Modesty

Through a Facebook post of a friend, I recently clicked on a blog that discussed one subject that many women (myself included) have a disliking toward: Modesty.

It’s a short article if you want to check it out yourself!

http://morelikemomma.com/2013/06/14/can-you-be-a-lady-without-being-modest/

Maybe it is because modesty is a topic that isn’t talked about much, but it really grabbed my attention. I think that in general, obtaining a lifestyle of modesty is difficult for the average woman for multiple reasons that usually revolve around beauty and the matter of self worth. However, no matter what difficulties we face, God wants us to be pure and holy, so that is what we should strive for – no matter how much we think we have to “give up” in order to achieve it.

The first encountered “difficulty” that comes to my mind is the world of fashion, because there are so many immodest trends surrounding us everywhere we go. (I put the word “difficulty” in quotations because when I step back and think of just how little and unimportant the things we must give up in comparison to people struggling with real difficulties in their walk with Christ, it is kind of pathetic.) Nevertheless, fashion is one of the things that I struggle with because I really enjoy cute clothes as much as the next girl! I worked in a second-hand clothing store throughout college where I often struggled not bringing home something new each time I worked. I would be lying if I didn’t mention that there were multiple times that I brought home some things that I thought were just fine and my husband had to tell me that they weren’t!

The article I read talks a lot about the concept of immodesty and its connection with allowing men to commit adultery in their hearts by looking at a woman lustfully. Even though I probably roll my eyes every time Ryan doesn’t approve of something I buy, I am sincerely thankful that he points it out before I wear it in public and give the wrong impression to someone, which I’m sure can happen so much more easily than I imagine. I think that many women honestly don’t realize that they are dressing inappropriately. Sometimes it really takes someone to say it out loud, which doesn’t happen very often because we are too afraid to offend someone. Therefore, if no one says anything, we continue to wear the same inappropriate things because we have never been told that we shouldn’t. And that probably results in getting unwanted attention, which then results in getting upset with the unwanted attention we are receiving, and the cycle continues…

As a married woman, I want obviously strive to live and dress modestly for my husband. But more importantly, shouldn’t I be striving to live a modest and pure life for Christ? Maybe instead of wondering what my husband would think if I wear this or that, I should ask myself how comfortable I would feel sitting face to face with Jesus. Although I don’t like to admit it, I’m sure that scenario would change my opinion on much of the clothing I own.

There is no doubt that because we are broken and sinful, we want to feel beautiful in the eyes of the world, rather than understand that God made us exactly how we are; perfect and beautiful in His eyes. When we find something that we think looks good on us, its easy to forget that we should be thinking of what message might be conveyed if we wear it. As a Christ-follower, I should ask myself each day if the person I might cross on the street would have any reason to think I wasn’t a Christian based on the clothing I chose to wear. If the answer is yes, it’s probably time to get rid of that!

Summertime is probably the best time to talk about modesty, because if you are a girl, you know how difficult it is to find unrevealing clothes that will keep you cool enough in the heat. (Not to mention the awful task of trying to find a swimsuit!) I went to the mall the other day to find some tank tops because the weather in Quebec City finally decided to heat up to the 80’s. (Yippee!) I am not exaggerating when I say that I had to walk through at least 5 stores before I found a tank top that was not transparent or extremely low cut! And now that I think about my purchases, I think that I still could have made a better choice than what I picked out.

Our cultural norms do not make it super easy on women to achieve a modest life. However, maybe we should go through the extra hoops anyway because if we look different from the world, hopefully Christ can shine through us. After all, we are representing Him anywhere and everywhere we go. Let’s glorify Him to the best of our abilities.