She is Someone's Daughter

          

  Social media is buzzing about Miley Cyrus and her latest performance. Oddly enough, even in our over sexualized society  the majority of people seemed disturbed. While I agree with the concerns for the children watching and the continued harm about how women are portrayed, I still have to ask; isn’t this what MTV has been doing for years? What makes this unique? Brant Hansen offers some insight. “The problem, this time, is that our society feels like it knows her, knows her backstory, knows she's someone's daughter, and isn't able to forget it. Other women, like the ones on stage with Miley, the ones no one is complaining about? Well, we can sexualize them, reduce them to toys lacking a story, but this girl? We know her dad!”

Joseph Stalin is credited with saying, “A Single Death is a Tragedy; a Million Deaths is a Statistic.” It’s true. How do we view the death of a single person? Well, as a person. They have a name, a face, and a story. The rest are the nameless and faceless multitudes. We forget that each has been created in the image and likeness of their Creator.  Each has desires, dreams and hopes for the future. Each has a God given desire to know others and to be known.

            Miley is a tragedy because we view her as a person. We hurt for her family. We know her God given potential. Other young women are the nameless and often faceless girls. We view them as less than human. They are not our sisters, mothers, or dear friends. They are objects for our pleasure. Something’s wrong and it isn’t just Miley’s dance moves. We are losing the value of personhood. The Bible tells us how to view one another. “Do not rebuke an older man harshly, but exhort him as if he were your father. Treat younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters, with absolute purity.”-1 Timothy 5:1-2 As God's people let's view each other as God would want us.