I remember when I was in high school people would forevermore be asking me who I was planning to take to whatever dance was currently upcoming. My answer often surprised my friends – I was not going. Why not? Dances are a part of high school culture and tradition. They are viewed as a part of the right of youth. They are supposed to be where memories are made, where relationships are nurtured. We’re supposed to be able to tell stories of that youthful fun to our children and grandchildren one day. Why would I deprive myself of such fun and memories?
My conviction then and now is that participating in and even being in an environment conducive with dancing is not appropriate for anyone trying to maintain a morally pure life before God. The New Testament repeatedly condemns something called “lasciviousness” which has been defined by one lexicographer as “wanton (acts or) manners, filthy words, indecent bodily movements,” and an “unchaste handling of males and females” (Thayer, pp. 79-80). For me that seals it. It is an issue that is black and white with no gray area and should be avoided. However, while that has been my conviction all of my Christian life (over 20 years now) I read a news story the other day that has only deepened my belief in this fact.
The title of this article alone says a lot – “Bumping and Grinding on ‘DWTS’ Leads to Off-Screen Hookups Between Dancers, Stars” – but the article itself is even more telling (emphasis by me):
Who needs “The Bachelor?”
“Dancing With the Stars” is prime-time’s most compelling dating show.
All the bumping, grinding, and half-naked bodies have both pros and celebrities hopping in the sack like teenagers on prom night.
“When you have two single people in a room and you are spending so much time together, it’s natural to have chemistry and to be curious,” longtime pro Cheryl Burke tells The Post.
“All of a sudden you think you are in love because you are grinding on each other seven days a week.”
Backstage love connections happen “a lot more than people know,” pro Maksim Chmerkovskiy confirms.
And they rarely end well.
One celebrity nearly left his wife for a pro who has bedded as many as four other participants, an on-set source reveals.
“They all fool around with each other,” the insider says. “The problem is that many of these people are married. It is disgusting!”
While much of their time at work is spent in front of producers and cameras, the dancing partners often retreat to L.A. nightclubs for late-night rendezvous.
Last month, Pamela Anderson fueled speculation of a budding romance when she invited Tristan MacManus on a Mexican vacation, during an appearance on “Jimmy Kimmel Live.”
“Pam is totally into him, but Tristan is madly in love with his girlfriend [Australian model Tahyna Tozzi, 26],” our spy says.
The show has no official policy about workplace hookups, but producers are often faced with cleaning up the mess when a showmance fizzles out.
All-Star contestant Shawn Johnson had “a nasty breakup” with pro Mark Ballas after they won the mirrorball trophy in season eight, a source says. “That’s why they couldn’t be paired up again [for the All-Star shows].”
Both parties have denied the affair.
Now I know what the immediate reaction of some people, particularly Christians likely will be. “But these are just extreme cases. The kind of dancing we participate in is just harmless, innocent fun.” Any parent who can read this article and is still rationalize the well-being of their children, both here and now, and eternally is setting them on a very dangerous road in life, one that makes them more likely to rationalize sins of all kind, as I have personally seen in the lives of many people. That’s the big deal with dancing!
-Andy Brewer
As the illustration goes: A Sunday school teacher asked the class if there is anything sexual(therefore wrong) about dancing. They said no, then the teacher asked two boys to dance together. They would not and the reason they gave: It’s not right to dance with another boy. Now granted in today’s perverted society dancing with a boy might be more common place than what we would like. But I think most morally sound people would get the point. There is something sexual about dancing. Great thoughts Andy!!