Sister Wives – Of sorrow and cents

By: American Decency Staff

Sunday night the TLC network aired the continuing saga of “Sister Wives,â€Â a reality show documenting the lives of a polygamist family in Utah – a show that attempts to portray this so-called family of one husband with four wives and 16 children as “just like any other American family.â€Â (For more information see:  https://americandecency.org/archives/a-wolf-in-sheep-clothing/) Each week as I’ve reviewed this program I’ve felt a plethora of emotions –repulsion, pity, anger.  Usually anger tops the list.  I find myself verbally expressing my ire and indignation to the screen, debating their warped justifications for polygamy as they claim how ‘wonderful’ it is.  I get angry as I hear the rationalized statements about their “lifestyle choice,â€Â the attempts to legitimize the notion that ‘marriage can be anything we want it to be.’  And what makes this indoctrination even more dangerous – and infuriating to me – is the fact that the messages are couched by the sweetly portrayed, seemingly carefree family. However, this time as I watched the episode the emotion that surfed wasn’t outrage as much as sorrow. I looked into the eyes of these four women as they speak into the camera, sitting on a sofa surrounding Kody, their “husband.â€Â   I heard them claim:  “It’s a blessing!  It’s an absolute blessing.â€ÂÂ  Repeat something often enough and you might find yourself believing it.  However, their eyes also revealed a hidden pain.  How could they not?  Beneath the surface rationales of their claim of happiness – there is the unspoken truth each of these women studiously ignores.  Her husband is going to bed with another woman three nights out of four. Since creation, a woman desires to be united with a man– loving and being loved by him exclusively.  What a beautiful picture God paints of what He intended for marriage in Genesis 2:18-24.  Even after the fall, God tells Eve, “your desire will be for your husband.â€Â Last night featured the “marriageâ€Â of husband Kody to his fourth ‘wife.’  And as I looked into the eyes of these three women as their “husbandâ€Â prepared to marry another, I wondered how they can buy such an unnatural, truly abhorrent, lie.  No matter the culture they were raised in, (most of them were raised in a polygamous culture) in their hearts there must be a sense that this lifestyle is not natural.  When they lie alone at night, while their husband is with another, what despair they must feel. And so it was sorrow I felt for these ones who have bought these lies and are teaching their children to live the same way.  I could see the misery below the surface as one wife smilingly helped her husband dress for his wedding to another woman.   The hidden dejection as each woman sent him off for a honeymoon with another.  And I wondered if they have brainwashed themselves so much that they truly believe this is a ‘blessing’ as they tell the camera, or do they acknowledge their God-given conscience screaming:  “This is not right!â€Â Sunday night’s episode of “Sister Wivesâ€Â was the season finale of the show.  TLC programming had produced a mini-series of seven episodes of “Sister Wives.â€Â   Hopefully TLC will have the sense to not renew this show for another season, recognizing the damaging message it sends, legitimizing something twisted and destructive.  However, it’s not sense, but cents that drive the entertainment industry.   That is why we must hold the advertisers accountable, for if TLC can’t sell ad time, they won’t produce the show. Last week we especially targeted Hasbro – a company that makes children’s toys and games.  This corporation had advertised heavily on previous episodes.  After hearing from many of you, their ads did not appear on Sunday night’s episode.  We also reported last week of communications with Disney whose ads had also regularly sponsored “Sister Wives.â€ÂÂ  Disney told us they were “inundatedâ€Â with messages from you, our readers.  This week Disney also stayed away from advertising onâ€ÂSister Wives.â€Â  Your action does make a difference! Take action! Contact the companies who chose to sponsor this show with their advertising.  Click below to send a message to the advertisers of “Sister Wives.â€Â https://americandecency.org/take_action_form.php?msg_id=65 A classic resource available as short supply lasts: “The Holiness of Godâ€Â by R.C. Sproul. To order your free copy, email bjohnson@americandecency.org Many of you took advantage of our offer regarding the book “The Pursuit of Holinessâ€Â by Jerry Bridges. This is what Jerry Bridges has to say about this book offer “Every Christian who is serious about his or her growth needs to read ‘The Holiness of God.’ I profited greatly from this book.â€Â ======================================================= American Decency Association Bill Johnson, President P.O. Box 202 Fremont, MI 49412 ph: 231-924-4050 https://americandecency.org/ http://www.twitter.com/billwjohnson ———————— Donate online: https://secure4.afo.net/ada/donate.php American Decency Association is a member of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability.

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