By Andrea Guachalla
Some months ago social media was filled with memes and news articles talking about the reason Shakira, the famous Colombian singer, and Piqué, a renowned soccer player from Spain, went their separate ways after having been together for a decade and having had two children.
The reason for their separation? That Piqué was unfaithful.
As soon as the news came out that Shakira was leaving Spain with her two children to live in the US, thousands of news outlets started covering the story with a special focus on Shakira’s victimhood and how evil Piqué and his family were are.
But is this actually true?
Months ahead, in January of 2023, Shakira got even more attention by releasing a new song in collaboration with an Argentinian producer called Bizarrap. In the song she bashes Piqué and the woman with whom he cheated on her, and affirms she is a “wolf”, while Piqué is a novice. In one of the pictures released along with the song Shakira appears wearing underwear only from her waist up, which is not something new from celebrities. The more skin you exhibit the more attention you get. The release of the song was the object of dozens of memes, and got Shakira into the front pages of several newspapers once again.
The release of the song was mainly praised by the media, and different groups, and was somehow seen as a praise-worthy way of dealing with heartbreak and breakup.
The question I pose is this, is this way of dealing with immorality really worthy of being praised? As Christian women, or as Christian in general, how are we supposed to view these kinds of cultural or social events that are so widely spoken in the media?
The story has been so widely covered, and Shakira is being seen as such a “strong” woman, that I, as a Christian woman myself, can’t help but feel disgusted by how womanhood has been downgraded by society. Should Shakira really be seen as a role model for women around the world?
Here I present some arguments that contrast with how much the media has been praising this celebrity, and how we should act as Christian women when in similar circumstances.
Shakira was and is an immoral woman
I say this because of several reasons, some of which I will elaborate on in this article.
For starters, there is some evidence that supports the idea that Shakira cheated on her previous partner, Antonio de la Rúa, when she started dating soccer player Piqué. She had been with Antonio for over a decade without ever getting married, because she doesn’t believe in marriage. If it is truly the case that Shakira cheated on a previous partner, I believe the media should be more fair and stop painting her as an innocent woman who was wronged by a guy, when she incurred in that same sin before.
This is not to excuse Piqué actions, or to “victim-blame” Shakira as some progressives would accuse people who disagree with how much she is being praised, but to give you a perspective of who we are talking or reading about when we see the “innocent” Shakira giving interviews about how she is dealing with the breakup.
Secondly, I want to bring to your attention that she NEVER got married with either of her long-term partners. In an article released by a Latin American news outlet it says she refused to marry her previous partner because “she needed no papers to prove her love”. And that’s how she went on with her life, later on having children with a man who she, also, never married. Who forced her to give herself to a man who never made a formal commitment with her? Nobody. She went that way herself.
Was it a possibility that that man, having not committed to her in any formal way would find another, younger woman to be with? Of course. The same way it came to pass that Shakira herself, having not committed to her long-term partner, Antonio, also went her own way with a younger man. Let’s remember Shakira is Pique’s senior for ten years, she being 45, and Piqué being 35 years old at the moment.
Again I question, is Shakira only a naive and innocent victim here? Or was she herself the perpetrator of exactly the same thing Piqué is now being accused of?
To end this section of the article, I want you to note this too: as a way to cope with the breakup, Shakira released a song talking about her ex-partner and his new girlfriend, explaining how he was “too inferior” compared to her, and making all kinds of insulting remarks about him and his partner. Now, before you go on to say this is not a big deal, take into account that she calls herself a “loba” (wolf), referring to how promiscuous and flirtatious she could be. Lastly, remember she is a grown up adult, a 45 year-old, a mother of two children, who sought to get revenge through a song. Doesn’t that sound teenage-like?
Is this the right way to deal with a situation like this? After reading all this facts and background information, and how she has been portraying herself as a poor victim while also speaking about herself as a sensual and promiscuous being, are you still inclined to admire her if you were ever inclined to do that?
Hopefully the answer is no. But another question arises: how are we supposed to act as Christian women if we were ever in that kind of situation?
What a Christian woman should do
First of all, we never bring personal problems to the public square where we tell our part of the story hoping to ruin the other person’s reputation as much as possible. If we are being wronged by someone we talk directly to them as Matthew 18:15-20 teaches we should do:
“If your brother sins against you, ngo and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. 16 But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as sa Gentile and sa tax collector. Truly, I say to you, twhatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed6 in heaven. Again I say to you, if two of you uagree on earth about anything they ask, vit will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are wgathered in my name, xthere am I among them.”
And we do this while asking for advice to people we consider to be wise, be that either our parents, our pastors, and brothers and sisters within the church. Approaching the person who has wronged you to talk one-on-one first is a way of showing love, care and the willingness to forgive, whether that is your spouse, your friend, your mother, or anyone within the church.
Secondly, we don’t and should NEVER give ourselves to a man who hasn’t made a commitment to us before God, our families and the church. Shakira is only one of countless examples of women who “don’t believe in marriage” and end up having to deal with situations like this. There is a reason God has mandated that we ought to save sex for marriage, and have children ONLY in the context of marriage. Sex and the nuclear family is something God designed for His glory, our good, and the good of others, and that is the exact reason He is the ONLY one who can dictate when and how they are to be enjoyed.
Lastly, I need to say this: WE MUST BE ACCOUNTABLE FOR OUR ACTIONS. The world will tell us nothing is our fault, and that we are only victims of a patriarchal system, especially because of how trendy feminism has become, but THAT IS NOT TRUE. We are not victims, we are the perpetrators of injustice and evil too. Yes, there might be occasions where we have truly been wronged by others (both men and women), anyone anywhere can give examples of that in their own lives, but we need to realize that when we are suffering it is often a consequence of our own sins, not that of others. When we come to realize this we must repent, look to Christ, the ultimate sacrifice who reconciled us with the Father, and we must from then on seek to honor God.
When we sin things will certainly, one way or another, go wrong and not only for the dishonor of God, but for our own and others’ detriment. We must be self-aware. As women, we need to be grounded in the Word of God, because the world has nothing wise or worthwhile to offer to us. If we follow the ways of the world, we might end up like this woman, seeking attention and empathy from a society that celebrates sexual promiscuity, and seeking revenge resentfully instead of forgiving and living to the glory of God.
