Modesty -- Part 2

Much of the material for this entry comes from a booklet by Nancy Leigh DeMoss called: “The Look – Does God Really Care What I Wear?” Nancy Leigh DeMoss is an excellent teacher and I highly recommend reading anything that you can get that is written by her. She also has a daily radio program called: “Revive Our Hearts”.

Last week, I tried to build a case for the discussion of Christian Modesty by quoting some material by Joshua Harris. It is my prayer and hope that we as Christian ladies will have enough desire to please God and enough love for our Christian brothers to do what we can to protect them and make things easier for them. We live in a culture that is very difficult for all of us, but it is especially difficult for our brothers who are trying to live a Godly life and continually have temptations thrown in their faces. We ladies need to realize that God has programmed males to be very visual, so it is normal for them to be stimulated by what they see. It is up to them to “flee temptation”, but it becomes increasingly difficult when they are faced at every turn with bodies that are not covered properly. I have heard some men say that they would just love it if they could come to church and feel “safe”, but to a great extent, that is not possible because even there some have taken on the “dress” of the culture and expose more than they should.

It is interesting to note as we start in Genesis with the first two people that they “were naked and were not ashamed” (Genesis 2:25). Then sin came along and their consciences were awakened and they knew that they were naked. (Genesis 3:7) They tried to cover themselves by making aprons out of fig leaves (Genesis 3:7), but God made them coats from the skins of animals (Genesis 3:21). It took the shedding of blood for God to cover them with those skins. Ever after that, clothing in the Bible is a picture of God covering our sins. It is interesting that as we “progress” as a culture, we are more and more reverting back to the original condition of nakedness that was the symbol of the awakening of the conscience as a result of sin.

There are three important principles that should govern our dress. The first one is the principle of “ownership”. We are not our own! (I Corinthians 6:19&20) We therefore do not have the right to dress any way we desire. The second principle is the principle of “Lordship”. (Romans 14:8&9) We cannot say, “I am not going to dress modestly, Lord.” (I Timothy 2:8&9). If we choose to disobey Him, then He is not our Lord at that point! And finally, we have the principle of “citizenship”. Romans 12:2 tells us not to be conformed to this world. That includes the way we dress. Also, I John 2:15 & 16 tells us not to love the world. We belong to a different Kingdom! “This world is NOT my home”! Praise the Lord! Every time we go out of our homes, it should be on our minds that we represent the God of the universe, the one Who gave Himself for us so that we don’t have to pay for our own sins! How can we go out wearing something that shows parts of our bodies that God says are to be covered – especially knowing that we may be defrauding (look in the last entry for an explanation of what it means to “defraud”) some young men (or older men) who are trying to keep their minds focused on Godly things! Here is a quote for you: “Women sin when they purposely or carelessly wear clothes that cause a man to sin”. Think about that and remember that we ARE “our brothers’ keeper”. Paul said that if meat would cause his brother to stumble, then he wouldn’t eat meat. How much more should we be willing to give up something that causes our brothers to sin!

Next week, I will continue this discussion on modesty. I am very passionate about this topic as I am very offended by women who dress in such a way as to cause difficulties for my husband or my sons or my grandkids! I feel like a “mother bear” on this topic, and I just pray that I can pass the passion on to each one who reads this and I hope you will pass it on as well! (Soon we will be finished with this topic and we can have some fun with recipes or something!)