Modesty. Somewhere we lost it. Somewhere someone forgot to teach. I know that half the problem today is fashion. It is more fashionable to wear those shorts that are so tight and so short that they leave nothing to the imagination. I understand about giving into fashion, I used to be the teenage girl at the mall in "those" shorts and a spaghetti strapped shirt. I am not writing this to condemn anyone who does dress like that, but I want to draw your attention to a particular part of scripture where God has convicted me.
Isaiah 47:2-3a
Take the millstones, and grind meal: uncover thy locks, make bare the leg, uncover the thigh, pass over the rivers. Thy nakedness shall be uncovered, yea, thy shame shall be seen:
These verses are describing God's vengeance on Babylon. He was depicting Babylon as a woman, being degraded. God is humiliating this woman by making her reveal herself. To cross a river she would either have to raise her robes high enough to reveal herself, or remove them completely to swim across.
I have done some research only to find that God finds revealing your thigh nakedness. That was hard for me to swallow knowing that for years, and years, and years I fought my step-mom about wearing modest shorts. Now I am so grateful for her guidance in preparing my heart. It hurts me when I see good Christian girls fall into the lies that fashion tells us are look good. You can look fashionable without being immodest! I know when most of us picture a modest Christian woman our pictures probably looks well somewhat frumpy or Amish, but that does not have to be the case. Fashion offers a variety of options besides things that reveal our nakedness. I know you may think what will others think of me. Well I am going to quote Dr. Seuss "Those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind." I love that quote! I used to care about what every person who walked past me on the street thought, now I realize that there are only three opinions that matter (in this order) God, my husband, and mine. God is who I will have to answer to someday about how well I pointed to Him, about how well I was "set apart". My husband, he is my head, and He will also have to answer to God for our family, so he will have to answer for some things that I have done (yikes!). My opinion matters because I want to feel good about myself. I am not trying to be "preachy" or to convict, that is for God. I am simply trying to share what God has revealed to me. I hope I have encouraged you to search the scriptures for yourself :)
Thighs as nakedness has been a hot topic around our house this week too. I wore a bathing suit the other day where the skirt came to my fingertips. It felt so short! But I remember fighting with my Dad who insisted that my shorts be longer than my fingertips. Now we wont let our daughter wear things about her knees! It is funny how our times as a teenager (a wild one in my case) work towards our walk with Christ as adults.
ReplyDeleteAfter my mom past away my dad would just give me money to buy whatever clothes I wanted, but when he married my step-mom things changed. Her rule was the knee. We butted heads over that for a while,of course she won, but now I am becoming even more strict than that. You are right how funny it is! :)
DeleteStopping by from the Modest Mom link-up. Enjoyed your post. I've been thinking and reading alot about modesty recently as well. It saddens my heart to see how many Christians just don't see the importance of it. I'm thankful to have been raised by Godly parents who instilled those lessons into me early and that God put the willingness and conviction to continue with it in my own heart as I got older. Now I get to pass that along to my own kids! We live in AL too so it's nice to "meet" a fellow southerner. :-)
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Thank you for visiting. That is wonderful that your parents instilled those values in you! I am hoping to be an example to my children (unfortunately part of my life was spent in the wrong way as well, maybe I can use that too).
DeleteThat is great, the longer I live in AL the more I fall in love with it. Roll Tide :) (please come back and visit if your an Auburn fan)
Visiting from The Modest Mom link-up, and enjoyed reading this. My parents were so diligent in making me dress modest even as a small child, but when I got to college (I still lived at home) I made the habit of either leaving before I knew they would be up or bringing immodest clothes to change into. For me, it actually started when I got a part-time job in the mall and the other young girls who worked there were constantly nagging me to wear more "fashionable" clothes, they really meant more revealing, because that was fashionable. It was also the first time I was able or had access to purchase clothes away from my parents. Thankfully, God convicted me of my foolishness and I am learning more and more each day how important and empowering and I think liberating modest apparel really is. I know when I first realized that an uncovered thigh was nakedness it really shocked me, and I still don't know what to do about a bathing suit. Thank you for the encouragement, it was a real blessing. Love in Christ! Sarah :)
ReplyDeleteI remember having some of my Christian school friends in high school say things about the way I dressed. It is difficult to deal with the things others say. I learned very quickly how to make fashionable clothes modest. I struggle with bathing suits too! It is so difficult, I used to wear boys board shorts over my bottoms with a tankini top. Unfortunately as a mother now my body has changed and I cannot find any modest bathing suit tops (all of the ones for my size want to accent things I do not want to bring attention to), and I cannot afford some of the modest ones I have found online. Thank you for visiting! :)
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