| As I stand in a book store at Chicago's O'Hare Airport my eyes secretly caress the cover of the latest edition of a sports magazine that I seldom read. But the cover of this Sports Illustrated grabs my full attention. It shows the face and figure of the female who won the annual competition. I conspiratorially look around to make sure I don't know any of the other customers. Hopefully, none of them recognize me. I do not want anyone I know to see me peeking at this edition of Sports Illustrated. As you've guessed I'm talking about the Sports Illustrated Ugly-Dog-Edition. Every year that edition of the magazine outsells all others. Men not only buy it so they can salivate over the salacious image on the cover, but because they know the magazine is filled with pictures of other ugly dogs wearing dental floss thongs lying sensually on a sandy Caribbean beach. If only the images that wink at me from my television set and lure me from my computer monitor were dogs. But men don't search the Internet for images of naked dogs. No ... it's never a dog that summons me from a magazine cover in a book store. Why? Because advertisers know that dog's are good for selling dog food, dog leashes, and wireless fences. But an ugly dog competition, or even a pretty dog competition, won't sell copies of Sports Illustrated. Nothing attracts men to a magazine, the silver screen, or an office fax machine like the presence of a beautiful woman. Some Christian guys hate this truth about themselves. Or, think they should. Yet, God designed women so you would find them attractive. Did you catch that? Please read the next sentence out loud: God designed women so I would find them attractive. That holy magnetism needs to be lifted to its rightful place. That involves understanding the seven reasons why God made naked women look so good. Reason One: To Replace Aloneness with Companionship The moment I saw Cynthia Russell I melted. Like a bar of chocolate exposed to the sun I liquefied and spread out on my desk and dripped onto the floor. Somehow I managed to restore my pre-melted form. I sat at my desk with my heart pounding, hoping to get another glance of her flashing brown eyes. At mealtime I wondered about her favorite food. At night I dreamed of her. When I walked to school I felt nervous at the thought of her. In class I never spoke a word to her. In young Cynthia's presence my jaw froze in place rendering my tongue as immovable as a ... well as immovable as an ice tongue. I did, however, carve a heart in my desk with an arrow going through it and the script: R + C (I used to go by my middle name, Randy for Randolph). From the moment I first saw that angelic faced girl in the first grade I knew my life would be incomplete until I married her. Of course, our union was not to be. But, from that time on I felt a hole in my heart that only the girl of my dreams would one day fill. Adam had no such experience to show him he needed a companion. He lived unaware of his aloneness because he didn't grow up surrounded by cute little girls. He didn't go to a high school or college where most guys had girl-friends. Since he was unacquainted with female companionship he could neither write nor appreciate the agony of a lonely heart as expressed in country western music. Anyway, after each creative day, God looked at what he had made and announced: "It's good." Following the sixth and final day, during which he made Adam, God declared that his work was "very good" (Gen. 1:31). But when God saw that Adam was alone, he said it was "not good" (Gen. 2:18). The Lord then determined to make a helper suitable for, or corresponding to, Adam--a helper who would complete him. Before God did this, Adam needed to realize his need. To accomplish that, God had him name all the animals. Day after day, month after month, the animals--male and female--paraded before Adam and he named them. Eventually, he realized no creature corresponded to him. Once Adam comprehended the badness of being alone, God stepped in. He caused Adam to fall into a deep sleep and performed the first act of surgery. He took a rib from Adam's side and custom-made a companion for him. God made sure her eyes, lips, hair, breasts, legs, feet, arms, and hands would be just what Adam wanted and needed. Like liquid beauty filling a glass, she would empty his world of aloneness--an aloneness that even God's presence couldn't remove (now, that's a profound thought). When God had put the final touch on his masterpiece, he nudged her in Adam's direction and quietly disappeared. Meanwhile, Adam woke up, rubbed his eyes, climbed to his feet and wandered through the garden searching for an unnamed animal. Suddenly she stood before him. After years without anyone to talk with (I'm talking about a human being here, not God), walk with, laugh with, dream with, hold, or make love with, Adam beheld the crown of God's creation. Every woman since would pale before her perfection. She was flawless physically, spiritually, emotionally, psychologically, and intellectually. She possessed everything Adam needed in another person. And she carried no baggage from previous relationships. No corrosive bitterness. No ugly scars. No crippling regrets. No selfish expectations. Does this give you insight into why you're attracted to beautiful women? They are the masterpiece of God's creation made to replace your aloneness with the perfect companion. Locking arms, Bill Note: I was going to write an article about Penn State coach Paterno but don't believe enough of the facts have surfaced to do so. I'll likely discuss the subject in next week's article. |