Uncategories Modesty: A defense of self respect

Modesty: A defense of self respect

Published on 7:31 AM By Aunica
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Someone recently brought it up that the word modesty is in the bible less than 5 times, whereas the word lust is in the bible way more than 5 times.
While I can't say for certain, I'd guess she was trying to give a defense for girls dressing immodestly, somehow pinning it on the guys that it's their fault that they lust after us when we dress scandalously. Maybe the word modesty is a new one, but the idea has been around for a long time. 
There are 3 huge reasons why we, as Godly women, dress modestly:
A) Respect God.
God did not give us a womanly figure to use it for power. God didn't give us a womanly figure to show off to all the men. God gave us sexuality for marriage - to share with our husband, and him alone.
God created us in His image (Genesis 2).
Our body is a temple of the holy spirit. If we truly believe in Christ, He dwells inside of us. (1 Corinthians 3:16-17; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20; 2 Corinthians 6:16)
Everything we do should be glorifying to God. Bringing glory to God is ultimately our reason for existence. (1 Corinthians 10:31)
If we truly believe in the gospel and the holy sacrifice of Christ, we should desire to become more like Him.

B) Respect Guys.
Romans 14.
Women, if you understood men and how they think - there's no way you would dress the way you do.
Yes, lust is in the bible a lot. Why? Because it's something men, and even some women, struggle with. Here's the deal. Men are wired differently than us. Shocker. When I see a guy in shorter shorts, I think "gross, put some clothes on" and mentally put a shirt and longer pants on him. Unfortunately, guys don't have that mechanism - for them it's the opposite. When they see girls in provocative clothing, a low shirt, short shorts, etc - they start mentally undressing her before they can even blink. Many, if not all, of even the most Godly men I know struggle with this. This doesn't make them pigs, they don't wake up in the morning and think "man, I really want to demean women today so I'm going to think about sex a lot" in fact, Godly men pray for strength to guard their eyes when coming in contact with women. Godly men recognize our worth, and desire to respect us as their sisters in Christ.
Think about it this way: if you love chocolate, wouldn't it be hard for you to resist if a fondue fountain followed you wherever you went and you were told you aren't allowed to have any? If body image is something you struggle with, think about how often you think about your body. How often you think about food. Then amp it up a couple notches, and you have the temptation of lust for men.
If not just for guys in general, do it out of respect for your future husband. Don't you want him to be the only man who enjoys your body?
We should desire to build up our brothers in Christ. Dressing modestly isn't asking you to dress like a nun. It isn't asking you to wear turtlenecks. It isn't asking you to lock yourself in a room and never come out. It's asking you to think of others before yourself. It's asking you to exemplify Christ, and serve your brothers in Christ by helping to keep their eyes and minds pure.
1 Corinthians 8
Idolatry is not dead, unfortunately. It just masks itself in things other than golden calves. For men, sex is an idol. If immodesty causes my brothers in Christ to stumble, then look at this passage - what does it say? Oh right. We should dress modestly. 
C) Respect Yourself.
If you aren't going to dress modestly for guys or for God, at least do it for yourself.
Proverbs 31 gives some good adjectives to describe a Godly woman: trustworthy, good, kind, intelligent, resourceful, giving, dignified, wise, fearful of the Lord.
I'm not claiming to fully understand a guy's mind - believe me, I don't, but I am saying that if you had any inkling of an idea of the magnitude of their struggle it'd have you running to your closet and throwing on the nun costume.
You can look cute and be modest. It can be done.

Modesty isn't just clothes. Modesty is a mindset. Modesty is the desire to keep our brothers in Christ from stumbling. You can be immodest while wearing a turtleneck and sweatpants. It's all the in way you present yourself. Be modest in your frame of mind as well, if you're truly seeking to help your brothers in Christ to not stumble, then you'll be much more aware of how what you wear and how you present yourself affects them. And if you don't know - ask them!

The type of guys who are attracted to immodest girls aren't the type of guys you want to date or marry, so why would you waste your time anyways?

Pray about this, women. Modesty isn't a list of do's and dont's -it's a mindset to respect God, others, and yourself.

I want to encourage you to check out this website: http://www.therebelution.com/modestysurvey/browse
It's a bunch of guys talking about modesty, and it's really helpful in understanding guys' struggle.

It shouldn't be "how much can I get away with?" but "how can I better show respect to God's creation - aka myself?" If you were standing next to a lion, you wouldn't see how close you could get without it biting your arm off, but you'd stay as far away as possible - we should view modesty in the same way.

Now you might be thinking: Yeah, yeah, but it's way too hard - I'm never going to get it right. Pray, woman, pray! God will help you, and eventually modesty will just be part of your daily routine.
Aunica

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