Clothed in Righteousness

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Maybe I’ve mentioned this before, but the clothing styles for women and young ladies today leaves much to be desired. I have noticed a significant decline in the amount of fabric used in the construction of garments. As a result, modesty and discretion are noticeably missing from the wardrobes of many young (and old) women. I thought of Paul’s words to Timothy as I walked around this evening at a large shopping center where many mannequins and young women were sporting skimpy summer clothing. Paul instructed Timothy that he wanted women “to adorn themselves with proper clothing, modestly and discreetly, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly garments, but rather by means of good works, as is proper for women making a claim to godliness” (I Tim. 2:9-10, NASB). Paul points to the importance for us as women claiming the name of Christ to cover ourselves appropriately.
To cover oneself modestly is not open to interpretation or argument if we have any claim to godliness. Modesty means that even if we have “it” we are not flaunting “it” but rather are dressing in ways that would not cause others of the opposite sex to stumble when their eyes encounter us. A modest woman does not dress to draw attention to herself; instead, she dresses in a way that won’t detract from her purpose of bringing glory to God. I’ve heard my husband instructing our teenage sons to “bounce” their eyes away from women who are not appropriately covered. It is bad enough when my teenage sons feel overwhelmed by a women’s dress (or rather the lack of it) and have to turn their eyes away, but even I feel uncomfortable by the amount of skin shown above skimpy shirts and below short skirts and shorts. I really don’t expect the world to change the way it dresses because it makes me or anyone else feel uncomfortable, but I do have the expectation that Christian women dress themselves modestly—at church or any other event that is public. The next time you go shopping, try thinking about what would please Christ. I promise it will change your perspective!

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