Modesty, Ferraris, and Pearls
For the typical Christian woman, we've listened to every speech about modesty. And we're kind of sick of hearing about it. Mostly because the typical speech about modesty includes the following reasons; you're worth more than that, you can cause men to stumble and lust. Now, these are both correct reasons. They are all wonderful, true reasons. None of them get at the root of the issue, though. No one is telling young women (or women in general) why it is Biblical. When we instruct women to be modest for outward appearances, all we're doing is giving them a rule that they feel like they can never live up to.
We don't want to follow the messages of today's society saying that we
need to dress and look like this cookie-cutter idea of a woman in order
to be physically desirable. On the other hand, simply reminding women to "cover-up" doesn't help either. Either way it becomes objectification because modesty is more than just appearance, it's about character and behavior, too.
But perhaps you didn't grow up that way, or think of modesty in a good light now. The typical reaction from a hyper-feminist worldview is one of admonishment an dismay at men. "I should be able to wear whatever I want. It's a man's fault for looking, he should be able to control himself. Shame on him." And so you wear/wore whatever you liked; if it hugged your curves, drew attention to particular places, oh well. One of my friends had this to say in regards to modesty last week:
But perhaps you didn't grow up that way, or think of modesty in a good light now. The typical reaction from a hyper-feminist worldview is one of admonishment an dismay at men. "I should be able to wear whatever I want. It's a man's fault for looking, he should be able to control himself. Shame on him." And so you wear/wore whatever you liked; if it hugged your curves, drew attention to particular places, oh well. One of my friends had this to say in regards to modesty last week:
"Think about it this way. If you're driving down the street, minding your own business and all of a sudden, a Ferrari passes you...you're definitely not going to be paying attention. You're going to be looking at the Ferrari." Let me add a disclaimer here: in no way am I excusing men from dealing with the sin of lust in their lives. I am NOT saying "oh, well, boys will be boys, they just can't help themselves." That's not alright, either. What I'm saying is that in dressing immodestly, women certainly aren't doing anyone any favors regardless of gender. Men will look at the "Ferrari" in front of them, and women will be upset by the reaction.
The questions we must address are:
1. What does the Bible say about modesty?
2. Why does it say those things?
The New Testament has some pretty clear statements that regard both character and appearance.
1 Timothy 2:9-10 "likewise also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire, but with what is proper for women who profess godliness—with good works."
1 Peter 3:3-4"Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious."
It's important to note that neither of these texts say that braided hair, pearls, or gold in themselves are the problem, but more of the attitude behind it to be "adorned". Proverbs 11:22 is a little bit more bold "Like a gold ring in a pig's snout is a beautiful woman without discretion." We also know that the Lord does not look at outward appearances, but at the heart, as seen with David in 1 Samuel. And if God truly is the priority in our lives, there is not need to vie with other women for the attention of men; that is sinful actually. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 says this: "Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body." If you are a follower of Christ, your whole self, body included was purchased at a great cost; the death of Christ. So although there is no way we can return that grace, we are commanded to be set a part from the rest of the world and live in godliness. And that includes the way we dress and act. We are beautiful to God because he sees Christ in us, and we are called to be a beautiful reflection of Christ to the world by our gentle spirit and good works.
So in summary modesty is important, but it's more than the clothes we put on, it's part of the state of our heart. It is out of our love for the Lord and His desire for us to be godly that we obey the call.
Until next time.
The questions we must address are:
1. What does the Bible say about modesty?
2. Why does it say those things?
The New Testament has some pretty clear statements that regard both character and appearance.
1 Timothy 2:9-10 "likewise also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire, but with what is proper for women who profess godliness—with good works."
1 Peter 3:3-4"Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious."
It's important to note that neither of these texts say that braided hair, pearls, or gold in themselves are the problem, but more of the attitude behind it to be "adorned". Proverbs 11:22 is a little bit more bold "Like a gold ring in a pig's snout is a beautiful woman without discretion." We also know that the Lord does not look at outward appearances, but at the heart, as seen with David in 1 Samuel. And if God truly is the priority in our lives, there is not need to vie with other women for the attention of men; that is sinful actually. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 says this: "Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body." If you are a follower of Christ, your whole self, body included was purchased at a great cost; the death of Christ. So although there is no way we can return that grace, we are commanded to be set a part from the rest of the world and live in godliness. And that includes the way we dress and act. We are beautiful to God because he sees Christ in us, and we are called to be a beautiful reflection of Christ to the world by our gentle spirit and good works.
So in summary modesty is important, but it's more than the clothes we put on, it's part of the state of our heart. It is out of our love for the Lord and His desire for us to be godly that we obey the call.
Until next time.
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