Emotional Porn

I read some really great articles today that have me wanting to expand on some of yesterday's comments, where I basically said that I find myself (and some of my friends) believing that a man will complete me. I didn't really get into the "why" of this concept, but here's an interesting theory:

Emotional Porn.

Uh huh, you heard me. Emily Timbol posits here that people--particularly women-- turn romantic comedy films into a source of emotional fulfillment, rather than turning to God for fulfillment.

Similarly, Cole NeSmith asks here: Is there really much of a difference in the hyperbolized sexual imagery of typical pornography and the hyperbolized momentary emotional high felt in a romance film or romantic comedy that sends us looking for “love” that doesn’t exist?

I am guilty of these things. We live in a world where healthy, godly, biblical relationships are a rare thing to behold. I'd guess that many of us did not grow up in families that we perceive as exactly what we want for our own futures. But we have images of what we want-- am I right? We have pictures in our minds of the kind of love we want to find and the kind of family we will create within that love. Are these fantasies based on biblical marriages that we witness or on our culture's interpretation of happily ever after?

I don't believe in soul mates, but I do believe in the kind of love that is challenging, the kind of love that asks you questions, that forces you to put someone else first, that has you giving more than you're taking. I believe in love when you don't feel like it. I believe in love that chooses.

There is hope for great love, adventurous love, captivating love. But I don't think it will play out like the movies, and in fact, I kind of hope it doesn't.