Modesty.
That’s such a simple word
that many of us seem to just skim over quickly so we don’t feel as obligated to
oblige by it. But if we are Christians, isn’t modesty something we should be
heavily concerned with? We are all beautiful women, some call us the crown of
creation… but yet us women tend to wear the tightest clothes, with the shortest
shorts, and the lowest cut shirt. First off, we should look at what the bible
says about these things,
1 Timothy 2:9 “Likewise also
that women should adorn themselves with respectable apparel…” (ESV)
1 Corinthians 6:19 “Or do
you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you
have from God?”
Firstly, in First Timothy,
Paul is very straightforward in saying we need to wear respectable clothing. This
is Paul basically saying, “Stop wearing your short shorts, your low cut shirts,
and your too tight clothing! It’s not cool!” While in 1 Corinthians Paul
describes our bodies as temples. Have you ever walked into a temple or a church
and thought that the church was not well cared for? I’m going to take a guess
and say that you have not. If we are so concerned with taking care of the
church, why are we not as concerned with caring for and protecting our bodies?
Now that we have covered
what the bible says about modesty, let’s take a look at what immodesty does to
those around us. As a woman, we have to realize that men are visual creatures
and when we wear the inappropriate clothing that we tend to wear, we are
definitely causing our brothers to stumble. Causing our brothers to stumble is
just as much of a sin as disrespecting our bodies that God has given us.
Some women may believe that
dressing in an immodest manner is the way that they can get attention from men,
but are those women getting attention from the right kind of men? I have a very
Godly friend, and we will call him James* just to keep his identity private and
he is always telling me that he cannot stand it when women wear immodest
clothing because to him it just shows that they don’t respect themselves. Now,
if this is how a Godly man feels about immodest women, this is proof that
immodest women are most likely not attracting the right kind of man.
So, ladies, with our beauty
that God has given us comes much responsibility! Although it seems as if
society craves immodesty and that is the only way to attract a man this day in
age, is it attracting the right kind of man? What about what the bible says
about modesty? Think about it the next time you decide to try on that short
skirt, or the low cut top.
Love,
Jessica and Katelyn
If a woman wants to dress modestly because that's what she's comfortable with, that's cool. If a woman wants to dress "immodestly" (by whatever arbitrary cultural standards) because she thinks those shorts make her booty look fly, that's cool too. The important thing is that women dress in whatever way they feel comfortable in because, at the end of the day, it's just an outfit.
ReplyDeleteSelf respect does not decrease along with skirt length. A woman shows she respects herself by speaking up for herself, making her own decisions, and not putting up with anyone who tries to hold her back. If she decides to wear shorts because it's hot outside, how can anyone say she doesn't respect herself? She's putting herself and her comfort first, good for her! It's rather presumptuous to assume that immodesty by your standards means a lack of self respect. In fact, your friend John is a bit quick to judge. There are so many better ways to judge character than by something as arbitrary as clothing choice. Judge a person's character and self respect by the way they take care of themselves, their manners, their integrity, and by the way they treat other people. People are so much more than their wardrobe.
Lastly, a point I cannot leave unaddressed: women don't always dress for the benefit of men, or in the hopes of attracting the "right kind" of guy. Your writing consistently addresses women dressing to get the attention of men, but, what if they're just dressing to make themselves happy? Why does it even matter? Its their body, their choice. Just because someone doesn't approve of the way they decorate their temple doesn't mean they can't feel confident, comfortable, and happy about they way they take care of their own temple. It is /their/ temple, after all.
Jessica and Katelyn have thoroughly read your response, but we still disagree. While your response is exactly what we are pointing to.. the feminist, worldly view, we are attempting to show young women what God wants them to see. Their inner beauty and the way that their outer appearance can negatively affect others.
DeleteFair enough. I just feel there is danger in automatically assuming that a woman wearing something too revealing (by your culture's standards; modesty is relative) has no self respect, because from there it can be easy to deny her respect. I have no issue in your encouragement of women to respect themselves, but women can choose to do so in a different manner, even if it doesn't fit your standards. I guess my whole point is just to caution against such a general blanket statement of "women who don't dress to fit my culture's standards lack self respect". It's a cultural thing! To put it into perspective, a well-fitting T-shirt and sensible capris might seem immodest and inappropriate to another culture, like in countries where women are required to wear a hijab or burka in public. But I can almost be certain you've worn something similar to the outfit I just described, yet you obviously don't lack self respect, and I'm sure you wouldn't appreciate someone assuming you didn't have any.
DeleteThanks for reading my very long response!