Modesty

Hello everyone,

I know it has been a long time since I wrote an article on this blog and I don't know how many more I will post, but I wanted to address one topic on which there are a variety of opinions amongst christendom. I want to avoid the error that many fall into in imposing extra biblical requirements on others. I want to share some Scriptures with you for your consideration, and may we apply the teachings and principles to our lives and glorify God in all areas, even in what we wear. This post will mostly be focused on what women wear and I am writing as a woman, but I think there are things that should be considered by our brothers in Christ as well, but I am getting ahead of myself. 

Let us look to the Scriptures. I assume these first 2 passages will be familiar in a discussion on modesty. 

"Do not let your adornment be merely outward—arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel— 4 rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God. 5 For in this manner, in former times, the holy women who trusted in God also adorned themselves, being submissive to their own husbands, 6 as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord, whose daughters you are if you do good and are not afraid with any terror." 1 Peter 3:3-6

"in like manner also, that the women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with propriety and moderation, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly clothing, 10 but, which is proper for women professing godliness, with good works." 1 Timothy 2:9-10

Now, this one may not have been considered in a discussion on modesty, but I find it relevant. Allow me to explain further on. 
"the older women likewise, that they be reverent in behavior, not slanderers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things— 4 that they admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, 5 to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be blasphemed." Titus 2:3-5

So what can we learn about modesty from these Scriptures? What can we glean from these verses?

We should be cultivating the beauty of the hidden person of the heart. We should have a gentle and quiet spirit. This inward attitude should be reflected in how we dress. We should adorn ourselves with good works. In the talk about how holy women adorned themselves, it speaks of being submissive to their own husbands. So one thing I would say to take into consideration in choosing your clothing is to consider your husband's standards. It is one way that married women can show submission, by submitting to their husband's standards of modesty. 

For daughters living in our fathers' houses, we must obey our parents (Ephesians 6). So if your father and mother have certain standards for modesty, obey them in submitting to their standards. For example, say a daughter believes it is permissible for a girl to wear modest jeans, but her father believes that women are to wear only skirts and dresses. In such a case, the daughter should obey the Lord by obeying her father as he is not causing her to sin. If she then marries, her husband is now her head and she should submit to his standards of modesty, but a married woman does not need to obey her parents as a child does, so she and her husband may hold different convictions than her parents and that is okay. As Christians we must all look to the Scriptures as our standard, but where Scripture does not give an exact list of whether to wear sleeveless shirts or only long sleeve turtlenecks, we should be in submission to the authorities God has given us in that season of our lives and obey the clear commands of the Scriptures even if we differ in areas not clearly defined.

We should adorn ourselves with propriety and moderation and our apparel should be modest. Now, there may be different interpretations of what this means, so I ask you to examine yourself. In light of your convictions from the Scriptures, are you able to describe your clothing as modest and say that you are adorning yourself with propriety and moderation? If not, I suggest you take the time to consider how to align your choice of apparel with the standard set forth in Scripture. This is not to set a standard upon you that the Scripture does not set upon you. I am asking you to examine your own choices and compare them to the biblical convictions you hold.

Now let us look to Titus 2. Why did I put that in here? Let us consider the qualities that this biblical woman should have. 

Reverent in behavior... discreet... chaste... good. 

Here is why I bring up these verses. By our clothing, do we exhibit being good, chaste, discreet, and reverent in our behavior? The older women are to teach the younger women the things we see listed in Titus 2, but look at why. "that the word of God may not be blasphemed." With such an important reason, that the Word of God may not be blasphemed, shouldn't we be striving for these things earnestly? Shouldn't these qualities be exhibited in every aspect of our lives, our speech, our thoughts, our apparel?

Now, here are some questions that I ask you to consider. I am not trying to put an extra biblical standard upon you, but I want you to consider these things. 

1) Does the way you dress glorify God?
2) Is your apparel modest?
3) Does your choice of apparel reflect the godly qualities you are to possess?

4) While we cannot take responsibility for another's sin, are we causing our brothers or sisters in Christ to stumble or putting temptation before them by the way we dress?

5) Are we applying a double standard? (For example, are we upset when a woman wears a shirt that is low cut, but find it acceptable for a man to take off his shirt?) Hopefully that will spark some conversation and we will think about the "why" of our beliefs instead of just blindly remaining in our tradition. 😄 Maybe you have a good reason for your standards, but I am trying to provoke people to think about what they do.

I am not saying that women must wear skirts and dresses, men can't wear shorts, etc. Here is what I am asking: Please consider that every aspect of our lives is to bring glory to God and thus we should compare our clothing to the standards set forth in Scripture and think through whether our apparel is glorifying to the Lord. 

I hope y'all have a great day. Please leave your thoughts in the comments.

~Virginia