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by Jennifer M. McBride
In
like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with
shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or
costly array; But (which becometh women professing godliness) with good
works. ~ I Timothy 2:9,10
Under the influence of the culture surrounding us, it is easy for the
lines of distinction between Christians and the world to be blurred if we
are not on guard. That thing that seemed so shocking at first glance now
doesn't look so bad, and before we know it, we are participating in it
quite cheerfully! This can happen to all of us in a myriad of ways. Since
this is such a real and present danger (a danger which grows all the
deadlier as our culture grows ever more evil and races faster and farther
from anything remotely resembling Scriptural principles) it is vitally
important that we exhort and encourage each other to continually examine
ourselves, and our lives, in the light of God's Word.
For women, especially young women, clothing is one such area that can be
greatly affected by our culture. As the world around us grows bolder and
barer in its fashions, we can begin to lose perspective as to what is
appropriate and what is not. Over the last several years, I have watched
with increasing dismay as the clothing of many young Christian women has
become more and more immodest, revealing, and like that of the world. This
is an issue of a deeply serious nature, since it goes beyond just clothing
and affects the area of purity as well; both our own and others'. As a
young woman myself and as your sister in Christ, this causes me great
concern for you. With a husband, a young son, a father, and five brothers,
I also have a deep concern for the stumbling block immodest clothing can
be to our brethren. Thus, I feel the need, as your sister in Christ, to
take keyboard in hand (with a very wriggly baby on my lap!) to exhort and
encourage my younger sisters in this most serious area.
While there are many reasons for dressing modestly, I am going to focus on
the five most vitally important.
First and most importantly Scripture
mandates it. The Lord has a Standard that does not change for every area
of our lives, and He has given us these standards in His Word. “All
scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine,
for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the
man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works” (2
Timothy 3:16,17 KJV).
The world, on the other hand, has no set standard but is constantly
changing and given over to every whim of whatever is popular. As
Christians, we can't use the world as our measuring stick. Not only is the
world undependable and unsteady, but in James 4:4 we read, "Know ye
not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? Whosoever
therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God." In
Romans 12:2, the Lord also tells us, "Be not conformed to this world:
but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what
is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." Therefore,
we need to look to God's Holy Word as our guide and measure everything by
it alone.
Throughout Scripture we see a pattern for covering our bodies.
God says in His Word that we are
to cover our nakedness, and He does define what constitutes
"nakedness." After Adam and Eve sinned, the Bible says,
"And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they
were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves
aprons" (Genesis 3:7). Adam and Eve immediately covered their
private parts, believing this would hide their "shame" from
the Lord. But what did God do with these coverings? "Unto Adam also
and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed
them" (3:21). The fig-leaf "aprons" fashioned by our
first parents were not enough. God made them coats to cover their
bodies. This presents us with an important truth that goes beyond
clothing. Our feeble works cannot cover our sins; God has to cover us in
His way. When Adam and Eve covered their private parts, God replaced
their inadequate coverings with coats to completely clothe their bodies.
This is a beautiful picture of the covering of Christ’s atoning blood,
which completely hides our sins rather than putting a patch over the
"old man" here and there. "In other words," writes
Jeff Pollard, "God did not give a fur bikini to represent our
righteousness and salvation."
When applied specifically to clothing, we learn that our own ideas about
what constitutes modest clothing must be governed by God’s infallible
Standard. If we refuse to let God’s perfect Word guide us in the area
of dress, we are foolish, unsubmissive rebels. And even if we insist
upon a "cultural" interpretation of the modesty and dress
passages, if the idolatrous cities of Corinth and Rome called for
Christian modesty, does not our modern culture with its rampant
pornography, prostitution, and other abuses of women make the call even
more urgent and timely? [1]
I Timothy 2:9 tells us, "In like manner also, that women adorn
themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety."
And what exactly is modesty? While it is a word that encompasses
many meanings, all can be applied to the issue of clothing. Jeff
Pollard, author of Christian Modesty and the Public Undressing of
America, sums it up this way:
Christian modesty is the inner
self-government, rooted in a proper understanding of one's self before
God, which outwardly displays itself in humility and purity from a
genuine love for Jesus Christ, rather than in self-glorification or
self-advertisement. Christian modesty then will not publicly expose
itself in sinful nakedness. [2]
And what are “shamefacedness and sobriety?”
Shamefacedness describes "a moral revulsion
from all that is unseemly, a rejection of even the appearance of the
overstepping of the limits of womanly reserve." Sobriety
"stands for that inner judgment produced in the believer by the
Scripture and the Spirit of God, that provides a restraint on every
merely physical or human appetite." [3]
Scripture also tells us that women are to be "discreet and
chaste" (Titus 2:5KJV)--meaning cautious, prudent and pure--and
that we are to adorn ourselves with the "ornament of a meek and
quiet spirit" (1 Peter 3:4 KJV). Girls, when you wear tight,
form-fitting, low-cut, see-through, attention-grabbing, revealing
clothing and carelessly (or deliberately) expose your body, this is
dressing in direct opposition to the guidelines given to us in God's
Holy Word!
Secondly, as Christian women we must remember that we are
representatives of our Lord Jesus Christ. "For ye are bought with a
price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are
God's" (1Corinthians 6:20). When people look at us, do they see
something pure, holy, and different? Do they see something about us that
marks us as belonging to the Lord? Or are we dressed like the scantily
clad majority, wearing clothing that looks more like the "attire of
an harlot" spoken of in Proverbs 7 than that becoming a woman of
God? What we wear either brings glory to the Lord or shames Him. When we
wear clothing that is immodest and revealing of our bodies, not only are
we not drawing people to Christ; we could be enticing them to sin.
Thirdly, we are to keep our bodies private and covered. Our bodies are
not to be on free display for all. Did you know that, in addition to
belonging the Lord, your body also belongs to your future husband?
"God designed man to enjoy and appreciate a
woman’s body -- more specifically, his wife’s body. The Song of
Solomon is a breathtaking tribute to the beauties of human love and
the gifts of femininity and masculinity. Proverbs exhorts a husband to
enjoy his wife’s body, which is his own and belongs to the gaze of
no other man (Proverbs 5:19). When you wear low-cut necklines, you are
offering to the public what belongs to your husband alone to enjoy.
Will your husband be happy to know that countless men before him have
enjoyed beauties that should 'ravish' him alone?" [4]
Let's imagine for a moment that a family has entrusted a banker with
a box full of beautiful, expensive jewels. They have been in the family
for generations and are priceless and irreplaceable. Now imagine that,
rather than quietly locking those jewels in the bank's vault, the banker
puts them out in the middle of the bank's main lobby in a glass case
with no lock on the door. He takes great pains to display them very
attractively and put up colorful signs that draw the attention of all
who walk by. Would that be wise? Do you think that the owners of those
jewels would appreciate it? I think that we would all certainly agree
that that would be the height of foolishness and that the owners of the
jewels would be horrified.
Can you see the parallels between those jewels and you? Do you realize
that those jewels represent your body? Your jewels also belong to
another and should be kept safely locked up for him. Would your future
husband wish you to be careless with these treasures? Would he enjoy
knowing how many other men had seen, been attracted to, and enjoyed
gazing at them; to know how many other men had dreamed of owning what
was rightfully his alone; to know of the potential risk to the safety of
his jewels? I think we can safely answer all of these questions with a
resounding "no."
Proverbs 31 asks "Who can find a virtuous woman? For her price is
far above rubies. The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her ...
She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life." Let us
be such women, whose "price is far above rubies!" Let us not
present ourselves as being cheap and of little worth, but rather as
those who have been bought with a great price (1 Corinthians 6:20).
Protect the treasures that belong to your husband, so that his heart may
safely trust in you. Do your husband good all the days of your life;
even now, before you know who he might be.
Fourthly, by dressing in an immodest fashion, we can create a serious
stumbling block to our brothers in Christ, causing them to lust. This is
not a light matter. While men are most certainly responsible to guard
their eyes and their hearts, we are also responsible if we dress in such
a way that causes them to stumble. It is a real struggle for our
brothers in this day and age in which scantily clad women are around
every corner (and lining the highways and byways!). As women, we do not
even begin to realize the magnitude of this struggle. It is extremely
grieving that our brothers cannot even have a respite from this battle
when they gather together with other Christians to remember the Lord.
How can a man truly focus on simply worshiping his Savior when he is
constantly having to avert his eyes and be careful where he looks, lest
he see something that could entice him to sin?
Finally, do you also realize that while your Christian brothers may be
battling lust, the majority of men in the world would think it was silly
to even put up a fight? You have no idea what thoughts you may be
inciting in the many men you pass as you walk through the mall. I have a
feeling that you would be appalled. At best, you are allowing yourself
to possibly be used as an object of lust by any man who sees you, and,
at worst, you could be putting your very safety at stake.
Think again of the analogy of the jewels. Most likely the majority of
the people passing by those unguarded jewels in the bank lobby would not
be thieves; but more than likely most people would be drooling at the
thought of owning those jewels! They would be dreaming of what they
could do if only those jewels belonged to them; they would feel tempted
by how easily within reach those jewels were; they might start to
imagine how they could actually go about taking those jewels and how
much they would enjoy owning them. Many would stand and stare at the
jewels, admiring and enjoying their beauty. Most people would not
actually take the jewels, but many would entertain thoughts of
"what if." Perhaps, eventually, a man who had never really
thought he would steal something would be overcome by just how easily in
reach those jewels were and would give in to the temptation to steal
one. "Surely it would not be wrong to take one; they must really
not be all that valuable--after all, they are sitting here out on
display and unguarded!" Or, perhaps a professional jewelry thief
was passing by and, with no qualms of conscience, simply stole them all.
Do you know that when you dress in a revealing, sensual way, you are
treating your jewels as carelessly as that banker treated those
entrusted to him? You are sending the message that your jewels really
aren't all that valuable and are free for the taking; you could even be
catching the eye of a jewel thief.
Please think about your clothing; perhaps you have not realized that it
is immodest. Examine your wardrobe. Try on your clothing in front of a
full-length mirror and put it through some rigorous, prayerful testing!
What can you see when you bend over, when you lift your arms, when you
sit down? If your clothing is revealing parts of your body that should
not be seen by the general public; if your clothing is revealing your
undergarments; if your clothing is form-fitting and so tight that very
little is left to the imagination as to what your body is shaped like;
if your shirts are low cut, open and cleavage-baring, if your skirts and
dresses are so short that when you sit down it is likely that the person
across from you will see what they should not, then please realize that
this is not the attire befitting a woman of God.
You owe it to the Lord who has bought you with a great price to dress as
though you belong to Him and not to the Enemy. You owe it to yourself to
dress as though you are not cheap and free for the taking, but are a
valuable child of God. You owe it to your future husband to save
yourself for him in every way.
There is such joy and beauty to be found in doing things the Lord's way!
Let's not fall for the lies that Satan would have us believe. Let us
seek the Lord in all that we do, whether it is popular or not. Let's
seek the path of purity and godly womanhood. The blessings that the Lord
has for those that follow Him are rich and plentiful. "Blessed are
the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord" (Psalm
119:1). "Blessed is every one that feareth the Lord; that walketh
in His ways" (Psalm 128:1). "For the Lord God is a sun and
shield: the Lord will give grace and glory: no good thing will He
withhold from them that walk uprightly" (Psalm 84:11). A woman that
feareth the LORD, she shall be praised. (Proverbs 31:30 KJV)
Jennifer McBride is a homeschool graduate and a very happy
wife and mother. She and her husband have been blessed with four small
children (ages 4,3,2 and ten months) and operate Old
Paths, a website dedicated to encouraging a return to the "old
paths" of Scripture and the Biblical pattern for raising a godly
family.
End Notes:
1. Chancey, Jennie. "Modesty
and the Christian Woman"
2. Pollard, Jeff. Christian Modesty and the Public Undressing of
America. Vision Forum.com
3. Allen, J. What the Bible Teaches/ 1 Timothy
4. Chancey, Jennie. "Modesty
and the Christian Woman"
© Copyright Old Paths 1999-2005
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