

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  2. This is precisely why I do so much of my shopping online...

    At the grocery store, I find myself telling my children not to look at the magazine covers. It's very sad that it's come to this.

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  3. I so agree! My sister had the same experance with her grandson's and she called the mall to complain. Our lil mall's VS had a huge poster of a mostly naked woman in their front window and I called the mall to complain. I must admit just for fun I have gone into the VS and asked where the plus sized section is ..the look on the clerks face is priceless :) and in answer to this question (which gave me a good chortle)
    "Will that cute little butterfly turn into MOTHRA when you are 65?" YES it will and it will be scary!!!!

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  4. Preach it, Sister!! I remember when one son of ours was about seven saying that he did not like going into the mall because of the displays. My husband has asked if we could enter closer to the one store we were patronizing. Those trips have dwindled and we now have no need to go a mall. But then there is Wal Mart and Office Max. Our oldest son who was twelve at the time (now thirteen) commented about the horrible signs at the office store and asked not to go back to that Wal Mart because he felt accosted by displays and people!! (He even stopped looking at Business Week because of one inappropriate photo--in Business Week of all magazines!!) Thankfully, I'm so focused on my shopping list that I miss all of it. The boys have been trained to look down or away. How sad that it has to be done. And just the other day, I asked my husband if these young people would regret piercing their noses or whatever body part when they are older like I am for getting that third hole in one of my ears pierced. Apparently not if the older people are doing it as well. Sheesh!! Did you say "girl couples" and "boy couples"? I have not seen that and am so grateful. Oh how thankful I am to be a home-body!!! But even here we have to be on guard. Thank you for sharing your experience. One more reason to be self-sufficient.

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  5. Ugh...the mall. :( I avoid it at all costs, or if I do absolutely have to go, shop at one of the big department stores at the corners. The last time I had to navigate my way through all the half-dressed pierced and tattoed bodies, not to mention the gigantic pornographic advertisements in the middle of the aisles and store displays, I suffered such a debilitating case of culture shock that I vowed never again! Since then I've confined my shopping for gifts to small local shops, antique shops, old book stores, and online.

    I've often thought as you do.....what do these women look like as they age? Having seen a few, I'll give my opinion...they look ridiculous! Of course that could be a whole other post about the growth of feminism and the loss of femininity! Then again, after you get over the shock, you have to think how sad. Why do they feel they need to flaunt themselves so? They must so desperately crave love and attention they need to conform to the crowd who does show them acceptance. I say, wake up parents!

    Great post, Cheri!

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  6. Nancy,
    I agree, with soothing music (read classical!) I am much more apt to take my time - with the loud, thumping stuff, I get out as fast as I can and rarely purchase anything at all.

    Crissy,
    I too prefer online shopping. Saves so much time and gas and I don't usually succomb to impulse buying!

    Patti,
    It IS a scary thought isn't it - I don't want a butterfly down around my knees somewhere :)

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  7. Denise,
    I am rarely in an office store - so I haven't noticed any signs - I guess they need to use sex to sell desks and paper now? And I did say girl couples and boy couples - quite shocking. I am so isolated from the world (and consider that a good thing) since we haven't had TV for over 20 years. I can't imagine what's happening in that world! I too could spend months at home contentedly!

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  8. Emily,
    I agree completely - my experience was enough for a lifetime. So, if Aunt Sue cooperates next year - I'll never need to go to a mall again! I can't imagine how much further things will have sunk by then!

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  9. Thanks for your post, Cheri, I am in agreement with you. Sometimes I think I miss shopping, but it's really missing the thrift stores! I was even overwhelmed the first time I walked into a grocery store in the "big city" (1-1/2 hours from us) after we moved to the country -- shocked that they had a whole aisle of different breads to choose from! Talk about wasteful living in that area as well. I thought being in the country would mean not having so much to shield our boys from; well, there is just as much here as anywhere else, and it is all so disgusting and sad. Thanks for stating the truth.

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  10. Hi Lynn!
    I do like thrift stores and used book stores. I guess if I have a weakness it is for good books! I've been reading a lot at your blog and really enjoying your story - I truly admire you!

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  11. Cheri, great blog! Everything you said is one reason we never go to the mall as a family. I do not want my boys to see what you described. I might go once a year at Christmas when Peggy sends me to find something for somebody. You do get an eye full. What is sad is that you see most of this in our churches today. A friend invited me to a men's meeting at his church and I never in my life seen so many tatooes and earrings in men. I felt out of place! What happened to the verse that says we are to be in the world, but not of it? Peggy has a friend that is about 72 years old that she had not seen in several years. Recently, she saw her and she had a nose ring. I once saw a cartoon that showed these hogs. One said to the other, "The farmer has now gone and put a nose ring in his son like he did us." How sad for our society! God bless!

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  12. Hi Henry! How's the house coming? I agree completely - it has been SO long since we were in a mall - what a shock! Miss you guys!
    Cheri

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