Searches on Google for actress Jennifer Lawrence skyrocketed a week ago. As you probably already know, the star of Hunger Games was not being searched out because adoring fans wanted to know more about her role as Katniss. Nude photos of her (along with other young celebrities) were stolen and released on the internet for all to see.

I couldn’t tell you the details, but what matters is that there were photos and they were not meant for the public.

My heart breaks for those whose privacy was stolen.

My heart breaks that we live in a world where someone would intentionally hack another’s account with the purpose of hurting them.

But can we go a little deeper? Does it not break anyone else’s heart that there is a demand for these pictures? My heart breaks that there are people who will seek out these photos for their own personal enjoyment.  Google reports that searches for “Jennifer Lawrence” skyrocketed in the days following the release of the photos. It is easy to see there is a depravity-driven appetite in each of us.

It might be enough to stop here and say, “If we didn’t demand it, things like this wouldn’t happen.” But we cannot stop here.  

Let’s think about the leaked photos on a much larger scale. The demand of men today for naked pictures forces girls to assume their worth is in their physical appearance, their ability to be sexy and willingness to expose themselves.

The message is loud and clear – you are nothing more than something for my enjoyment.

This breaks my heart.

There are a lot of different statistics out there, but let’s say that one in four teenagers will be involved in sexting. This is the exchange of sexually explicit texts and pictures.

I will make a simple assumption. If a girl is sending a picture of herself naked to a guy, the girl was asked to. Maybe by the guy or our culture. Either way, something has gone terribly wrong when a girl feels the need to reveal herself to a guy.

It is becoming easier for a young girl to believe they are nothing more than physical beauty.

So, to the girls:

• Your value is not in a picture you could send. I’m sorry that some guys have forgotten that you are a daughter of the king.

To the guys:

• Let’s choose to affirm girls for something other than their looks.