Modesty

Definitions:

• Dressing or behaving so as to avoid impropriety or indecency, especially to avoid attracting sexual attention

• Having a limited or not overly high opinion of yourself and one’s abilities

• Is not boastful or vain

• Not excessively large, expensive, or extravagant

• Limited or small

Clearly, modesty represents more than just what we wear. It shows us where our heart is at and exposes why we are doing a particular thing. I hear a lot of Christians say, me included, that modesty is up to each individual and it differs from person to person. While I still believe that to be somewhat true, I also think it would be very lacking for us to ignore the fact that in some ways there are stark differences between what is and is not modest. Clothing for example is pretty self-explanatory for most people. Wearing clothing that accentuates your assets, hugs every curve of your body, or shows parts of your body God made for your husband or wife is immodest when it comes to both genders- male, and female. This is an area in my life that the Lord has dealt with me recently. I used to wear a lot of short shorts, crop tops, and leggings as just regular pants (I still do this occasionally), go bra-less at stores, wear low-cut tops, and super short dresses, and I did not care who saw me! My heart was set to “I'm comfortable, I'm cute, I'm confident, I'm going to dress how I want!". This innocent belief started small but years down the road ended up turning into an entire lifestyle problem. I noticed the clothes I was wearing started to turn heads and started to make people say things sexually to me, and I thoroughly enjoyed the attention. This led me to start dressing for sexual attention not because I was “cute”, “comfy”, or “confident” but because I wanted attention. You see, my clothing reflected my heart. How you feel on the inside will reflect on the outside, and yes even when it comes to your clothes. We all can sit and say, “That is a man's fault if he cannot keep his eyes off a woman”, and to a true point but by nature we are sinful humans who need boundaries, and that is why the bible tells us to live a certain way, talk a certain way, and dress a certain way. If we are honest and take a step back and look at the way we dress, again both men and woman, the way we adorn ourselves, and look at the root of what is causing us to look a certain way, it’s normally pride, vanity, sexual desire, or complete rebellion against God. No, shorts, jeans, leggings, crop tops, etc. are not sinful to wear, what I am trying to get you to focus on and realize is that our flesh is corrupt, we are inherently sinful, and if we do not pay attention and put some thought into our actions from day to day, they can lead us to destruction. This is one way satan gets you! He feeds you tiny bit by tiny bit all these lies that you believe until one day it turns into one huge problem that you wonder where it all started from. Let’s go to God’s word and see what He says about living modestly.

“In like manner also, that woman adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair or gold, or pearls, or costly array; but (which becometh woman professing godliness) with good works.” 1 Timothy 2:9-10

In these two verses, Paul is instructing Timothy on how women should adorn themselves in the church, or public worship. Women are to have modest apparel, which we now know, since reading the definition of what that word means, that we women are to dress a certain way in a church setting! Notice that the Bible does not tell us to not try and look our best or tell us to not attempt to have a good appearance, but rather that the good appearance we have glorifies and honors God! We don’t want to be a distraction to what is happening during public worship, we don't want to be the center of attention making people stare and focus on us because of the way we look or dress, and we certainly don’t want to be a stumbling block to a brother in Christ or to make another sister jealous. Our hearts behind what we do and why we do it need to be to point others to Jesus and shine His light, not our own! When I would dress the way I did in the past, it was for vain glory. It was to esteem myself highly and put others down. It was to look “hot” and make men think I looked good when none of that mattered! My identity was rooted in my looks and what other people thought of me, not my Lord. My Lord wasn’t Jesus, it was myself and sometimes other people. My fashion advice didn’t come from the Bible, it came from the world. When I became a Christian I continued just wearing whatever felt cute and trendy or whatever was comfy because I didn't know any better. I thought dressing modestly was something the Amish did and we have freedom and liberty in Christ to do what we want and look how we want to. That was my mindset until I read the verses about modesty and how God calls us to look and act. I started getting convicted about what I was wearing and the reason why was brought to my attention and I got uncomfortable. The Bible tells us that we are not our own “What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?” 1 Corinthians 6:19. If we are not our own, but we belong to God, then He gets to dictate what we do with our lives. How we eat, dress, talk, everything! The longer you walk with the Lord the more He will reveal to you over time and sanctification takes place. Right now, the sanctification I am going through is modesty. Being a doer of the word not just a reader. I think modesty is beautiful, it’s important, and it’s needed in today’s society. The divine feminine is running rampant everywhere, and when I realized I was taking part in that by the way I was acting and dressing it deeply grieved me. God made women beautiful, smart, and attractive and that is a very good thing, but the devil has so many women believing the lie that they need to dress sexually, or extravagantly to get any attention or love. God has shown me in my own life that desiring to turn heads, ensuring your butt and boobs look good in your outfit, or walking and talking in such a way to bring attention to yourself is seductive and very jezebel-like. Do we want to be like Christ? Do we want to live a godly Holy Spirit-led life? Or do we want to look like the world, and act like the world, which is run by the little g god, otherwise known as satan? At this point, I desire my entire lifestyle to be as anti-this-world as possible. I see the deception, the sin, the craftiness of the devil, the shallow-mindedness, and the vanity. All of it saddens me and my desire is to live, talk, and dress like Christ wants me to. I dress the way I do now because I want to honor God, obey His commands, and follow His leadership. Not to be saved, not to avoid hell, not to say I’m a better Christian than you because I dress more modestly than you. My eyes are fixed solely on Jesus and pointing people to Him. I want every aspect of my life to reflect Jesus and the light that He put inside of me. I want His Holy Spirit to show through me. I want people to look at me and say “Something is different about her” and that answer is “It's JESUS!” Every day you’re going to encounter someone, possibly even someone you’ve never met, do you want them to see you, or Jesus?

I encourage you to spend some time in the secret place with the Lord today. Psalm 91:1 tells us, "He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.” Please seek Him on these things, read the scriptures in context, and then read the, again! Let God speak to you through His word and let it rest in your spirit. I pray that you would get saved if you haven’t already by believing in Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, acknowledging Him as the One True God and the Only Way to eternal life. I pray you grow deeper in the Lord and allow Him to sanctify you, being completely submitted and surrendered to Him.