Pride In Wickedness

Riley Ticotin was the Playmate of the Month in Playboy’s January 2020 issue. Both she and Playboy consider her appearance to be a huge breakthrough, as she is the first plus size model (politically corrected to “curves model”) in Playboy’s history. Additionally, both, parties are very proud of the breakthrough.

When interviewed about her modeling career, Ticotin shared about the time she first tried to get into modeling. She was actually dropped by a modeling agency because she could not get skinny enough. However, another agency came along that gave her the opportunity to do the work at her size. In characterizing her work, she claims that she does not even focus on her size. She insists that she is, first and foremost, a model; without any qualifiers.

When asked about the experience with Playboy, Ticotin was quite animated. Besides being proud of the finished product, she was very complementary of the way the magazine went about doing their work with her. As that was her first time doing a nude shoot, she shared that she was quite nervous at the beginning. But she also noted that the entire crew that worked with her were women, and were very professional – which put her completely at ease. Another important thing for her related to the Playboy gig was that she had the support of her family. In fact, her mom is the one who drove here to the photo shoot.

A large percentage of the U.S. population will read this story and think, “What an inspiring story,” or “You go, girl.” The fact that she was comfortable enough in her own skin to do something like that is seen by many as a true positive.

But how can that be? She was posing nude in Playboy, for crying out loud. She was allowing herself to be objectified so that lustful men could ogle at her body. What is good about that? In fact, it is not good at all! It is the glorification of wickedness.

But that is where American society is these days. Our culture is dominated by a naturalistic worldview, and when it comes to morality, Naturalism has no boundaries beyond the ones society imposes, or people impose on themselves. It does not even acknowledge the existence of God, so there can be no such thing as objective right and wrong, only what is right and wrong for “me.”

In spite of this pervasive perspective, that is not the way actual reality works. God does exist, and he has revealed to mankind what is right and wrong. Beyond that, he provides a way for us to know him in a personal relationship. And, for those who enter into that relationship, he actually puts in us a passionate desire to do what is right.

Interestingly, a lot of the people who see nothing wrong with what Riley Ticotin has done actually claim to be Christians. Now I am not in a position to judge whether or not they truly are Christians. It does, though, allow me to make one profound observation – people who think that way have no idea what the Christian life is all about. That kind of belief has no place in a genuine Christian faith.

Freddy Davis is the president of MarketFaith Ministries. He is the author of numerous books and has a background as an international missionary, pastor, radio host, worldview trainer, and entrepreneur. Freddy is a graduate of Florida State University with a BS in Communication, and holds MDiv and DMin degrees from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is a popular speaker, particularly on the topic of worldview and its practical implications for the Christian life. He lives in Tallahassee, FL, with his wife Deborah. 

You may also contact Freddy at Leadership Speakers Bureau to schedule him for speaking or leadership engagements.

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