(Modesty
Let’s face it. Every woman has her own standard of modesty. My Grandmother Childers would wear only long sleeves, year-round. My elbow-length sleeves may have been scandalous to her. She was born in the 1880s. A woman from India will wear a sari with its bare mid-drift, but she would not be seen dead or alive in a pair of shorts.
(Left: Dottie Gravely in a SARI, Labor Day, 2018)
We must settle the issue about the purpose of clothing. Is its purpose to cover or to accentuate? If we ask the fashion designer, we already know what his answer will be, to accentuate the beautiful body that God has designed. That’s why we see slits in skirts, tight clothes, mini-skirts, cleavage, top buttons that are left open, planned sections of bare skin in sleeves, bodices, and trousers, etc.
To keep a balance, we must remember that in the Jesus Movement it was a common sight to see someone in a tie-dyed shirt and ragged jeans become a Christian alongside someone in a three-piece suit. God took both of them as His children; He still looks on the heart and not the outward appearance. (I Samuel 16:7) In the Brownsville Revival of Pensacola, FL, prostitutes knelt in the altars with others. Older women wisely spread a blanket over the prostitute’s exposed body. It is after receiving Christ that we Christians must concern ourselves with being good ambassadors for the Lord.
God created everything good and beautiful, but with sin came the lust of the eyes that warps admiration. Unfortunately, we have to be alert to this lust and dress accordingly, wisely covering parts of the body, but not with burkahs!!
Since the Bible will still be around in 200 or 300 years and be mankind’s standard if the Second Coming of Christ hasn’t occurred, it is a good idea to check out what the Bible’s eternal truth has to say about how women should dress. Brother Paul and Brother Peter felt strongly enough about it to speak up.
Paul says this: I Timothy 2:9, “And I want women to be modest in their appearance. They should wear decent and appropriate clothing and not draw attention to themselves by the way they fix their hair or by wearing gold or pearls or expensive clothes.” NLT
Peter says this: I Pater 3:3, “Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear.” ESV
Titus does not “weigh in” on the topic but passes the responsibility on to the older women. In Titus 2:4-5 he instructs older women to guide the younger women into modesty with these words, “That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, v. 5 To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.” KJV (Emphasis mine)
The key to the teaching of Titus is in his phrase “that the word of God be not blasphemed.” Any Christian should live by this standard; unfortunately, it is especially true for women. How in the world could a woman dress immodestly in Bible days??? Apparently, it could be done. It was evident that the daughter-in-law of Judah was dressed like a prostitute. (Genesis 38)
One of the few prominent women today that comes to mind for being outspoken on this topic is Carolyn Mahaney, wife of pastor C. J. Mahaney, formerly of Gaithersburg, MD, megachurch Sovereign Grace.
Carolyn and her daughters do a blog on the subject. (http://www.girltalkhome.com/about/) Carolyn has an outstanding book entitled Feminine Appeal with an appendix called “The Modesty Heart Checklist.” She suggests doing the checklist before leaving home, starting with a heart that wants to be modest for the Lord’s sake.
My husband reported a scene he witnessed at a local grocery store. Two white women were gabbing away together, oblivious of the fact that they were wearing extremely short pants and skimpy, low-cut blouses (it was summer). About that time came into the store a young Muslim woman, dressed head to toe in a burkah. She spotted a familiar friend she had not seen in a while, another young burkah-clad lady, coming down the aisle. She went over to her and gave her an affectionate hug, and they began to chat. My husband thought to himself, “Suppose I were a young man and knew nothing about religions, which group would attract me more as persons of worth whom I would like to get to know, the two young white women or the two young Muslim ladies?” He thought also, “Do we think we are going to attract members of other religions to our faith when we set such examples?” It is no wonder that they do not desire to assimilate. But perhaps neither style is desirable!
So, what should a young lady do to set her own standard of modesty? First, pray. Second, observe or check with older modest women whom she respects and would never imagine in a scandalous outfit. If it is wrong for them, it is wrong for her too. Together, they can please Him till He says, “Well done.”
Lovingly (not critically) submitted,
Dottie Childers Gravely
P. S. Special thanks to my husband, Allan, for proofreading my blogs for mistakes and his own critiques.