When the temperature starts rising so do the hemlines. Skirts and shorts become shorter and necklines tend to plunge. The hotter it is the less people want to wear under the guise of trying to “keep cool.” The only problem is that the less people wear the more they are showing. This really isn’t a new problem. The world has always had a problem keeping itself modest. However, what is a relatively recent problem is a lack of modesty among Christians. We bemoan immodesty from our pulpits and classroom lecterns praying that the world could somehow learn how to dress and behave morally, and as we look out we are discouraged to see the behavior of the world we are condemning sitting prominently in the pews. The question I have is how can we possibly change the world if we refuse to be different ourselves?
This means we must send a message of modesty. However, we must first educate ourselves in what modesty is. Webster’s Dictionary defines it as “not vain or boastful, shy or reserved, decorous, decent, unpretentious.” That’s all it means, yet often when the word “modest” is used it conjures thoughts of drab, unstylish, and unattractive clothing. Women see a milkmaid covered head to toe in burlap. Men see clothes that are hot and uncomfortable. While this is what the mind imagines it is not at all the reality of what dressing modest is. Modesty simply means we cover up what needs to be covered up for fear of casting a stumbling block before someone with our appearance. Matthew 5:28 records Jesus saying “…whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.” But ma’am, if you have dressed in a provocative way that encouraged that man to look and lust then you are just as guilty. Rather, Paul stated that women should “…adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety…” (1 Timothy 2:9). We can still be stylish, we can still dress attractively and comfortably but we must be modest! Christians, we must band together in this great cause of covering ourselves up properly to send to the world a message of modesty!
-Andy Brewer