Modestly a girl

Changing our hearts before our wardrobes



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  What is modesty? As a Christian young woman, I have been exposed to this question over and over again. I have always been under the standards of my parents, my schools, and my Christian culture. I went to a private school where we wore blue plaid skirts and a navy cardigan; I went to a college that was only second to West Point in strict standards. You would think that modesty wouldn't be an issue in environments like the ones I just described. But girls still pushed the line—in high school they rolled the tops of their skirts and in college they wore the dress code out of the dorms and changed in the bathroom. My schools enforced the law, but they could not enforce the spirit of the law in the girls.

  Why do girls dress immodestly? I think I know the answer. Girls know that they can attract a man by their body. Gaining power by beauty or immodest is a woman's chief temptation. A girl has the need to feel loved and desired, but the need for love should never be replaced by the need to control.

  What are we seeking when we dress immodestly—love or worship? If a woman dresses immodestly, she is not winning love. She has his attention, but she doesn't have his heart. He does not cherish her soul; he is not drawn by her personality. She is deceived by the emptiness of her power, because when he is satisfied by her flesh then he will leave. She has not experienced love, only lust. And she has not won anything, she only lost much.

  What does it mean to be modest? I don't think modesty is socks up to the knees, a skirt to the ankles, or a shirt that wears like a potato sack. No, modesty is a little more simplified. I can't give you modesty standards like the schools I attended—you should read and apply the Bible for your standards. But I can say that if you have a spirit that wants to be immodest than you will use a potato sack wrongly. Do you think a Muslim woman, wrapped from head to toe in fabric, can be immodest? Yes, she can use her eyes to attract the wrong attention. First things first. Why don't we change our hearts and then we can work on changing our wardrobe?

 

"For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit." Romans 8:5

 

  Why don't we stop seeking our own status symbols? Does it really matter how many guys take us out on dates? Does it really matter if we are 'prettier' than any other girl on campus? Come on ladies, let's grow up. Are you tired of playing these stupid power games where you only get hurt? Why don't you play for keeps? Put some clothes on and let a Christian man cherish your soul not your body.

  Perhaps, you don't really believe that God will provide you with a Christian man. Do you think that you have to help God out by dressing to attract a man? Look at the Bible. In Genesis 24, Rebekah was not expecting love but God had a plan for her. He sent a servant of Isaac to find a godly woman. And she, instead of thinking of herself, gave this servant and his animals water. And God blessed her for her trust in him. Don't we believe that the God of the Bible is still God today? Can't we let Him write our love story, or do we have to start scribbling away and mess everything up? God loves you and He wants to fill you. Claim His promises to fill us.

   Lastly, I'm not saying that we should dress like slobs. No. I highly advocate perfume, deodorant, style, make-up, and all kinds of shoes. I love to look beautiful, and if you are a girl, you should also enjoy being feminine and beautiful. But there is a big difference between beauty and barely there. Let us be women seeking to give to those around us, not girls who only seek to defraud and deceive the men around them.

"Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought to love one another." I John 4:10-11