A reader and I are tag-teaming together to write about this – in conversation style. I greatly appreciate her contribution and willingness to share so vulnerably. My prayer is that God might use this post to help many other women break free from these kinds of destructive, toxic thoughts:
Do any of these thoughts sound familiar or tempting about wanting to be attractive?
- I want other men to notice me and be attracted to me.
- I want other men to be jealous that they don’t have me.
- I want other men to lust for me.
- I want to know that other men find me irresistible or tempting.
- I want other men to think I am really interesting, beautiful, sexy, and fun to be around.
- I like for other men to flirt with me to prove that I am a good catch.
- I like to know that I am still attractive to other men, too.
- I want to know that other men want to fall in love with me.
FROM A READER:
Yes, you’re one the right track with those, and it goes deeper (for me) as well…
… like a woman’s sense of self-worth or validation comes from her ability to attract a man and have him love her.
I thought as a girl that the “proof” that I was lovable or valuable was having a guy fall in love with me.
My operating in this belief not only left several broken hearts behind me as I selfishly looked for the next “project” to build my confidence up.
But even now that I’m saved and married, I still feel the desire to know that I still have enough attraction/interest to attract a mate creep up (especially when I feel unappreciated by my husband).
My Dad left us when I was in elementary school, and I took it very personally.
I began to long for the love of a man for personal validation, and developed the idea that perfect happiness would be a marriage where I’m 100% satisfying to my man, and he’s 100% satisfying to me, a sort of mutual worship.
I got saved after being married, and though I see the idolatry of this, I still struggle hugely with wrapping my self-worth and happiness in how I’m loved my by husband.
When my husband has an outburst of anger (never violent, but he has a temper), I take it very personally, as though he’s saying I’m unlovable or he hates me (even though he’s never said these words, but that’s how it feels to me).
If I can get “looks” or hints of interest from another man, especially one that seems reasonable and in good-standing, it reassures me that my husband is wrong – I am still lovable, and a man out there might be happy to have me as his wife even if my husband isn’t.
There’s a lot of pain and confusion in trying to write that out, but what stands out to me is the issue of trying to find my satisfaction outside of Christ and my self-worth outside of Christ, as well idolizing romantic love and adultery of the heart.
FROM PEACEFULWIFE:
Whose approval do you really need? What gives you your worth and value? These are critical questions to prayerfully consider.
Check out these posts and see if they might be a blessing, my dear sister:
- The Snare of People Pleasing
- I Don’t Have to Be the Most Beautiful Girl in the Room
- Being a Trophy Wife Is Not the Goal, Dear Sisters
- Posts about Insecurity and Security
- The Fantasy of Romance
- Breaking Romance Addiction
- The Surprising Root of All Marriage Problems
FROM THE SAME READER:
There were definitely some things that stood out like a sore thumb in some of those blog posts, mostly the idea that I will never be enough to make my husband love me perfectly.
This is a huge blow to my pride!
But I didn’t humble myself, agreeing that I’m not enough to satisfy my husband perfectly or have him be able to love me perfectly, that I am unworthy to be worshipped or idolized. I
didn’t look to Christ who IS worthy of worship. Instead, my heart has secretly sought to find it’s longed-for worship in whatever way it can – if not by my husband, then the easiest/fastest being the cheap idolatry of looks from men or the ability to rouse interest in them.
- But it is NOT my husband’s job to idolize me or worship me. And when he doesn’t idolize me, I’m not justified in seeking to secure these things in other men, though that’s how my pride feels in the moment.
To be faced with the truth that I’m not enough to make my husband love me perfectly is a humiliating blow to my pride.
But rather than trying to cover this humiliation by letting my idol of self loose to get fed any way it can (thus strengthening the idol of my pride), I can let the humiliation have it’s intended work on my heart.
To humble myself before Christ, my all-sufficient Saviour, who ALONE is worthy of worship and praise, and who saw the ugly truth of my sin and suffered and died because of it.
It’s not about me. Christ calls me to DENY myself.
That overfed idol of my pride needs to be starved out. So when my idol is hungry for a meal (the adoration of my husband), or a snack (a look from another man), I have a choice.
- Who will be fed today, my flesh or my spirit?
- Will I scrounge for worship of self, or worship Him who alone is worthy of worship?
I pray God does in me what only He can do. I pray He teach me to worship and praise Him from a sincere heart.
I feel like we’re getting to the core of the sin, pride and desiring to be idolized by my husband or others. I think the deeper part is that I’m really putting myself before God in my heart.
It can be confusing, because sometimes I think my motives for seeking God or trying to become a godly wife are tinged by pride as well, trying to impress others or God by my “godliness.”
Sometimes I feel I can’t even discern to true motives of my heart, and feel stuck in the deceptiveness of my own pride.
I’ve been feeling God drawing me to His word daily. I need to renewing of my mind and to trust that He will do it. I can’t get unstuck in the tangles of my pride and sin on my own. I need to truly come to God for this work and stop trying to do it on my own.
FROM PEACEFULWIFE:
I am so glad that you are getting to the core of the issue! That is wonderful! Pride is the source of all other sins.
From it flow all of our arrogance that we know better than God, that we can use God as a means-to-an-end, that we can get people to think highly of us, that we are good in and of ourselves, that we can justify our sin, etc…
Pride is blinding and very deceptive, yes!
I got to read a book last month by Andrew Murray called “Humility.” It was POWERFUL. I would encourage you to check it out for free at this link!
You are right that we do have to watch our motives about seeking God or trying to become a godly wife. We do have to watch for pride and guard against it. All of us. Myself included.
We can’t do this on our own. We are in total and desperate need of Jesus and His work on our behalf every moment of every day.
Do we try to be stumbling blocks to our brothers in Christ?
Let’s also think about how much of a betrayal it is to our husbands and our marriage covenant if we purposely try to grab the attention of another man. We would never want our husbands to do that to us!
I want us to be trustworthy and loyal – always honoring our marriage covenant in our hearts – whether things seem to be going well at the moment or not.
Let’s dress with modesty and act and think with modesty around other men – out of reverence for God and respect for ourselves, our husbands, our marriages, and other men.
How wrong it is to purposely put a stumbling block in a brother’s path to try to get him to sin by lusting after us. God will hold us accountable for such motives. We should be encouraging others to live holy, godly lives, not encouraging anyone to stumble into sin because of us.
Godly Beauty:
Thankfully, ALL of us have the ability to have feminine, godly beauty that is of great worth in God’s sight.
As we yield fully to Him as LORD of all in our lives and we allow Him to transform us and regenerate our souls and minds – He empowers us to have His overflowing peace, joy, and gentleness.
He enables us to receive all that He has for us in Christ and to receive our husbands’ love. He gives us the ability to not freak out, become doormats, or control-freaks – but to do what is right without giving way to fear.
That is the essence of Godly femininity. 🙂
Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. 4 Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight. 1 Peter 3:3-4
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Taking Our Thoughts Captive – Peacefulwife video