Summertime Modesty

My family and I just returned from southeast Louisiana last night (or, well, early this morning, actually). It was a whopping 90 degrees! Eeeeek!

Hello Summer, eh?

While there, I began to think about the typical summertime attire for girls. Oh dear. As much as I love summer with the sunshine, the swimming, the summer camps, and the summer rains, a part of me dreads this time of year because it forces me to face immodesty. Of course, immodesty is an issue all throughout the year, but as the heat of summertime increases, the temptation to take off more....and more...and more increases. It is in the summertime that bikinis are donned and mini-shorts and skirts are worn. It is in the summertime when pictures of barely-clad girls and women are plastered all over blogs, Facebook, and the like. It is in the summertime when many girls lose respect because of the way they dress... (or undress!)

So, why all this fuss about clothing? Why should we dress differently from the world?

First of all....Did you know that what we choose to wear affects others?
Romans 14:13 says, ‘…judge this rather, that no man [or woman] put a stumbling block or an occasion to fall in his brother’s way.’

Men struggle with their eyes. Period. This is a known fact. Many women will justify their clothing choices by putting the responsibility solely in the hands of the guys. "Well, they need to practice some self control!" they say. We forget that when we cause them to lust after us by the way we act, speak, or dress, then WE are held responsible...and that is serious!

Let me ask you this. Is your clothing designed to draw eyes to your body? Do your clothing choices hug your curves and show them off? Does your clothing invite people to look at you in the wrong way? If you cause someone else to sin – won’t it also be your sin? (Matthew 5:28) Are you a stumbling block to your brothers in Christ? God wants us to be a help to the young men around us – not a hindrance. And, as Christian women, WE are representatives of Jesus Christ and should dress in a manner that pleases, honors, and glorifies HIM, not ourselves. When the world looks at us, they should see women who dress differently; peculiar.

Women’s clothing styles have only in very recent history changed dramatically. In the ‘old days’ the ideal traits of womanhood and femininity were gentleness, grace, cheerfulness and the like. The fashions reflected this in their styles of beautiful, feminine simplicity and elegance. In our recent history, the popular ideas of what a woman should be have radically changed. Now, traits such as aggressiveness, sexiness, and independence are the supposed ideal to what a young woman should aspire. This is also reflected in modern fashions. The styles of today are becoming increasingly brash, revealing, and downright sinful. And I am sure it breaks the heart of God as He watches His precious girls flaunt their bodies in a wardrobe that causes others to sin.


So I ask... What does your clothing say about you?


As the summer heat bears down on our backs this year, will you endure it in order to bring honor to your God and protect the eyes of your brothers, while also bringing dignity to yourself? Or will you roll your eyes, say "it's no big deal," and strip down to the bear minimum all in the name of staying cool and physically attractive to watching eyes? Let me encourage you to cover up.

1 Timothy 2:9-10
"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."