Purity in How We Dress

“And so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure…”  Titus 2:4

This week in our series of the biblical qualities of the young women, we come to the little word, “pure”.   Yes, it’s a small word, but we could certainly spend weeks unpacking its meaning.  In fact, I intend to do just that.  This week we will focus on one important aspect of purity: modesty.   Now, some of you may be contemplating skipping this post, but please bear with me for a few minutes.  Perhaps you might have the idea that modesty is just for those ultra-conservative legalists.  Maybe you think modesty means that God intends for Christian ladies to dress frumpy, dowdy, old-fashioned, or as if they have borrowed their grandmother’s clothes.  However, modesty is, in fact, a quality that God requires of us as Christian women, so let’s take a closer look at what that means.

Paul writes “that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire, but with what is proper for women who profess godliness—with good works.” (1 Timothy 2:9-10)  God is more concerned with our inner character than our outward appearance, but that does not mean we have the liberty to dress however we want.  In fact, our outward appearance should actually be a reflection of our inner heart.  “Modesty is the outward and often the most visible mark of a biblical young woman.”¹ The Bible does not specifically outline what a woman is or is not supposed to wear.  But it does mandate that we dress with modesty and self-control.  Our own opinions and ideas about clothing should not be the standard for how we dress.  God’s Word is the standard.  “All the ways of a [woman] are pure in [her] own eyes, but the Lord weighs the spirit.” (Proverbs 16:2)   We are to show restraint and moderation in our dress.  A woman who seeks to bring honor to God will dress in a manner that reflects that desire.  Likewise, a woman who dresses in revealing, seductive, immodest clothing dishonors God.

How does a woman discern the sometimes fine line between proper dress and dressing to be the center of attention?  The answers starts in the intent of the heart.  A woman should examine her motives and goals for the way she dresses.  Is her intent to show the grace and beauty of womanhood?  Is it to reveal a humble heart devoted to worshiping God?  Or is it to call attention to herself, and flaunt her beauty?  Or worse, to attempt to allure men sexually?  A woman who focuses on worshiping God will consider carefully how she is dressed because her heart will dictate her wardrobe and appearance. (John MacArthur)

Modesty is not only important because it honors God, but it is also important to protect our brothers in Christ.  I can almost hear those cries of protest, “But if a Christian man thinks impure thoughts because of what I wear, that’s his problem.”  Dear sister, can I please appeal to you, that while a man is most certainly accountable to God for his thoughts, we should not make it any harder for him to think pure thoughts than it already is.  In our current society, our Christian brothers are bombarded with scantily clad women everywhere they go.  What a shame it is when they show up to church only to find that they have to fight the same struggle they’ve faced all week to think pure thoughts because the Christian lady sitting in front of them is dressed immodestly.   Let’s be careful to not create a stumbling block for our brothers.

Maybe we need to ask our husband, father, or another Christian lady if what we wear is modest.  Perhaps, we need to make a wardrobe adjustment.  The next time you go shopping for clothes, consider taking a girlfriend along and ask her advice on whether that new top or skirt is modest.  Let’s not be so fashion-conscious that we throw our modesty out the window.

¹Mahaney, Carolyn and Nicole Mahaney Whitacre, Girl Talk, (Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway Books, 2005), 138.

Treasures to Share

Perhaps you realize modesty is an area that you need some help with.  Take some time to look over this Modesty Heart Check.

Also, Nancy DeMoss has published a helpful little book entitled The Look: Does God Really Care What I Wear?

---

Did you enjoy this post? Why not leave a comment below and continue the conversation, or subscribe to our feed and get articles like this delivered automatically each day to your feed reader. If you don't have a feed reader, you can always have these articles delivered to your email inbox every day. Click here to sign up.

 Print This Post

Copyright © 2010 InFocus | ElegantBlue is a custom theme by Nathan Rice