In the not too distant past a news story had gained prominence—back in January B.C. (before Coronavirus). The story centered on Jeffrey Epstein, a financier who was convicted of sex crimes against minors in Palm Beach once and was released after thirteen months in prison. Afterward, he operated what has come to be called the Lolita Express—his own airplane that flew him, his friends, and underaged girls (under 18) to his own island. (For those who don’t recall, Lolita, published in 1956, was the name of a novel by Russian-American novelist, Vladimir Nabokov, that described the affair of a middle-aged man with a 12-year-old girl.) But this article has nothing to do with either the novel or what took place on the island.
Epstein died in prison just a few months ago. He was arrested again last year on several sex trafficking charges. His death was ruled a suicide even though the circumstances strongly suggest murder. Several abnormalities just
“happened” to occur at the time of his death, such as his having no roommate present, the camera outside his cell being out of commission, and the guards not checking his cell at the times they should have. These were reported in a
television special on the subject. The situation was being investigated, but to date the results of the investigation have not been made public—not public enough for any of us to hear about it, at least. But this article is not about whether he committed suicide or was murdered.
Prior to his first arrest and conviction in 2008, several girls were brought to his estate, and ABC News aired a podcast on the subject on February 27, 2020. They title it, Truth and Lies: Jeffrey Epstein. Your congenial editor watched the entire program, which was incredible since it often involved the rationale of the girls who visited Epstein at his estate. Only a few, who were now more than a decade older volunteered to speak to the viewing audience. Most of the girls who visited Epstein were recommended by their friends from school who had already been to his place. Of course, a few were frightened by the experience, but others viewed it as an opportunity to make money. These are the words of one woman who described the experience, beginning with a friend who coaxed her into going:
She was saying, he’s gonna ask you to take your shirt and pants off, but don’t worry. You can keep
your underwear and your bra on. And I just remember thinking, like, “OK, well, you know I go to the
beach in a bathing suit and that shouldn’t be that big of a deal.”
Isn’t it sad that a young girl could reason in such a way? Doesn’t this say a lot about our society? Apparently, modesty is dead! In the history of the world, has there ever been a time when a girl would have taken off most of her clothes in front of a strange man, who apparently was just wanting to ogle her? For $200? One such youth reasoned that she came from a large family and, since it was near Christmas, making this money allowed her to buy presents for her family. (Isn’t there something ironic in this kind of thinking?)
Why is society this way? Is it the advertisements that stores send out with teen youths and younger in scantily-clad swimsuits, shorts, and various outfits? Is it catalogues replete with women wearing negligees? Is it Abercrombie and Fitch? Is it Victoria’s Secret with pornographic displays of youthful women outside their stores wearing what used to be called “unmentionables”? Or is it what John Chowning refers to in some of his blogs? He wrote on May 1, 2020:
A few years ago, fashion designers around the world introduced a clothing style they accurately
deemed, “The Slut Look.” With a host of characteristics like Eve’s original fig leaf, this degrading
fashion line remains alive and well in our world.
With this noxious fashion and others of its ilk, how in the world can purity of heart be maintained?
The answer is found in Matthew 5:27-32. The first two principles—you must understand what is required (vv. 27-28)
and you must deal quickly, decisively, and drastically with the poisonous toxin
called lust (vv. 29-30)—have already been considered (see the last two blogs).
He also mentions that people must be aware of causing others to sin—in other words, being a stumbling block. If a man looks upon a woman to lust after her, did she dress in such a manner as to provoke that precise response. She must bear her guilt, also. Chowning points out that wearing immodest clothing advertises “her lack of virtue,” as well as an impure heart (1 Tim. 2:9-10).
The world frequently turns its back on God’s precepts, and nowhere has that been more obvious than with modesty. We have moved so far the other direction that an underaged girl thinks it is all right to appear in her underwear before a strange man because she is dressed similarly at the beach.
One thing is certain: Wherever she obtained her values, she did not get them from the Bible. Can you picture Mary, the mother of Jesus, sitting around the Sea of Galilee in a “modest” one-piece swimsuit, let alone a bikini? If you can, you are perverted. If you can’t, then on what basis is it right to do so today? God gave Adam and Eve clothes that went from their shoulders to their knees (Gen. 3:21). No one is wearing swimsuits that match that description.