On Sunday night I joined millions of sports fans to watch the Super Bowl. Although I did not see the halftime show (due to either eating too much or helping in the kitchen) I do feel the need to comment on the now infamous situation with Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake.

Near the end of their performance Justin Timberlake either intentionally or accidentally exposed Janet's Jackson's breast on national television. Since this incident newspapers, websites and TV programmes have relentlessly criticised Jackson. Recently, the Federal Communications Commission has said it will investigate the incident, labelling it as, "a classless, crass and deplorable stunt".

All of this uproar leads to one question, "Does Janet Jackson exposing her breast (either intentionally or accidentally) on national TV even matter? Simply put, yes, it does matter. However, please allow me clarify my position. When I say yes, I am not saying that Janet Jackson's behaviour was any worse than some of the highly sexualised TV shows that appear on CBS, ABC, NBC or any of the cable/satellite TV networks. Some would even argue that her behaviour was tame compared to the blatant sexual activities displayed on TV shows such as 'Sex In the City', 'NYPD Blue' or any MTV/BET music video programme. What I am saying is this ? as a black woman and world famous entertainer Janet Jackson's actions have social, racial and spiritual effects on a large range of issues.

Socially, Janet Jackson's Super Bowl incident pales in comparison to other occurrences of perverted sexual behaviour existing in communities throughout the United States. For example, who in their right mind can call Janet's actions worse than legalised prostitution, strip clubs, pornography stores, gay clubs and so on. To a greater extent, her actions are practically insignificant when compared to world issues such as the reduction of AIDS prevention budgets in South Africa, fighting in Chechnya, the creation of an ethnic dividing wall in Palestine and unjustified wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

However, the issue at hand is not whether Janet Jackson's actions are worse than these social problems, rather, the question is do her actions impact the big picture? I believe that her actions contribute to a larger social problem of sexual misrepresentation. By sexual misrepresentation, I mean that the constant barrage of sexual activity and innuendo promoted by the entertainment industry present the audience with distorted perspectives about sex and sexuality. Homosexuality, pre-marital and extra-marital sexual relationships are no longer treated as taboo in most TV programmes! Human sexuality is divine and created by God as an essential aspect of human existence. The sexual act between a consenting husband and his own wife is also meant to be a gift from God with a purpose.

However, the ideas about sex promoted by the entertainment industry are not even close to these concepts! At its best the investigation launched by the Federal Communications Commission is absurd, and at its worst it is hypocritical in light of the perverted sexual messages being presented on all the other networks! If the FCC targets Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake for immoral conduct then I hope they target the other TV actors/actresses and producers who are using their shows to misrepresent sex and sexuality.

The ideas promoted by the entertainment industry affect all areas of society. Did you ever notice that the political push for the acceptance of homosexual/gay marriages, and gay adoption rights occurred around the time that homosexual TV shows like 'Ellen', 'Will & Grace' and 'Queer Eye for the Straight Guy' gained popularity? The Super Bowl incident did not promote homosexuality, and neither did it promote a healthy image of sexuality or sex. As a result, it contributed to a larger problem of sexual misrepresentation. Allegedly, (because I did not see the halftime performance) Janet's performance with Timberlake was the typical risqu? MTV/BET video stuff. Therefore, the exposure of her breast was only an extreme aspect of a performance that misrepresented sex and sexuality.

The Super Bowl incident affects racial opinions in the United States, and elsewhere, by providing the mass media with an opportunity to cast black women in a negative light. Throughout the period of legalised slavery in the Americas and Caribbean, enslaved black women were used as concubines, held as mistresses, forbidden to legally marry black men and even raped by their European captors. These sexual travesties were misused by the European press of that period, to depict black women as sexually promiscuous, deviant, and "exotic" sex objects. Despite the efforts to discredit this stereotype by countless historians, scholars and social activists, it continues in both the news media and entertainment industries until today. Ask yourself, why do the sisters who remain fully clothed get little airplay on MTV/BET music video shows? On the other hand, the sisters with small talent, and even smaller outfits, who can "shake it like a Polaroid picture" get their videos shown constantly. Again, ask yourselves why did actress Halle Berry only receive an Oscar following her performance in 'Monsters Ball', a movie notorious for its perverted sexual scenes? It seems that the Hollywood critics only recognised her 'acting talents' once she had submitted to the stereotype.

Janet Jackson's actions did not occur in a vacuum, but in the real world where these stereotypes exist and are reinforced by the things black women do and say every day. Unfortunately, her actions (even if unintentional) reinforced these stereotypes and these stereotypes are things every black woman has to contend with each day as they are sexually harassed by male supervisors or co-workers; as they are only cast for sexually promiscuous roles by white TV or movie directors; as they are hit on and treated as sex objects by misguided black men who buy into the stereotypes about their own black women! Without a doubt Janet's actions are significant in the arena of race relations.

In the spiritual realm, Janet Jackson's actions definitely matter because God judges all the deeds of mankind. Since Christians recognise this fact, they should strive to live in a way that pleases God as well as encourages others to change their spiritual direction and submit to Jesus, the Christ. A fundamental part of true Christian living involves maintaining an attitude and lifestyle that is pure, or free from evil intentions and deeds. To accomplish this, we must maintain a consistent intake of God's Word and constantly practice His commandments. Another important aspect of Christian living involves monitoring the secular or ungodly influences that we allow into our lives. Christians must realise that if we partake of too much ungodly entertainment this can negatively impact our spiritual growth by either desensitising us towards sin and its effects, or outright tempting us to imitate the sinful practices we have been watching or hearing. Given the perverted sexual conduct promoted by many entertainment sources, Christians should be very discerning about the entertainment that they 'consume'. No, I am not suggesting that Christians should not watch halftime shows or sporting events. However, the recent halftime show incident demonstrates that Christians must be mentally and spiritually guarded against ungodly behaviour. Even so-called 'family entertainment' programmes such as, the Super Bowl, can have negative aspects interwoven into them since the majority of these programmes are not prepared by Christians, or people with similar spiritual or moral convictions. As a result, Christians must take personal responsibility for the standards of their entertainment. Simply because the FCC, or a major entertainment network, okays a programme, does not mean that it will measure up to Biblical Christian convictions. Obviously, the content of the halftime show was not a shining example of Christian conduct and biblically we are commanded to reprove or discredit such activities. Therefore, each Christian must take the necessary steps to guard his/her own soul against such influences. While the Jackson/Timberlake situation may not be the greatest spiritual battle facing Christians it does highlight the fact that we must be ever vigilant and conscious against ungodliness even as we relax and entertain ourselves.