Thursday, August 28, 2008


Isn’t it funny how often one can read about modesty-- and still collide with a clothes conundrum? You know--a moment when the “what to wear” question jumps from inconsequential to spiritually impacting. At first, when you were getting dressed for the party, you thought you were just picking an outfit from the closet. Now it’s turned into an all-out battle of the will. Your head-knowledge of what’s modest is in to-the-death combat with your affection for that “really cute top.” Who will emerge victorious?

Before continuing one word further, it’s imperative to be on the same page. Modesty is important. To every woman. In every culture. At every age. For in each of these settings, modesty is the picture frame that best illuminates the beauty of womanhood. As Oscar Wilde wrote, "No object is so beautiful, that under certain conditions, it will not look ugly." Immodest womanhood takes the attention from the radiating beauty of character, to an obscene vandalizing of the body where the focus becomes, well, carnal. It destructs (or at least, distracts from) beauty.

Regardless of how some personal approaches to modesty may be legalistic, frumpy, or otherwise distasteful, 1 Timothy 2:9 couldn’t be clearer: “…women should adorn themselves…with modesty.” With that said, the question is not whether modesty should be applied. The question is “are we applying it?”

This matter of clothes runs a bit deeper than mere fabric and skin. As not only common sense (in the words of others, "modesty honors beauty,") but as a Christian principle, modesty ought not be tossed aside as out-dated or culturally irrelevant. Choosing modesty involves a cataclysmic war currently being waged between the “new man” of a Christian and the old “fleshly self.” This is a spiritual issue.

What do I mean? We're born with a natural desire to be selfish--to make a mad dash for attention at any opportunity. When we repent of our sins and fall completely upon Jesus Christ for our redemption, we're changed. We're transformed into a new being on account of God’s forgiveness. But look out! Our flesh (sinful nature) isn’t far away. In fact, it is still latched onto our heels like a rabid puppy.

It is exactly as Paul said in Romans 7:14-15: “For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin. For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.”

As Kris Lundgaard wrote, “Indwelling sin works like this—enticing, threatening, even bullying. So Paul calls it a law to get us to see that it is powerful even in the lives of believers and that it constantly works to press us into its evil mold.” So are we free from sin? Lundgaard explained it well: “[Christ] has overthrown its rule, weakened its power, and even killed its root, so that it cannot bear the fruit of eternal death in a believer.”

Still, sin is near. We’re faced with it daily, and the temptation to immodesty is no exception. We sometimes wonder, is it really that big of a deal? In the midst of intense rationalization and arguing with ourselves, it doesn’t seem important. But modesty is a command, and by the very nature of being a command, it ought to take priority.

So what’s a girl to do when she’s confronted with an outfit she likes, but knows she shouldn’t wear? How does one make the right choice? When faced with such a moment of decision, I hope these points will be an encouragement to you...


Watch for the second part to this post, "5 Reasons for Modesty."

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