Will you accept this rose?
Popular reality dating show goes against Christian values
ROSE — “The Bachelor” is currently in its 21st season on ABC.
Photo Credit: Google Image
“The Bachelor” is a show that absolutely degrades everything love should be, yet it’s the show that women (and some men) around the country have on in their living rooms every Monday night at 8 p.m.
I hate to say that sometimes I myself make up part of that viewership.
The show reels its viewers in with engaging drama and cliffhanger endings.
However, is “The Bachelor” a show that Christians should be watching?
While the show may be entertaining, it distorts the image of what a romantic relationship should look like.
Watching a man kiss a woman and then turn around to tell a different woman he loves her should not be something people applaud.
I am convinced that if you love someone, you would not find yourself having feelings for anyone else.
It amazes me whenever I hear one of the contestants call the bachelor her boyfriend.
Think about it — he is also multiple other women’s boyfriend at
the exact same time.
The whole process not only degrades the value of a wholesome relationship, but also the value of individuals.
These women constantly make fools of themselves on national television as they compete for the affection of a man.
These women are also constantly comparing themselves to each other in the fight for love.
However, Christian ethics says love is not a competition.
1 Corinthians 13:4 states, “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.”
Love does not envy, yet people around the nation find themselves entertained every Monday night by the contestants’ jealousy over one another in this quest for love.
Dr. Shauna H. Springer from Psychology Today did a study on “The Bachelor” and found it to be a show where contestants are pressured to reveal their deepest, darkest traumas.
The contestants often reveal traumas such as abuse, adultery or family deaths from their past during one-on-one dates with the bachelor.
The show uses this to make its viewers believe the couple is building a
relationship on trust.
However, viewers forget that not only are they revealing those personal experiences to each other, but also to millions of strangers around the nation tuning in on their TV screens.
The relationships created by “The Bachelor” are built on envy and deceit.
How can a woman have complete trust with a man who is dating another woman at the same time?
While the media often makes it look as though Bachelor couples live happily ever after in the end, according to Rise News, just five couples out of the 12 Bachelor or Bachelorette seasons are still together.
I am not saying that Christians should go ahead and boycott “The Bachelor,” but I am saying that no Christian should ever look at this show as an accurate depiction of love.
It is so easy to buy into the definitions that the media creates.
However, love can only be defined by its creator, God.