Sexual harassment.  Flirtation.  Inappropriate touching.  Obscene comments.  Questionable remarks.  Improper advances.  Suggestive compliments. 

The news has been full—repeatedly—of stories in which men in positions of power and leadership have treated women inappropriately.  Some of the stories detail conduct that can—and should—lead to criminal charges.  Some of the stories detail conduct that can—and should—get you fired from your job or lead you to resign in shame.  Some of the stories detail conduct that can—and should—lead you to be expelled from an office, a retail establishment, a congregation, or a restaurant.

It happens on every level.  In recent days we’ve heard stories about political leaders, church leaders, business leaders, and leaders and athletes in the sports world.  Many women say that it’s a constant fact of life.  Waitresses face it.  Airline attendants face it.  Maids face it.  Retail clerks and cashiers face it.  Secretaries and receptionists face it.  Teachers and professors face it.  It appears to be another pandemic.

It’s time for a definite and immediate change in masculine behavior.

Vaguely worded apologies of the “I’m sorry, but I didn’t know I was offending someone” are no longer good enough.  If you didn’t know it was inappropriate, then you aren’t paying attention—and leaders and all men should be paying attention. 

We need a definite and immediate change in masculine behavior.

Stop it.

The Bible gives us a standard that is clear, easy to understand, and is apparently even more needed today than it was in New Testament times.  The Apostle Paul gave a younger pastor some timeless advice.  He told him to treat “older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters, with absolute purity.”  (I Timothy 5:2, NIV)

It’s as clear as can be and I understood it immediately the first time I read it.  If I wouldn’t say it to my mom or my sister, I shouldn’t say it to another woman.  If I wouldn’t do it to my mom or my sister, I shouldn’t do it to another woman.

The only exception to that rule is my wife.  As long as I treat her respectfully, we can be as suggestive and flirtatious as we want to be. 

It’s not a hard concept to understand.  And it sets a high—and much needed—standard of behavior for men not only in the church, but in business, in politics, and in other professions.

I loved my sister and still think about her often.  (She went home to be with the Lord a few years ago.)  But though I loved her deeply, there was absolutely nothing sexual or inappropriate in that love.  I didn’t think about her in sexual terms.  I would never have flirted with her.  I would never have commented inappropriately about her looks or her body, nor would I have touched her in any way that would make her uncomfortable.

She was loved . . . like a sister.

And that’s how we’re supposed to treat women around us.