Over the many years of my service to Christ, I've come to learn the value of modesty. It's not just covering oneself in
order to make a statement to others. It's an honorable form of worship, a outward statement of faith, if you will.
Many - and I do mean many - people complain about dressing and acting modestly. They say it's not necessary for
Christians, it's a form of feminism, I dress this way for myself (makes them feel good), it's not biblical and my very
favorite "if you've got it, flaunt it". I could seriously go into deep detail, using big words and grammatical compositions
that would please the well educated, but that's just not how I roll. Simple is best. Anyone can understand it, and the only
thing it requires is an objective viewpoint.
What is modesty anyways? Modesty is a way one dresses, speaks and behaves themselves. It's the act of being a visual representation of Christ. What does modesty look like? A Man or Woman that is modest is careful to make sure that the physical shape, chest/ breast -and or cleavage - is not exposed in a way to draw attention to those areas with tight fitted clothing. He/She does not take part in obscene language and is careful to avoid the very appearance of sin in everything he or she does(1 Thessalonians 5:22 KJV).
1 Corinthians 6: 12-20
The Body Is the Lord’s
12 All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be mastered by anything. 13 Food is for the[g]stomach and the [h]stomach is for food, but God will do away with both [i]of them. Yet the body is not for immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord is for the body. 14 Now God has not only raised the Lord, but will also raise us up through His power. 15 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take away the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? May it never be! 16 Or do you not know that the one who joins himself to a prostitute is one body with her? For He says, “The two shall become one flesh.” 17 But the one who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with Him. 18 Flee immorality. Every other sin that a man commits is outside the body, but the [j]immoral man sins against his own body. 19 Or do you not know that your body is a [k]temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from [l]God, and that you are not your own? 20 For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.
Knowing that my body is the temple of God....let's backup a bit.
You probably have a beautiful church home. Weather it be a store front, a home or a huge building. You take pride in your church building! If someone were to come visit your church and began writing on the walls, tearing up the carpet or wiping their mud encrusted shoes on the pews, how would that make you feel? Angry of course! You'd be disgusted at the amount of disrespect a person could have for the temple of the Holy Spirit, your place of worship! See where I'm going here? The actual brick and mortar building can NOT be more important than your actual body! You are in fact the temple of the Holy Spirit, or does the Holy Spirit just occupy the body on Sunday's?
The fact is, we are all called to modesty, both men and women! We are Christ's children and a representation of what His church looks like and is. Sometimes, we are the only example of Christ someone will ever come in contact with. How good is the example if the example breaks all the rules that were given by the Maker? Two things will happen. Either the one watching the example will not think much of the Will of God, or will become a mirror image of the example given (which is scary). If you tell a child not to tell lies because God doesn't like that and Christians don't behave that way, BUT you being the example, are a constant lair. What do you think (honestly) will become of the child's character? The child, unfortunately, will learn to be a lair.
How can I begin to practice modesty? Start with the word of God! His Word will not lead anyone to dress or act provocatively in a public setting (what you do for your spouse in your home is a whole-nother-story *wink*), nor will He lead you to be involved in sinful activity. You can do mental gymnastics all day long to try and switch up God's word for selfishness sake, but it will not change the truth. And anyone that teaches otherwise is going against His word.
Romans 6:1-2
6 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?2 God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?
Do you practice modesty? How do you encourage others to do so?
