Women's Modesty Christianity

## How To Dress Modestly: A Guide For Women

By Kendra

December 5, 2022

The Bible does not explicitly state that women must wear dresses, but it does say that women should dress modestly. In 1 Timothy 2:9, Paul writes, “I also want women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes.” this verse indicates that there is a difference between how men and women should dress. While men are to avoid adornment, women are to dress modestly. While the Bible does not give a specific directive on how women are to dress, it is clear that modesty is to be a priority. This means that women should avoid clothing that is revealing or that draws attention to their bodies. Instead, they should dress in a way that is respectful and modest. One way to ensure that you are dressing modestly is to choose clothing that covers your body well. This means avoiding clothing that is tight or revealing. Instead, opt for clothing that is loose and flowing. Additionally, make sure that your clothing is not see-through. If you are unsure whether or not your clothing is modest, ask a friend or family member for their opinion. It is also important to be aware of the message that your clothing sends. Avoid clothing that is provocative or that sends the wrong message. Instead, dress in a way that reflects your values and that shows respect for yourself and others.  When it comes to modesty, there is no one-size-fits-all solution. What is considered modest in one culture may not be considered modest in another. As a result, it is important to be familiar with the cultural norms in your community and to dress accordingly. Ultimately, the decision of what to wear is up to you. However, it is important to keep in mind that your clothing should reflect your values and that you should always dress in a way that is respectful and modest. According to Deuteronomy 22:5, if someone does something wrong, he or she is an abomination to god. Men should dress modestly and confidently, not with braided hair and gold or pearls, as Timothy 29.1% instructs us. Proverbs 31:20 states that a woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered has a broken heart. There are 110   for 1 Corinthians 11:6  ESV. If a wife does not cover her head, she should cut her hair short. Nonetheless, it is impolite for a wife to shave her head or cut her hair. 6:19-20  ESV, 81 Corinthians 6:19-20  ESV is your body a temple of the holy spirit or a temple of the will? In the book of Romans 12 ( ESV), there were 68. As a result, I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of god, to present your bodies as holy sacrifices and acceptable to him. It is 1 Corinthians 10:31  ESV 60. You must live in the glory of god no matter what you eat or drink. If you put your body to death, you are earthly in the eyes of the god: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil lust, and decadent desires. Be transformed, not conformed to the world. 1corinthians 11:1-34  ESV teaches us how to maintain our holiness and honour. The author of Samuel 16:7 instructs us not to look at his appearance or height because we have rejected him. Proverbs 7:10: “Do not be deceived by false promises.” suddenly, the woman dressed as a prostitute appears before him, his heart beating fast and hard. To be a successful older man, he must maintain a clean mind, a sense of dignity, self-control, faith, and love. The lord’s Prayer: 22:11  ESV 24. The clothing of both men and women shall not be combined in any way. This passage is referred to as Matthew 5:8  ESV. The blessed are pure in heart; they see god. Romans 14: 16  ESV has 22  . In other words, do not use good and evil to describe what you consider good and evil. Make certain that you accept god’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, as well as god’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience 2. It is god’s will that his son not be sent into the world to condemn it. According to John 3:16-17, if someone believes in Jesus, he or she will live eternally. Paul: have you not chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him? According to Corinthians 10:33  ESV, 18. When I am trying to please everyone in everything I do, not because I want to achieve my benefit, but because I believe many will be saved, I do the same thing. In Ezekiel 16:25-27, the son of man pleads with Jerusalem to see her abominations. As Romans 7:21: “Let us cleanse ourselves of every form of defilement of the body and spirit.” 1 Corinthians 11:10 states, “A wife must carry a symbol of authority on her head in order to demonstrate her authority.” the Bible 2:4  ESV 12. It is blessed to have those who wash their robes so that they may have access to the Tree of Life. As a result of this vote, 1 Timothy 2:1-15  ESV/12   were cast. All people, kings and all who are in high positions should be grateful for all that god has given them. Paul needs to keep the parts of his body that appear weak. The portion that was lacking was recognized more greatly after god composed the body. Romans 14:20  ESV states that everything is for me, but that I will not be enslaved by anything. The first Timothy 4:2-5  ESV nine. Some liars are so insincere that their consciences are seared, who forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods that god has created for them to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth, and some lie so much that they can’t who would you pass judgment on, the servant of another or yourself? When a man stands or falls before his master, he will be respected and praised. The dishonour of a man’s head is demonstrated by praying or acting with his head covered, while the dishonour of a wife’s head is demonstrated by her uncovered hair. It would be disingenuous for a wife to cover her head because it is shameful for her to shave or cut off her hair. A man should not cover his head because he is the image and glory of god, and a woman should not cover her head because she is the image and glory of god. If a woman wears clothing that is not for a man, neither shall a man wear it on himself: for all that does so is an abomination to the lord. “lady, no crop tops, and gentlemen, no tank tops,” is not a verse that describes crop tops or tank tops. We are expected by the Bible to use discernment to solve the more pressing problem. When we believe in god, we will be welcomed into his presence by both the man with the gold ring and the man with the tattered clothes (James 2:2-4). When a woman wears anything that is not a man’s, she shall wear it in accordance with the lord’s commandments: for all that does so are abominations unto him. Some clothing principles are mentioned in the new testament. According to 1 Timothy 2:9-10, women should adorn themselves in respectable clothing, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls, or expensive attire, but with what is appropriate for women who proclaim and carry out good works.

## Where Does It Talk About Women’s Clothing In The Bible?

There are a few verses in the Bible that talk about women’s clothing. In 1 Timothy 2:9, Paul says, “in like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with braided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array.” Paul is urging women to dress modestly and not to focus on their outward appearance. In 1 Peter 3:3-4, Peter says, “whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; but let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of god of great price.” here, peter is saying that it is more important for a woman to focus on her inner beauty, rather than her outward appearance. According to the Bible, women should dress modestly but not excessively. It is not acceptable for women to wear clothes that show a lot of skin, but they should cover up as much as possible. Paul and Peter state in both of their books that women should not wear jewelry, gold, pearls, or hair braids. According to the Bible, lust is already a sin if a man looks at a woman lustfully. The fact that women dress seductively appeals to them because it is about pleasure. Walking alongside god should always be a sign of faith in the world. Not only does he behave rudely, but he also appears rude. A person’s clothing is used to cover up his or her body. After Adam and Eve ate from the Tree of Knowledge, they decided to dress themselves rather than be naked all the time. It is stated in the old testament that we should not shame others because that is against the law. The importance of inner beauty Christ 3:11 – allow yourself to be the hidden man of your heart, to be clothed gently and reverently, and to be free from covering your head. What Bible says about dress? Picture source: https://pinimg.Com the Bible has a lot to say about how we dress! In 1 Timothy 2:9, it says, “likewise also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire.” this verse is telling us that we should be careful about how we dress and not try to show off our wealth through our clothes. Instead, we should be modest and self-controlled in our clothing choices. Deuteronomy 22:5 states that a woman shall not wear a man’s garment, nor shall a man wear a woman’s cloak; for whoever violates this rule is an abomination to the lord. Instead of braiding hair and gold or pearl earrings or wearing expensive clothing, women should dress modestly and with self-control. 1 Peter 3:1-2  ESV 175   as for your wives, you should follow your own husbands’ example so that, even if some of them refuse to obey the word, they may be won by their actions. 1 Corinthians 10:31  ESV  168 is assigned. You must do everything for god to serve him. In Matthew 5:28  ESV, there are 147. As a result, I urge you to be aware that anyone who looks at a woman who is intent on committing adultery already has committed adultery with her. Genesis 1:3  ESV has 120  . In the image of god, he created man and woman; god created both men and women. ” you shall love your neighbour as yourself,” says James 2:8, and you should be doing fine as long as you follow the royal law. Romans 14:33:10. If he has any doubts, he is doomed because eating is not from faith. ” there is no Jew or Greek; there is no slave nor free; all of you are one in christ Jesus,” says Galatians 3:28. Proverbs 31:20  ESV    . She enjoys the time to come because of her strength and dignity. The Bible is divided into three parts: Genesis 3:21  ESV, Genesis 3:10, and Genesis 3:10. God clothed Adam and his wife with their skins, as well as with their garments. Acts 3:16-26  ESV has 92. Women in Zion walk with long, outstretched necks and gaze only at what they see. Our lord, we pray for your comfort and peace. To god be the one who opposes the proud while giving grace to the humble, clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility. Matthew 6:33  ESV  73   is cited in Matthew 6:33. However, before all of these benefits can be added, you must first seek god’s kingdom and righteousness. Romans 8:28  ESV  72 is presented. All of god’s things work together for the good of those who believe, and all of his work is done for the good of those who follow his commands. This is 1 Timothy 2:8  ESV, with 71. I would then like all men to pray in every place and lift their holy hands without being angry or divided. In Romans 14:21-24, 63   were cast. When someone is weak in faith, encourage him rather than criticize him. When god has blessed them, they are pure and holy in the heart. It is found in Galatians 3:26-29  ESV. Because Jesus is the son of god, you are all his children through faith. The text of Matthew 5:14-16  ESV has 59. It is your light that shines throughout the world. I write this passage as an NIV Bible verse: 2:20  ESV 57. If you paid a price, you received something in return. You can do this by praising god in your body. In the Hebrew Bible, we read Isaiah 61:10, which has 58. We shall be overjoyed in the lord’s presence. The Bible is cited as follows in chapter 22:11. This is an excellent  ESV that has been voted 55 times. However, as the king entered the room, he saw a man without a wedding gown. 1 Peter 3:7  ESV 54 is included. Similarly, husbands show respect to the woman as the weak link in their family by understanding her and acting as her weaker link. Affirmative: blessed is the one who read the prophecy aloud, and blessed are those who hear it. Our lord, please bless all the seven churches that are in Asia: peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and grace to you. I will confess his name to the angels as well as to my father. As a result of 49, Ephesians 5:25-33  ESV is now available. Husbands love their wives because Christ loved and sacrificed for them in the church. There are 44   for Galatians 3:26-27  ESV. Throughout all of his creation, Jesus is the son of god through faith. 40 of 39   have been cast for Luke 3:11  ESV. It is a false prophet’s prophecy to approach you in sheep’s clothing. Matthew 6:1-4 tells us to beware of practicing our righteousness before other people because if we do so, we will not receive a reward from our god. As hypocrites do in synagogues and on the streets when giving to the needy, don’t sound your trumpet before you when you give to the needy. The 1 Corinthians 6:9-10:32 quote above. Can someone know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of god? Asserting, praying, intercessions, and thanksgiving for each other are all important parts of 1 Timothy 2:1-15. 10:10: John instructs us on god’s will. Theft is the only way for the thief to come. If you are modest, you do not want to draw attention to yourself. They are attempting to lift god’s glory in their bodies and spirits. We must focus on god because he is looking at us. Our goal should be to demonstrate to him that we are both good and holy.

 To be modest is to be modest and humble. To have such an attitude is to demonstrate to god that we are both good and holy. It is our responsibility to demonstrate to him that we do not want to show off our bodies or seek attention from others. This is what distinguishes us as individuals. The importance of modesty in christianity there is no dress code in christianity, but most believers believe it is important to be modest and respectful while wearing clothes. In religious services, people dress in more fashionable clothes to show off their higher status, but this isn’t something that most christians do. Dressing modestly and respectfully in public to demonstrate god’s love is probably the most common way for people to do so. Woman should dress modestly Bible verse there are a few Bible verses that talk about how a woman should dress modestly. One verse says, “i also want women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship god.” this verse is from 1 Timothy 2:9-10. Another verse that talks about modesty is 1 peter 3:3-4 which says, “your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in god’s sight.” these verses show that it is more important for a woman to have a modest heart, than to have a flashy appearance. Christian dress code in the Bible there is no explicit dress code for christians in the Bible. However, there are a few principles that can be gleaned from scripture regarding how christians should dress. First, christians should dress modestly, avoiding clothing that is sexually suggestive or that would otherwise be a stumbling block to others (1 Timothy 2:9). Second, christians should dress in a way that reflects the dignity of their position as children of god (1 peter 3:3-4). Finally, christians should be careful not to let their clothing become a source of pride or a hindrance to their witness for christ (matthew 6:25). Women are supposed to wear modest clothing, such as long pants and dresses, rather than gold or pearls or expensive clothing. Women shall not wear a man’s garment, nor a cloak worn by a man. According to john 22:5  ESV, 63   were taken. If you see someone who appears to be in lust, you have already committed adultery. The Bible 1 samuel 16:7  ESV, 38  . He measured them with a line and made them lie on the ground when he defeated moab. He was sentenced to death in two lines and to be spared in one line. Romans 12:1-2 is an  ESV that has 18   . I would like to encourage you, your brothers, to sacrifice yourself for the sake of god. Job 24:7  ESV has ten  . Because they are naked and without clothing, they are unable to keep warm during the winter. According to the Bible, proverbs 31:1-31 is followed by eight  . King lemuel wrote these words in the second chapter of Timothy 2:26  ESV. As a result, flee the pursuit of youthful passion and instead focus on righteousness, faith, love, and peace. It’s nice to be able to save some money because i’ve become all things to everyone. The lord’s prayer is repeated in four steps in john 10:10  ESV. The thief is only here to steal, kill, and destroy, so he does not come at all. They may have life and have a lot of it if i’m honest. It is not life more than food and body. Does the Bible talk about dress code? As we are urged by scripture to keep our eyes fixed on ourselves with virtues like humility, sobriety, and good works, we are not expected to dress in a particular way. Is there a dress code for church in the Bible? Dressing down is acceptable in the Bible as a form of worship. There are people in this text who are dressed in shabby clothing. Even if you’re a little scrawny, according to the Bible, dressing down is perfectly acceptable. What did christians wear in the Bible? Wool, linen, animal skins, and silk, for example, were used to make biblical clothing. As a result, most biblical clothing is derived from ancient hebrew clothing in the hebrew Bible and new testament. They wore pants and skirts under their clothing. How should a christian woman dress a christian woman should dress in a way that is respectful of her body and the bodies of others. She should avoid clothing that is revealing or sexually suggestive, and she should be mindful of the messages her clothing might send. In general, it is best to err on the side of modesty and to dress in a way that reflects the values of christianity. Women who are christian have the ability to dress modestly and attractively. The body god has given us does not have to be hidden, but rather should not be displayed. To dress modestly as a christian woman, one must first establish biblically based beliefs (convictions). Christians should dress modestly to serve as a role model and to serve as a light for others.

Christian women should dress in clothing that distinguishes them from men. Our bodies are sexual zones in the sense that god intended them to be. After adam and eve had been corrupted by sin, god placed a covering over their nakedness or sexual zones. In these stores, there are skimpy, skimpy, thigh-revealing clothing items. Every man’s sin problem is caused by his own actions, and a christian woman is not held liable for every man’s immoral thought about her. Nonetheless, you are in charge of keeping your sexual zones as attractive as possible. Some women believe that if they don’t show their bare skin, they are acting modestly. It’s fine to wear a fitted shirt. We are not revealing our secrets. If i wear this piece of clothing can i tell the difference between thighs, butt, or breasts? Does it cup my rear or my chest? Would i wear it in the presence of Jesus? If you have a shirt with a low neckline and visible cleavage, you do not have to throw it away. In general, if you choose to wear pants whether jeans, slacks, or dress pants, consider if you can do so modestly? Consider whether the garments are too tight in the sex zone while adhering to modesty guidelines. If god says we shouldn’t show our sexual zones to men, then why is it okay to show them while swimming? Biblically modest swim attire can be worn with athletic shorts, one-piece swimsuits, or traditional swimsuit bottoms. If you are comfortable wearing modest pants or shorts, you can look for options that fit within your personal preferences. Instead of wearing tight clothing, opt for knee-length shorts or athletic skirts. A modest swimsuit is difficult to find, and you may need to buy a separate top and swim skirt. We must know biblical principles and apply them to our lives in order to be true christians. Dress modestly in biblical terms, covering your sexual zones from the chest to about the knee. The pursuit of excess, money, or status do not concern a woman who is modest. Woman should not wear trousers Bible verse there is no explicit Bible verse that states woman should not wear trousers. However, many christian groups believe that women should dress modestly and not draw attention to their bodies. This usually means wearing clothes that are not too tight or revealing. While there is no definitive answer, it is generally accepted that women should dress modestly and respectfully when attending religious services. By sorting relevance sorted, you can find specific verses on women wearing pants from the king James version (KJV). Make your purchase by using the book order link. As per Deuteronomy 22:5 – neither a man nor a woman shall wear anything that pertains to either. In the same way, women dress modestly, dressed in shamefacedness and soberness, as depicted in 1 Timothy 2:9. In peter 3:4 says, “but let us make man in the image of god rather than incorruptible material things, such as the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of god.” according to 2 Timothy 3:16, all scripture is given by god and profitable for doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness. Banned Bible bitch: no trousers for women men are not permitted to wear clothing for women in the Bible. Anyone who does this is in violation of the laws of your lord’s god. Women wore a stola, or long pleated dress, similar to the greek chitons, the outer garment of the Bible. Other clothing styles were worn during the period, and many of these images are visible in artwork from that time period. It is possible for garments to be quite specialized, such as for warfare, specific occupations, or sports. Elizabeth smith miller, a suffragist, is credited with coining the term trousers. Bible verses about dressing properly as god’s chosen ones, make disciples of Jesus christ by teaching them compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. Both Paul and peter recognize that dressing oneself in a more revealing manner than oneself is more than skin deep (1 peter 5:5). Believers are more than just christ-like individuals; they are christ-like individuals as well. At all times, it is acceptable for christian men to dress modestly. What is the Bible on the subject of dress code? Is it a sin to wear a pants to church? Should women wear head covering for service? How can i dress according to Bible? Churches frequently object to women wearing men’s clothing while also objecting to women wearing men’s clothing. Our best option is to dress modestly and follow our conscience. You do not have to criticize the decision made by your church’s leadership. Make yourself obey and serve god if your church requires a specific type of dress code. Dressing elaborately in order to appear more handsome is not appropriate if you are a sinner. When you look in the mirror, god wants to see beauty as it spreads outward. Our actions and choices are what matter most to god, and he has no control over our decisions. The lord’s eyes are upon us, watching over the wicked and the good (proverbs 15:6). Before you leave your house, you should think about these questions: what if Jesus clothed himself like this? Does christ find it funny that we dress like fools? Is my dressing right or noble before god? Is what i’m putting on spiritually and morally holy? How much god admires my dressing style? Women dressing there is no one answer to this question as different women dress in different ways depending on their personal style, body type, and the occasion. However, some general tips on dressing as a woman might include choosing pieces that flatter your figure, accentuating your best features, and feeling confident in what you’re wearing. No matter what you choose to wear, if you feel good in it, you’re sure to look great.

Does Modesty Matter To God

By Scott Asselin

I have not been accused of being a “clothesline” preacher, yet i believe, teach, and preach that our outward appearance tells those around us much about our relationship with god. Before we ever say a word about “style” or “fashion”, the most important question is that of modesty. Does modesty matter to god? As i seek the scriptures on whether it is so, i have to say it does. Modesty in our appearance is clearly seen from genesis to revelation. To lay this topic out, i asked evangelist seth cowart and his wife to answer this question concerning modesty. Here is what they wrote: modesty: if it matters to the master, it should matter to you the english word “modest” is used only once in the KJV Bible. (1 Timothy 2:9 in like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with braided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array;)  however, the greek word for modest, kosmios, is used twice (1 Timothy 3:2 a bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach;).  Interestingly, paul used kosmios once to instruct ladies how to dress and once to instruct men how to behave.  Therefore, modesty is such an important virtue  that both genders should reverently consider to be a vital part of their practical christian life.  While it is obvious that modesty covers a much broader scope than one’s appearance, it is the objective of this article to deal primarily with a practical application of modesty in appearance. The Bible declares that our “body is the temple of the holy ghost”. (1 corinthians 6:19 what? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the holy ghost which is in you, which ye have of god, and ye are not your own?).  As christians, our “reasonable service” is to present our body as a part of our worship to god (romans 12:1 i beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of god, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto god, which is your reasonable service.) the body cannot and must not be disconnected from our worship to god.  As a matter of fact, the body is included in the three-fold sanctifying work of god in the believer’s life (1 Thessalonians 5:23 and the very god of peace sanctify you wholly; and i pray god your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our lord Jesus christ.).  God cares about how we present our body contrary to popular opinion, god does care about how we present our body.  If the body doesn’t matter to god, then why did god care enough to cover its shame? (Gen3:21 unto adam also and to his wife did the lord god make coats of skins, and clothed them.) if the body doesn’t matter to god, then why did Jesus care enough to suffer stripes upon his back to heal it? (isaiah 53:5 but he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.) if the body doesn’t matter to god, then why would god care enough to fellowship with us in it? (2 corinthians 6:16 and what agreement hath the temple of god with idols? For ye are the temple of the living god; as god hath said, i will dwell in them, and walk in them; and i will be their god, and they shall be my people.) if the body doesn’t matter to god, then why does god care enough to resurrect it? (1 corinthians 15:52-53 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 53 for this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.) the body, and how it is presented, does matter to god.  I submit that our dress code, in most cases, can be a direct correlation of the condition of our spirit.  If one’s heart is full of lust, then lustfulness will be manifested in how the body is presented to others.  On the other hand, if one’s heart is sincerely seeking god, then an image of chastity will be evident in how the body is presented to others.  The question may be asked, does god really care about what i wear?  The answer can quickly be found in the first few pages of the Bible.  When adam and eve sinned and were made aware (gen. 3:7 and the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.) the word “apron” refers to a girdle that is worn around the waist.  Essentially, as dr. Messer pointed out, adam and eve “covered only the parts of the body that [were] different, leaving the rest of the body exposed.”   when god questioned adam about his absence from fellowship, though adam’s waist was covered, he confessed to god that his fig-leaf apron was still nakedness. “and he said, i heard thy voice in the garden, and i was afraid, because i was naked; and i hid myself.” (Gen3:10).  To the lord their ‘fig-leaf fashion’ was inadequate; so he clothed them his way—with ‘coats of skin.’”   the hebrew word for ‘coats’ is kuttôneth,” which was “the most widely used word for a long- or half-sleeved shirtlike garb reaching to the ankles” (messer, 14).   the world is currently looking to the first adam for their inadequate dress code of sensuality, but the christian should be looking to the last adam, Jesus christ, for a modest dress code that glorifies god.  As the designer of clothes, god set forth the precedence for clothing to fully cover the body.  The men’s department modesty tends to be a topic that is reserved for the ladies and us men-folk normally set this one out.  But, let’s not be so quick to excuse ourselves.  Modesty has a men’s department too.  Modest clothing for men should be masculine.  I cringe to see gender-neutral looking clothes on men who profess a christian experience.  The ladies hear it more frequently, but god was sure to reciprocate the commandment for us men as well: “the woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman’s garment: for all that do so are abomination unto the lord thy god.” (deuteronomy 22:5).  There are particular styles of clothes, even though they are sold in the men’s section, that should simply be avoided because it resembles the styles and fashions of women’s clothing.  Though our clothes should be undeniably masculine, we should use caution so as not to wear any clothing that emphasizes our figure or draws unnecessary attention to us or certain parts of the body.  When Jesus described john the baptist’s plain appearance, his description seems to balance masculinity and modesty: “but what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft [or literally effeminate] raiment? Behold, they which are gorgeously apparelled, and live delicately, are in kings’ courts .” (luke 7:25)   like john’s, our clothing should be masculine, but also simple. Modesty is a principle, or a code of conduct.  It doesn’t have a temperature limit or a location requirement.  Modesty is a conviction that should govern the christian in all places, in all activities, and at all times; even on our social media accounts.  There are specific places and activities that may tempt us to compromise our modesty for added comfort.  But, in most cases, it is in these specific places and activities (gym, running, etc.) where there are more body movements and awkward motions being made.  Special care should be added when picking out our activewear.  It may cover it, but does it conceal it? The women’s department i know modesty is a very real virtue that men have to pray through about.  But in my humble opinion, i feel like modesty requires more strength for women to attain than men.  Modesty has never been so important for women than it is today.  Almost everywhere you go there is an assault on female purity.  A woman’s body is being used to advertise many products that are on the market today.  In each advertisement, our purity is being attacked.  The fashion design industry not only tries to force us into a certain size, but the fashion magazines at the check-out constantly redefine society’s tolerance of indecent exposure.  I know we are “the weaker vessel” and our biblical role in the family is one of submission and obedience, but modesty will restore a woman’s dignity and increase her worth.   While society shamefully plasters an exposed woman all over the place and views her body as nothing more than a marketing tool, god commands that husbands value their wives more than their own lives (ephesians 5:25 husbands, love your wives, even as christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;) the world wants to shame us, but god wants to honor us.  When god commands us in his word to dress modestly, it is to promote an honorable appearance and to glorify him. Because of the nature of our human sexuality and the fact that males are more easily enticed into lust through the eyes, this means that the woman’s body should be held all the more special and sanctified.  This is one of the reasons paul says women are to dress modestly (1 Timothy 2:9 in like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array;)  sanctification means that the things sanctified are set apart for holy use. Women are beautiful.  Men know this, satan knows this, and our creator knows this.  But the physical value of outward beauty shouldn’t be our greatest value.  Psalm 45:13 the king’s daughter is all glorious within: her clothing is of wrought gold.  Our clothing shouldn’t draw attention to our body, but to the greater glory within, the lord Jesus christ.  We should dress in a way that draws attention to the face and avoid clothing styles that accentuate particular parts of the body.  Women who dress to entice are seen as objects.  Sensual apparel flaunts the physical value and obscures the intrinsic value all women possess and thus corrupts the woman’s overall image.  What lust is, is when the sexual value of the person supersedes their personal value. Jason evert modest women dress beautifully.  Immodest women dress sensually.  Sensuality is not beauty.  Psalm 149:4 “for the lord taketh pleasure in his people: he will beautify the meek with salvation.” here is another quote i came across that i really love and agree with wholeheartedly, women, modesty means you have beauty and power.  And you use that to teach men how to love you for the right reasons. Jason evert deuteronomy 22:5 the woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman’s garment: for all that do so are abomination unto the lord thy god. Deuteronomy 22 is a chapter that is mixed with ceremonial laws and moral laws.  “into which category does verse 5 fit?  The answer lies in the phrase ‘abomination unto the lord thy god.’  god never used this expression when speaking of the ceremonial law.  When he judged what was clean and unclean to the jews, he declared the practice of the unclean as an abomination to the jew (lev 11:7 and the swine, though he divide the hoof, and be clovenfooted, yet he cheweth not the cud; he is unclean to you.) (lev 11:20 all fowls that creep, going upon all four, shall be an abomination unto you. ) when he judged something as being detestable to himself, god declared it ‘an abomination unto the lord.”[6]  1 Timothy 2:9 in like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array; the above scripture doesn’t only condemn indecent clothing, but it also condemns the prideful desire to overdo it in our presentation of the body.  Gaudiness isn’t godliness.  Our godliness should be so evident that it is even seen in how we present ourselves to others. (1 Timothy 2:10 but (which becometh women professing godliness) with good works.) i do not view modesty as bondage or an unfair blow to womanhood.  I have found delight in god’s commandment of modesty.  I view it as an opportunity to let my light shine in ways that men cannot.  I have lost count how many times i’ve been asked “what religion are you?”  i think that question is comical because it implies that i look so different that i’m not even associated with the modern look of christian women.  I’ve found that my modesty can be a talking point to share christ with others.  Romans 6:13 neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto god, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto god. Our bodies should be instruments to praise god through.  How we present our body is the first and sometimes most powerful impression others receive of us.  Ask yourself this: does our wardrobe worship god?  Is our closet consecrated to Jesus christ?  It is our sincere desire that this article would stir an awareness that our modesty is a way we bring glory to god.

## 3 Important Reasons to Dress Modestly as Christians | All Round Jesus

Betty R.

October 11, 2021

allroundJesus.com

Betty 8–10 minutes do you always dress modestly? In this post, i’ll share 3 important reasons to dress modestly as christians. The question of whether we are dressing modestly shouldn’t even arise as christians because after all, we have the mind of christ. Shouldn’t we instinctively know what constitutes modest dressing that glorifies god? But we are all work in progress, therefore we don’t claim to know it all. Hence the reason for this post. As god’s royal diadems, we are expected to dress modestly at all times although this can be more challenging in the summer. Because it’s always hot during that time of the year. This post contains affiliate links and i may earn compensation if you click on the links at no additional cost to you. Regardless, i only recommend products or services i use personally and believe will be good for my readers. During the summer, some people including myself prefer putting on just the barest minimum of clothing to allow air circulation. The question then arises as to whether we’re still dressing modestly as christians should? To answer this question, we have to remind ourselves about what the Bible considers as a modest dressing for christians. But before we continue, here are some faithful reminders about important reasons to dress modestly. 1 3 important reasons we should dress modestly as christians ◦ who we are in Jesus christ ◦ ◦ we are bought with a price ◦ ◦ god is concerned about our dressing 2 what does it mean to dress modestly as christians? 3 dressing modestly in the Bible 4 3 benefits of dressing modestly as christians 5 conclusion – dressing modestly as christians who we are in Jesus christ one important reason to dress modestly as a christian is because of who we are. Who we are in christ should be the driving force and determinant for our decisions and choice of dressing. In a previous post on what it means for us to be a crown of glory, i shared that god’s plan and promise is to make us his showpiece. For this to happen, we must be prepared both inwardly and outwardly and live a sanctified life. Furthermore, we understand from 1 peter 2:9 that we are a royal priesthood. 9 but you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, his own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light; 1 peter 2:9 (nKJV) and because we are a royal priesthood, we have to dress the part. One key differentiator of royalty is in the dressing, how much more when we belong to the king of kings. We are bought with a price when we understand who we are and the fact that we are bought with a price, we’ll require less persuasion to dress modestly. Although god has given us a free will, we do not own ourselves, we are bought with a price. Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the holy spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from god? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor god with your bodies. 1 corinthians 6:19-20 (niv) we are bought with a price and our bodies are the temple of god, therefore we are to honor god with our bodies. If we are to honor god with our bodies, then it follows that the dress that covers our bodies must honor god. Oftentimes when the topic of dressing modestly as christians arise, we immediately think it’s limited to women. But this isn’t always true, although i agree that we women have more to think about. Especially because we have lots of varieties and options of what to wear. However, both men and women have a need to dress modestly and honor god with their dressing. God is concerned about our dressing there are several Bible passages that corroborate the fact that god is concerned about our dressing. Therefore we must pay attention to how we dress. For example we read in the book of genesis that it was god who made the first cloth for adam and eve.  And the lord god made for adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them. Genesis 3:21 ( ESV) god made the cloth for them because they were naked and i was afraid, because i was naked, and i hid myself.” genesis 3:10 ( ESV) so despite god being angry at adam and eve for their disobedience, he cared enough about their dressing. And he made sure they were properly clothed. What does it mean to dress modestly as christians? To dress modestly means to dress in an unassuming manner, without vanity or arrogance. It means to dress in a manner that isn’t elaborate or luxurious and to dress in a way that avoids impropriety and indecency. Dressing without vanity means dressing without a lot of pride and conceit in your appearance. How often have we dressed in vanity? It’s so easy to be overtaken by vanity in our appearance.  If you’ve ever “dressed to kill” or been conceited about your appearance, you’ve been vain. This is not to say that we shouldn’t dress or look nice but we must not be consumed by it and it shouldn’t be our sole focus. Our sole focus in dressing should be to glorify god. 3 do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Philippians 2:3 ( ESV) the above Bible verse instructs us not to do anything with selfish ambition or conceit but with humility. Dressing modestly in the Bible the Bible is not silent about dressing modestly, let’s examine 1 Timothy 2:9-10 posted below for convenience. Likewise, i want women to adorn themselves modestly and appropriately and discreetly in proper clothing, not with [elaborately] braided hair and gold or pearls or expensive clothes, but instead adorned by good deeds [helping others], as is proper for women who profess to worship god. 1 Timothy 2:9-10 (amp) although the above Bible passage is directed at women, it is applicable to men as well. It is not only women that need to dress modestly and without conceit, men do too. There’s no double standard with god, what he says to one, he says to all. And this can be clearly seen in god’s requirement for the dressing of aaron and his sons. 42 you shall make for them linen undergarments to cover their naked flesh. They shall reach from the hips to the thighs; 43 and they shall be on aaron and on his sons when they go into the tent of meeting or when they come near the altar to minister in the holy place, lest they bear guilt and die. This shall be a statute forever for him and for his offspring after him. Exodus 28:42 – 43 ( ESV) related post: self discipline – a necessity for the christian race 3 benefits of dressing modestly as christians there are several benefits to be derived from dressing modestly as christians and some of them are listed below. 1 when we dress modestly, we demonstrate that we are honoring god outwardly. 2 because our appearance is the first thing people see about us, they will have no trouble identifying us as christians. And they will be more receptive of the gospel we preach. 3 we will have peace of mind in knowing that we have not caused lust to arise in someone else’s mind because of us. This is so important because we do not want to sin against christ. Recall that apostle paul said; 12 but when you thus sin against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, you sin against christ. 13 therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, i will never again eat meat, lest i make my brother stumble. 1 corinthians 8:12-13 so even though we could argue that it’s the weak brother or sisters’ fault that they have lust, we have to do our part to ensure we are blameless before god. 3 important reasons to dress modestly and attendant benefits. #modestdressing #dressmodestly #teacupclub click to tweet conclusion – dressing modestly as christians due to the heat during the hot summer months, it’s tempting to dress immodestly. But here are a few reminders. 1 you are bought with a price, therefore glorify god in your body. 2 your body is the temple of god therefore, dress in a dignified manner that befits who you are in christ. 3 dress in such a way as to avoid arousing lust in others. Remember that Jesus said whoever causes someone else to stumble, it will be better for them to be hanged.  “whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea. Mark 9:42 ( ESV) if you have been blessed by this post, please share freely and leave me a comment as well.

## Modesty: What is it and Where Do We Draw the Lines?

More Than a Mormon Mom

March 3, 2014

There i was sitting in my spanish class doing a bell ringer, or some quiz as other students filtered in and sat down. I remember feeling hot and flushed after huffing it across campus. I had a light jacket on because i'd expected the weather to be a little cooler. I slid out of the jacket as i continued to work. Once i was done i waited for class to officially start and casually chatted with classmates. It was about this time when my teacher (some grad student) asked if i could step outside and talk with him. I immediately assumed he must want me to join in some secret game or activity to help the class learn more conjugations, or spanish phrases. I definitely was not expecting to hear what he had to say. No. He definitely didn't want to talk to me about verbs, or anything else having to do with class. Instead, he spent a good portion of time pointing out that my clothing didn't meet the honor code (or set of rules) i'd signed and agreed to follow. I was confused that he hadn't referred me to the honor code office like he should have since he thought i wasn't in compliance. However, he never mentioned the honour code again. Instead, he continued to passionately tell me why he believed my clothing was so distasteful. I tried seeing what was inappropriate about my clothing. I knew we weren't supposed to show cleavage, midruff, shoulders, and shorts and skirts were to come to the knee. I also knew that we weren't supposed to wear tight form fitting clothing. I looked down at my shirt and jeans in shock as i tried to figure out which of these rules i had inadvertently broken. I stood there in the hallway for a couple of minutes while my teacher literally yelled at me. I felt humiliated, especially when students or faculty were in the halls. Yet, nothing could dissuade him from his rant about how wrong i was to wear such a shirt, how my "boobs" looked and why that made it difficult for him as "a married man" to have to be around "girls like me." i remember feeling mortified and trying to convince him i tried very hard not to be "one of those girls"...That i made a huge effort to dress modestly. I apologized which sent him back to lecturing me and criticizing me, but there was no way i could completely persuade him that i wouldn't have worn the shirt had i known it would have been seen in that light. He said that if i really wanted to dress modestly then i should buy shirts that were a size or two bigger than i'd normally wear. He said his wife did just that. Ironically, i'd received the shirt from my mom and hadn't thought it was too tight. That's because it really wasn't too tight. After he was done explicitly pointing out the reasons he felt my clothing was immodest, i was sent back into the classroom to "put back on that jacket." as i walked back in he called another girl outside. I remember looking at her outfit and asking myself, "what is wrong with what she's wearing? Is it her shirt? Maybe her pants?" i wasn't sure. Then, i noticed other girls had shirts that were similar to the one i was wearing. Yet, nobody else was called outside. Why had i been selected to receive such criticism when others wearing similar clothing were ignored. The girl sitting near me asked, "what did he want?" i shrugged and said, "i guess you'll find out" hoping she'd think it had all been about spanish. Looking back i wonder if she heard him yelling, or if they noticed how long i'd been gone. I sat through the rest of class embarrassed and stifling hot under the added layer of my jacket. The next couple of days i tried to understand why i was attacked for my clothing. I asked the guy i was dating at the time whether or not he'd thought my shirt was too tight and if i had anything else he thought was too fitting. He tried to be helpful and judge what clothing might be too sexy or attractive. I went through my closet and tried to get rid of anything that looked similar, not just because i wanted to follow the rules, but because i wanted to be modest. After hours of shifting through clothing i felt like i hadn't gotten anywhere. It was through this process that i began to really think about modesty. It began as a quest to see where the lines and limits were so i could stay away from them. To know what was too short, too low, too tight etc.What i ended up learning was so much more. Perhaps, that's why i was interested in the hype that came after this months ensign (a magazine that members of the church read). In case you haven't followed, elder callister stirred the pot for a blogger and a couple of therapists who felt that the ensign was perpetuating a rape culture which got some people talking. The buzz started after one blogger names natasha ripped elder callister's talk apart. While she had many points, it seems the only one that really got people's attention was his thoughts about modesty. In part this is because natasha's other points seem to be based on her opinion. She criticized past leaders of the church and she seemed to think she trumped them because of her occupation as a therapist. However, she did raise some great points i believe all mormons and everyone else should consider about modesty. I have to admit that i feel a little bad for elder callister. His words received a lot more attention and push back than is normal for a talk published in our church magazine. Still, i wouldn't be surprised if he hasn't heard about it. If he has, i have enough respect for him to believe he would likely admit to some of the negative messages hidden in the short paragraph on modesty. I don't think he put them there purposefully. As with many things, i believe the good message he was trying to share was mixed in with common misconceptions held by our culture at large. I'd like to give him the benefit of the doubt. If the misunderstandings were explained to him i think he'd readily agree to change how he discussed modesty. So let's discuss what he said, and then talk about modesty... Here's the controversial quote, "our dress affects not only our thoughts and actions, but also the thoughts and actions of others...The dress of a woman has a powerful impact on the minds and passions of men. If it is too low or too high or too tight, it may prompt improper thoughts, even in the mind of a young man who is striving to be pure...Women particularly can dress modestly and in the process contribute to their own self-respect and to the moral purity of men. In the end, most women get the type of man they dress for." i have to admit, i didn't read the article until after i heard about the push back. As i read it there were a couple of spots where i cringed a bit. Yet, there is also plenty of truth to what he said. Studies have shown that the way we dress affects our thoughts and actions. There is a reason many schools now have school uniforms. One study (from agents to objects: sexist attitudes and neural response to sexualized targets, in the journal of cognitive nueroscience) got a lot of attention from the media, (especially after jessica rey mentioned it in her speech that went viral among religious circles). It showed that how a woman dresses (modestly vs. Scantily clad) affects the way they are perceived. I'd already read the article before jessica's video surfaced, and i was aware that the study she quoted was blown out of proportion by the media (there were no screwdrivers involved and the results weren't as conclusive as all the media hype made it out to be). However, it did show that participants who looked at scantily clad women had brain activity in different areas of the brain compared to when they looked at modestly clothed women. It is possible then that the theory plays out that people see women as objects when they wear revealing clothing. I think most of us already know this to some degree. Actually, this was one of the reasons i was so upset when i was verbally attacked by my spanish teacher. I'd already gone through a phase where i'd dressed somewhat immodestly. I wore immodest clothing because it made me feel attractive and frankly, as a boy crazy teen i liked the attention i received. It wasn't until after i heard a couple of drunk men discussing my body in detail that i realized, a lot of the attention i received was sexual and i didn't want to be seen as a "thing" to have sex with. Because i consciously made the decision to wear modest clothing, i felt confident and beautiful in what i wore. I already knew it was more difficult to obtain respect when i wore revealing clothing. The point i'm trying to make here is that: modesty is about respect! It's respecting our own body. It's moving past our cultures norms of objectifying people, both men and women. To put it more bluntly, it's realizing that we as women are not just a pair of legs, breasts, and genitals. It's also invites others to respect us as well. Here's where we move into the next point, and where elder callister, my spanish teacher, and many others get confused. While studies have shown that dressing immodestly can affect the way we and others perceive ourselves, the reason we should dress modestly isn't to protect men and others from having lustful or impure thoughts about us. However, it is important that women learn that men are much more visually stimulated then we are, meaning they become sexually aroused just by looking at an attractive woman. It's important women understand that because in general we aren't as easily aroused. Still, no matter how much you cover up there will always be plenty of men who will see you as a sex object. There will always be men who won't respect women no matter how fully clothed they are (or aren't). And there never will be a universally accepted limit or line when it comes to modesty. In my spanish teacher's mind i wasn't modestly dressed. In other men's minds unless i'm covered completely and only have my eyes showing i am inappropriately dressed. It becomes wrong when they reject me as a human being because of the way that i am dressed. We need to always see other people as human beings and recognize they are worthy of respect no matter how they are dressed. Men, you can hope women won't objectify themselves, you can wish that women cover themselves up so you aren't sexually aroused "even though [you're] married...,"but it becomes wrong when you look down on them for their lack of clothing. And...It is wrong to expect that women are responsible for your thoughts and actions. We shouldn't ever look at a woman as "one of those girls." and if men feel uncomfortable looking at women who are showing cleavage, that's not a bad thing. The fact that they're uncomfortable is a good thing (especially if they're married). Why? Because they don't want to see that woman as a sex object. Yet, while it may be uncomfortable, men can't control how women dress. Instead, they need to have enough respect for women to master their thoughts. This is where natasha was right. The idea that women's clothing, or actions are responsible for men's thoughts, actions, or moral purity is supportive of a rape culture. What i mean by rape culture is the ideas, myths, and misconceptions that our culture teaches that support rapists in justifying themselves and help perpetuate rape, sexual assault, and violence while blaming the victim. I have read several intense research articles discussing how rape victims who aren't dressed modestly are often blamed for their rape/assault.  This mentality isn't alright. Does any person deserve to be raped? No! Another rape myth that ties into this idea is that men can't control their sexual urges. So if we were to look at callister's words, in my opinion he has many valid points mixed in with rape myth messages. "our dress affects not only our thoughts and actions, but also the thoughts and actions of others..." this is true. The way we dress does affect the way we are perceived. "the dress of a woman has a powerful impact on the minds and passions of men." this is true until he adds passions (depending on how you define it). Men are more than capable of controlling their thoughts. Yes, they may notice a woman is sexually attractive, but they can decide to stop those thoughts from turning to "passion" and actions... "if it is too low or too high or too tight, it may prompt improper thoughts, even in the mind of a young man who is striving to be pure..." this is true. He goes on, "women particularly, can dress modestly and in the process contribute to their own self-respect and to the moral purity of men." this is also true. Though i believe women shouldn't be expected to dress to contribute to men's moral purity sine men are responsible for their own purity. After all even if we're just wearing a shirt and jeans, some of us just can't help looking good. Finally, "in the end, most women get the type of man they dress for." this is the sentence where i really cringe. I don't believe any women dresses to get a man who disrespects her. At the same time, i know from experience that the more revealing the clothing a woman wears, the more jerks she'll tend to attract. This sentence just really needed to be re-worded, or omitted all together. So what is modesty? To me, dressing modesty is about self-respect. It's dressing in a way that doesn't objectify (or make one seem less then human) yet, makes you feel confident, and beautiful. Why should we dress modestly? So we as women can recognize that we have value beyond our looks and the men who desire us. It's about self-respect and recognizing who we really are. I wish i could rewind that confrontation with my spanish teacher. If that were possible i'd certainly let him know that his degrading approach wasn't acceptable. In fact, had i reported our conversation he would have been cited for sexual harassment. Luckily, most people who attended byu don't have such a negative encounter, but it isn't unheard of...I was sad to read molina had a similar experience. Hopefully, in time that will change.

## The Importance of Modesty as a Christian Woman

https://ministrymindedmom.com/the-importance-of-modesty-as-a-christian-woman/

By Sarah Sarniak

December 1, 2020

10-12 mintues

You probably heard the concept of modesty thrown around at least a few times here and there. However, it does seem like a concept that is becoming lost, even among the church. But modesty is not by any means an outdated concept. In fact, it is becoming even more important to be conscious of what we wear and how we conduct ourselves as our culture becomes more and more sexualized everyday. Do you take modesty seriously as a christian woman? Or do you think it’s not something god really cares about? Well, i urge you to continue reading. Because god most definitely cares about what you wear and how you conduct yourself. And we need to look to the Bible for guidance, and not the world around us. What does the Bible say about modesty? Whenever we aren’t sure about a particular topic, it’s important that we seek answers from the Bible. Because the world is quickly becoming more and more opposite of what the Bible teaches. This isn’t a surprise, of course. Because the Bible warns us about this very thing. But when it comes to what we wear, what exactly does the Bible have to say? You are the temple of the holy spirit the first thing we must realize when it comes to what clothes we wear is that we are the temple of the holy spirit. “what? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the holy ghost which is in you, which ye have of god, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify god in your body, and in your spirit, which are god’s.” – 1 corinthians 6:19-20 so what we put on matters because we are adorning the very temple of the holy spirit! This alone should play a huge role in how we allow ourselves to look. Because how we look should reflect what is going on on the inside. It should reflect who god is within is. And god is holy, therefore we should take great care in choosing what we wear and what we don’t. Wear that which becometh a woman professing godliness we are also urged in 1 Timothy to, again, take great care in what we choose to wear. Because it should reflect the very thing we are professing to be, which is women of god: “in like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array; but (which becometh women professing godliness) with good works.” – 1 Timothy 2:9-10 let your adorning be of the heart the Bible also instructs us to not be overly concerned with our outward adorning, but rather we need to be sure that we adorn ourselves with those inward things that shine through us, and mean more to god than clothes. “whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; but let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of god of great price.” – 1 peter 3:3-4 so when we become obsessed with our looks, it’s a problem. Even if we are being outwardly modest, our heart also needs to reflect that modesty with a meek and quiet spirit. It’s not just what’s on the outside, it’s more about what’s on the outside reflecting that which is on the inside. Do not cast a stumbling block in front of others it’s often said in today’s culture that “women should be able to wear what they want, it’s not their fault what dirty thoughts a man has”. Unfortunately this is a lie from the enemy. Because honestly, what we do actually does affect others. The Bible says that we should never put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother’s way. “let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother’s way.” – romans 14:13 as women, we have a great responsibility to conduct ourselves and adorn our body in a way that will not cause a brother to stumble. And it’s a simple fact that the more skin a person (male or female) sees, the more easily their thoughts can stray towards those thoughts which are sexual in nature. Some people have more self-control over it than others, but a lot of people don’t have much control over it at all. In fact, it’s even something that is encouraged in today’s society to think sexually towards others. A glimpse into how the male mind works now, i realize that i’m a woman writing this. But i have actually had many conversations with my husband about this exact topic and he has shared some insights that really helped me to understand, and even sympathize, with men who are stuck in a world that is so overtly sexual that even cheeseburger commercials are selling sex. Men are extremely visual creatures. They are extremely stimulated by what they see with their eyes. This can be a positive thing, or a negative thing. It’s not always a sexual thing. But this nature in them to be stimulated by what they see is exploited by the enemy. Because the wickedness in this world has worked very hard to make things more and more sexual and clothes more and more skimpy over the years. Is it really any wonder that pornography has become such an epidemic and (simultaneously) divorce rates are through the roof? Because people (male and female) are continuously bombarded with sex, and not sex in the way that god intended. But sex that is perverse and distorted. And Jesus has even warned us that it’s not only our physical actions that can cause us to sin, but lustful thoughts towards another person are, in-and-of-themselves, a sin: “but i say unto you, that whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.” – matthew 5:28 how many men (and even women) can you say have committed this sin on a daily basis? Do you want to be the one who causes another to stumble into this sin? Modesty isn’t just about what’s on the outside what we wear outwardly matters. Because it can cause another person to stumble into sin. But modesty isn’t only an outward thing. Modesty is really an outward expression of the modesty that’s taken root in your heart. “likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives; while they behold your chaste conversation coupled with fear. Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; but let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of god of great price.” – 1 peter 3:1-4 so being modest doesn’t just mean covering up your skin (which is likewise important), but it also means adorning yourself with a meek and quiet spirit. Dressing in a way that doesn’t encourage lustful thoughts is an expression of the compassionate and sympathetic spirit within you. Because you are showing compassion to those who might struggle with the sin of lustful thoughts towards others. And you aren’t putting another hurdle before them to be tempted with. It’s an act of love towards your fellow man to dress and act modestly. Are my clothes modest enough? Now, i’m not going to get into this post a lot about what type of clothes you should wear. Everyone’s definition of modesty can vary. And i do plan on addressing this in another post. But in this post i’d really just like the stress the importance of modesty first, and then we can talk about what that outward modesty will look like in another article. However, i do want to touch on a couple of tips that can help you to know if you are dressing modestly enough. Trust in god to lead you first, trust in the holy spirit. If you put on something and it feels even a little bit wrong to wear, pray about it. Ask god if you are struggling with this because you don’t need to be wearing it. Sometimes god nudges us about these things and we tend to push them back because it’s not something we want to hear. My own personal rule of thumb is that if i have any question in my heart about something i’m trying on, then i don’t wear it (or i ask my husband what he thinks). I will typically just pass and move on to something else. There are plenty of other things to wear instead. Ask your husband for his feedback another way you can test your modesty is by simply asking your husband. Share with him that you want to try to dress more modestly and ask him if what you’re wearing is modest enough. Ask him to be genuinely honest with you so that you can get some constructive feedback from him. And if you are open to feedback and don’t attack him when he gives it, this can prove very helpful. It’s what i do when i’m not sure and my husband is always extremely helpful and honest with me, for which i’m very grateful. Sometimes a set of male eyes can really tell you a lot that you might not see! Don’t give in to the world, put on a modest heart and clothes there’s nothing wrong with enjoying fashion (so long as it’s not an obsession), but it’s important that you trust in what god says regarding what you wear. He has made it clear in his word that what we wear does matter to him, and that we need to take great care to show respect towards the holy spirit residing in us, and love and compassion towards others in the way that we dress. There is a spiritual war going on and the enemy is vying to corrupt our minds every day. So don’t give in to what the world accepts in terms of what you wear. Look to the Bible and follow after god with a modest heart, always letting the outside reflect that meek and quiet spirit within. Learn how to be a good christian mom download your free 12 things you need to be a good christian parent checklist by filling out the form below. Find out what essential things you need as a christian mom in order to train your children up in the ways of the lord.

## My Personal Modesty Standards

https://theheavenlyhearth.com/2021/07/09/my-personal-modesty-standards/

By Jessica Rodan

July 9th, 2021

18-23 minutes

Modesty is a path we travel on–an attitude we constantly work on, a journey, a progressing. It’s not a static state, as if we arrive at modesty and once there, sit down and we’re done. It’s really a process of becoming. Becoming aware, becoming humble, becoming surrendered, becoming thoughtful, etc. And this is something i repeat every day. I constantly reassess myself: am i where i should be? Do any changes need to be made? How is my heart? Modesty is essentially about the heart. Now, it’s not about the heart in the sense that “only the heart matters, so dress however you like.” no, that’s not what i mean. Modesty is about the heart in the sense that you can’t truly be modest unless your heart is in it. The definition of the word is very instructive: meaning of the word modesty mod’esty, noun [latin modestia.] that lowly temper which accompanies a moderate estimate of one’s own worth and importance. This temper when natural, springs in some measure from timidity, and in young and inexperienced persons, is allied to bashfulness and diffidence. In persons who have seen the world, and lost their natural timidity, modesty springs no less from principle than from feeling, and is manifested by retiring, unobtrusive manners, assuming less to itself than others are willing to yield, and conceding to others all due honor and respect, or even more than they expect or require. 2. Modesty as an act or series of acts, consists in humble, unobtrusive deportment, as opposed to extreme boldness, forwardness, arrogance, presumption, audacity or impudence. Thus we say, the petitioner urged his claims with modesty; the speaker addressed the audience with modesty 3. Moderation; decency. 4. In females, modesty has the like character as in males; but the word is used also as synonymous with chastity, or purity of manners. In this sense, modesty results from purity of mind, or from the fear of disgrace and ignominy fortified by education and principle. Unaffected modesty is the sweetest charm of female excellence, the richest gem in the diadem of their honor. [from noah webster’s american dictionary 1828, emphasis added] it is very clear from this definition that modesty isn’t essentially to be found in a precise length of skirt, a certain type of fabric, or a specific style of dress; modesty, in its elemental sense, is about humility and purity. • when we have a moderate estimation of ourselves, we don’t draw attention; we don’t show off. • when we treasure purity (both in ourselves and in others) we don’t behave in ways that suggest impure intentions or inspire impure thoughts. Webster’s definition is perfectly in line with what the Bible says about women dressing modestly: “in like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided [braided] hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array; but (which becometh women professing godliness) with good works.” 1 tim. 2:9-10 the greek word for modest used in this verse is kosmios and means to be “well arranged, seemly, modest” (strong’s). The only other time this word is used in the new testament is in 1 tim. 3:2 and is translated “of good behavior.” there is this idea of being humble and having common sense. I guess something “well arranged” wouldn’t slip off your shoulder or gape open to reveal your chest. Something “seemly” would be appropriate for the activity, would fit your testimony as a christian, and would be suitable for someone desiring to be chaste. A modest woman behaves herself well. She is not obnoxious, brazen, boastful, sensual (unless with her husband in private), prideful, or silly. She’s sensible. She would be ashamed to be seen in clothing that shows off her body in a prideful or sexy way. That is the definition of modesty. Now, let me get back to what i said at the beginning: “modesty is a path we travel on–a journey, a progressing.” in what way have i progessed, then, on this journey? Let’s look briefly at this, and then i’ll get into my personal modesty guidelines! My modesty journey as a child, i wore what my mother bought for me. She didn’t take us shopping very often, so i never learned to be fussy. My wardrobe consisted mainly of shorts, pants, and t-shirts (i did have a few dresses, too). My parents didn’t approve of sexy stuff, so i never had super-short shorts or crop tops. As a teenager, i wore basically the same type of clothing i had when i was younger, just a few sizes larger. I wasn’t stylish. I remember reading about dressing modestly in skirts and dresses only in a conservative girls’ magazine my mom had ordered for me (i don’t remember what it was called). I was impressed by this idea and asked my mom if i could start dressing this way. Her response? An emphatic, no. She said that since we are saved by grace and not by works, we don’t have to wear skirts or dresses to please god. I didn’t argue with her, though i thought she was taking it to an extreme. I just wanted to be more modest and feminine, not save myself through my clothing choices! Since she wasn’t open to this idea, i forgot about it for awhile. As a young adult, i started making a little money, and that is when i began buying my own clothes. Let me give you an example of how i would decide what to buy. I would find several different pairs of pants at ross, and i would lug them into the dressing room. One by one, i would try them on. Does this one make my rear look saggy or flat? Out. Does this one bunch up around my crotch? Out. Okay, this one might be okay. I would turn this way and that, observing my profile. I think this one makes me look good. I’ll keep it. My method of choosing blouses was no better. This shirt makes me look like i have a flat chest. No way. This one makes my chest look droopy; not this one either. Was modesty a big standard for me? No. Though i avoided being extreme, i wasn’t aspiring after godliness. I wanted to make my body look good so i could be admired. Admired by who? Guys, who would hopefully be attracted to me; and girls, who would be driven to envy by me. That was my mindset for many years. And then, that changed. The change didn’t begin with my clothes, though. I believe it started years before i became skirts-and-dresses-only, when i re-surrendered my life to christ. Gradually, i began to care more and more about living for god. He began to transform me, starting with the most urgent things, first: repentance from major sins in my life, a renewed desire to go to church, a fresh interest in the Bible, a longing to be a good wife and mother. I don’t think modesty–as a lifestyle–began with clothing; it began with giving my life over to god, and that was, and has been ever since, a process. When i was ready for it, when my heart had been prepared for it, god dropped the seeds of modesty into my life. I realized in a sort of step-by-step revealing that modesty is important. This came after i understood more clearly that purity and loyalty to your spouse are important; otherwise, modesty wouldn’t have made much sense to me, and i wouldn’t have cared. “. . . Cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also.” matthew 23:26 modesty came first as a choice to not wear blouses which might show my chest when i bent over. I stopped wearing short dresses and skirts (above the knees). I still wore tight pants, though. After that, i began looking for looser pants. Then modesty involved the choice to wear skirts and dresses only. This was probably the biggest step for me since it was so counter-cultural. I suspected that i would be criticized for it–if not openly, at least in people’s minds. It would set me apart in a very obvious way from the rest of the women in my family and church. And then you know what i said to myself? I said, who cares. Not in a mean, cheeky sort of way. No. I said it in my heart in a “let it be as it will be” sort of way. God had to come first. I couldn’t let my fear of man get in the way of my obedience to god. “for do i now persuade men, or god? Or do i seek to please men? For if i yet pleased men, i should not be the servant of christ.” galatians 1:10 this photo was taken recently at church. Since spring of 2012 (nine years ago at the date of this post), i have only worn modest skirts and dresses. Throughout the years, i have made a few small changes to my standards, which i continue to refine, though they largely remain stable. What are those standards? Here’s the list, along with tips for cheap modesty hacks i’ve discovered. I hope you enjoy looking it over! My personal modesty guidelines | modesty essentials upper body • the shirt must cover the flesh of my chest, when seen from the front. At most, the neckline can be 2 finger-widths below the collarbone. Any shirt that is lower than that needs an undershirt. This isn’t just some random rule i came up with; i noticed in the mirror that when i lean over, anything lower than 2 finger-widths gapes open to reveal my chest. ◦ tip: wear a tanktop, turned backwards, under your blouse. Many tanktops don’t have tags; if yours does have a tag, carefully cut it off (along with the thread it’s attached with). ◦ tip: cut the sleeves off a solid-colored t-shirt or thermal undershirt, just below the seam where the arm and shoulder meet. This will provide you with a wide-shouldered, sleeveless undershirt. ◦ tip: find a sleeveless blouse and use it as an undershirt. ◦ tip: buy an undershirt from a place like koshercasual. I have several of their layering tops, which work great. ◦ tip: this is from christine, a reader of this blog: “here is a trick that can help with necklines that gape when you bend over: take a long piece of twill tape, sew the middle securely (use small stitches by hand so it doesn’t show on the outside) to the lowest part of the neckline.

Lead the 2 ends back around your body; you can either tie them or trim shorter and attach either velcro or a snap fastener to each end. If the tension is right, it will hold the neckline against the body in front, but still be quite comfortable to wear.” my tank tops. The 1st is turned backwards. The 2nd & 3rd are from kosher casual. The 4th is from walmart. Home-made tank tops i created by cutting off the sleeves. The 1st & 2nd were thermal undershirts. The 3rd & 4th were regular t-shirts. Sleeveless (or almost sleeveless) blouses. Can be worn under other shirts with sleeves. These are from kosher casual. They’re great for pregnancy but can also be used when not pregnant. • the shirt must cover the flesh of my chest, when seen from the sides. If the arm openings are too short and too loose, my chest will be visible from the sides when i lift up my arms. Ideally, i like sleeves to be 3/4 or elbow length. However, i will wear mid-bicep length, or even cap sleeves. But, the cap sleeves need to be snug enough to cover the area under my arms and next to my chest when i raise my arms. ◦ tip: if you have a blouse you really love, but it is sleeveless or the sleeves are too short, wear a shrug, sweater, or loose button-up shirt over it. ◦ tip: if the sleeves are not super short but are still loose enough to show a bit of your bra when you lift your arms, wear a tank top underneath. Shrugs, and one sweater. You can also wear a button-up blouse loosely over a sleeveless shirt. • the shirt must form a modest “tent” over my chest instead of a “celophane wrap.” it must camoflauge the intimate details. Now, i’m a woman and have a woman’s body, and i think it’s reasonable for that to be evident; i don’t wear potato sacks. However, there is form-fitting, and then there is tight-fitting. Loose is better. ◦ tip: buy your blouse one size larger than you normally would if it is too tight. ◦ tip: look for fabrics which are dark and which have patterns. The patterns could be colored designs (flowers, etc.) on the fabric. The patterns could also be woven designs, in the weave of the fabric itself. Avoid light colors, solid colors (unless dark), and super-thin material. ◦ tip: find shirts with pockets in the front. These provide an additional layer of fabric. ◦ tip: if you have a solid, light-colored shirt that you want to keep, wear it with a padded bra for modesty. Examples of blouses with dark, patterned fabric. The middle one has pockets, which is a plus. • the shirt must cover my abdomen and back. If i lift my arms up, or if i lean over, will any part of my abdomen or back be visible? If so, i simply wear a long camisole or tank top under the shirt. Sometimes i’ll tuck this into my skirt, and sometimes i’ll leave it over my skirt, depending on what looks better. Lower body • the skirt or dress must reach at least to the bottom of my knees, though i strongly prefer calf or ankle length. ◦ tip: wear leggings or shorts underneath all skirts or dresses. Biker shorts can be found very cheaply on amazon in packs. Knee-length shorts are best, though some biker shorts are hard to find any longer than mid-thigh. You can also make your own shorts by trimming off the bottom portion of old leggings (or jeggings) or thermal underwear, and hemming the bottom with a zigzag stitch (for stretch). ◦ tip: add on a row of additional fabric to the bottom of the dress or skirt to make it longer. This will give it a “peasant-style” look. You can cut off a row from an actual peasant skirt and sew it to your dress. Or, you can cut a long rectangle of matching fabric, gather it, pin it to the bottom of the dress, then sew it on. This takes a little sewing skill, but it’s pretty basic. If you don’t know how to do this, you might look up some videos on youtube. ◦ tip: sew on a row of wide lace to the bottom of the skirt or dress. Though this will not provide a lot of coverage, it will give just a little bit of extra length to a dress that is almost the length you want it. Athletic leggings, jeggings, 2 regular leggings, and various examples of shorts, including athletic shorts (gray), biker shorts (black), and home-made shorts (white–i cut the legs off thermal waffle underwear and hemmed them). • • two dresses of mine i made longer by adding a row of fabric to the bottom. • • a few of my daughters’ dresses i made longer using the same method. The overall dress actually used to be overall shorts, but i cut off the bottom of the shorts and added the bottom of a peasant skirt, instead. • • i added wide cotton lace to the bottom of this dress and skirt. • the skirt or dress must not have slits. ◦ tip: if you find something you really like that has a slit, sew it up either all the way or most of the way. • the skirt or dress must be flowy, not tight or clingy. What is too tight? If i look like a runway model with sexy curves, then it’s too tight. My legs should not be super outlined when i walk. Maxi skirts are a great length, but if you’re not careful they can be immodestly clingy. I look for fabric that is 100% cotton or a cotton blend. There are many other fabrics which are smooth but not clingy. Polyester is horrible, as it has a lot of static cling. ◦ tip: if you have a maxi skirt or dress that is tighter than you feel is modest, try pairing it with a long tunic shirt that covers your hips and bottom. ◦ tip: wear a cotton or silk slip under a skirt or dress to help decrease its clinging to the body. This can be a great way of dealing with thin fabrics. How i deal with the immodesty in church i couldn’t end this article without addressing the issue of immodesty in church. You would think that remembering my own modesty journey would help me be patient with other women at church whose clothing standards are not very modest! However, i have dealt with a lot of inner frustration when it comes to this. Why? I think i’ve figured it out. Especially when beginning something new, we tend to be very sensitive to our surroundings. It’s like noticing ford 12-passenger vans: when we were interested in buying a larger van for our family, we suddenly started noticing ford vans everywhere! Was this because there were magically more of them? No; it was because they were on our brains. Same thing with modesty. When we’re not thinking too much about it, we barely notice the immodesty around us; then, when we start being mindful of modesty in our own lives, we notice the way other women dress a lot more than we used to. It’s pretty normal. It’s easy to feel resentment when other women are not doing the thing we have finally worked up the courage to do ourselves, when there was a sacrifice involved which we were willing to take, but they weren’t. Naturally, we feel alone, and maybe a little bit betrayed. As christians, we have the same Bible, and we should all take modesty seriously. But what about those christians who don’t? Those christians who let you be the only one taking a stand? The only “weirdo”? Why couldn’t they take a stand, too, and be weirdos along with us? We feel hurt. When we are not supported in our decision to honor the lord in this, or are even mocked for it, that can be hard to bear. Also, being aware of the importance of modesty causes us to be more outraged at the temptation that immodest women are presenting to the men and boys around them. There’s a sort of “righteous indignation” at what their clothing choices are doing to the souls of these men and boys. Yes, it’s the man’s duty to control his thoughts, but it’s the woman’s duty to dress modestly. I care about my husband’s soul, and i care about my sons’ souls; but do those girls and women give a care? I wonder. Perhaps, after explaining myself to you, you don’t think it’s so strange for me to feel frustrated. But let’s end this on a positive note: how have i learned to deal with it in a healthy way? I pray for others, with a caring heart. Perhaps this is an area of temporary blindness or stubborness, which god’s spirit can lead them out of. I remember my own process of growth; i remind myself to be patient. I continue to follow the lord’s will joyfully. With a smile! Finally, i focus on the most important things, the things that are of greater priority. Modest clothing is certainly important. But, so is kindness, forgiveness, faith, faithfullness, self control, correct doctrine, understanding god’s grace, outreach, prayer, and unity in the essentials of our faith. Unless we’re going to switch churches (and we’re not, at this point, since there are many good reasons we chose to go to this church, and no church is perfect) then i need to put up with the not-so-good things the best i can, as long as those things do not enter into the category of serious, blatant sin or doctrinal error. God says we are the body of christ, and we need to learn to live and work together in love; happily, we can do this while continuing to be a beautiful and inspiring testimony of modesty to those around us! “but be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. . . . If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man’s religion is vain. Pure religion and undefiled before god and the father is this, to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.” James 1:22, 26-27 tips! We all love modesty tips. Please share yours with the rest of us! • how to deal: do you have any relationship tips to share? • what are some personal clothing criteria you will not budge on–and why? Let’s “spur one another on toward love and good deeds”! (hebrews 10:24)

## Face of the Company, A Comment from J. Rodan

https://theheavenlyhearth.com/2023/01/29/face-of-the-company-our-appearance-and-how-it-relates-to-our-christian-witness/

By Jessica Rodan

January 29, 2023

5-6 minutes

Far too often, I'm taken aback by the lack of common sense Christians display in their clothing choices, especially when compared to non-Christians who seem more mentally savvy in this regard. While non-Christians may not always make moral choices in clothing, they exhibit a knowledge of human nature that Christians, seemingly living comfortably in naivety, lack. I suspect Christians may purposefully live this way to soothe their conscience.

Let me clarify with an example. Christians often attempt to justify wearing tight exercise leggings in public, even at church, with elaborate arguments like, "Our culture has desensitized to this clothing style, so wearing it won't create the scandal it might have decades ago. If you judge me, you're in danger of being labeled an unloving legalist." Non-Christians, on the other hand, are more realistic, admitting they wear certain clothing because it makes them look good and they enjoy the attention.

Non-Christians are also pragmatic in situations where they don't want to convey the wrong message, such as in the workplace. For instance, my daughter's secular job has a dress code better than what's sometimes seen among staff and volunteers at our church. The dress code emphasizes being well-groomed and professional to enhance the store's image and support an excellent customer experience.

Certain clothing items are deemed inappropriate, including those in poor condition, revealing outfits, and leggings without a top that is the length of a skirt. Managers address inappropriate attire, and violations may result in corrective action. While these standards are lower than my personal modesty standards, they exceed what some Christian women wear.

The workplace dress code highlights that appropriately dressed associates enhance the company's image, serving as its public face. This leads to a thought-provoking reflection on whether, as Christians, we are as concerned about representing the One we serve or more focused on personal comfort and style.

Modesty standards can be subjective, and Christians may disagree on specifics. Still, the central concept remains: God is the "owner of the company" (the church), and we, as "associates" (believers), should represent Him well. The verse 1 Timothy 2:9 emphasizes adorning oneself in modest apparel.

I'm curious to hear your thoughts:

- Have you ever been uncomfortable with another Christian's immodesty? How did you handle it?

- In the area of clothing, what was the hardest thing for you to surrender to God? How do you feel about it now? Any advice for women struggling to make necessary wardrobe changes?

## Should I Wear Whatever Clothing My Husband Wants?

https://theheavenlyhearth.com/2022/02/13/should-i-wear-whatever-clothing-my-husband-wants/

By Jessica Roldan

February 13, 2022

13-19 minutes

Hi, everybody! Thank you so much for your congratulations on our newest pregnancy (#9) and your lovely comments regarding my previous post, seasons to rest. I appreciate you all so much! Well, today’s post has nothing to do with pregnancy but a lot to do with some thoughts i’ve had over the years about dressing modestly. There is this tension that some women experience between wanting to honor and submit to their husbands, and wanting to dress modestly. Apparently (from things i’ve heard other women say), some husbands like to see their wives dress in very tight, revealing clothing, even when not at home. The question is: as women who are committed to submission as part of biblical womanhood, what should we do? I don’t have this problem with my husband. Thankfully, he is very supportive of my ideas about dressing modestly, just as long as i don’t look “dumpy.” i realize that today’s subject may not be as clear-cut as i attempt to make it, depending on your particular situation and your way of interpreting the Bible. I certainly do welcome all respectfully-voiced (non-argumentative) views. The need to please right off, i want to make something very clear: it is very important to please our husbands. Being submissive (when it doesn’t involve clear sin), faithful, sexually available, respectful, kind, encouraging, cheerful, patient, forgiving, and flexible are all crucial toward having a good relationship — and so is looking attractive. I strongly support having a pleasing appearance. In no way do i think we, as wives, should care so much about being modest that we allow ourselves to look boring and unlovely. The wife has a duty — and privilege! — to satisfy her husband’s visual nature, which is connected to his sex drive. “let her be as the loving hind and pleasant roe; let her breasts satisfy thee at all times; and be thou ravished always with her love.” proverbs 5:19 “nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband. Let the husband render unto the wife due benevolence: and likewise also the wife unto the husband. The wife hath not power of her own body, but the husband: and likewise also the husband hath not power of his own body, but the wife. Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again, that satan tempt you not for your incontinency.” 1 corinthians 7:2-5 to wear or not to wear? Now, i have heard that since women are to each obey their own husbands (colossians 3:18), we should put on whatever type of clothing our husbands want us to wear. I coincide with that — but only to a point. Sometimes, our individual interpretation of what “modest” and “immodest” mean can vary. Your husband may think that pants can be “modest” while you don’t believe they can. He may like to see you in more fitted (though not hoochy) clothing, while you prefer looser styles. If your husband disagrees with your wearing skirts and dresses only, then i think it would be appropriate to wear pants as modestly as you can. Maybe you could wear long skirts and dresses on special occasions to show him how beautiful and attractive (to him) you can look while being modest and extra feminine. That may soften his heart toward your wearing skirts and dresses all the time. But that’s not the issue we’re going to address, here. In this post i will be talking about things that should be clear, because they’re obvious to almost everybody: booty shorts, jeans with large rips in them high on the thigh, blouses that reveal lots of cleavage, crop tops, bikinis, etc. What if your husband wants you to wear very revealing clothing in public that you know is definitely immodest? That’s the question this article is addressing. If it were me, i wouldn’t do it. Why not? Because we live in a world where other people exist, and we have to be careful to not cause them to sin in their hearts. If my husband, for example, were to request that i wear very short shorts or a revealing blouse in public, i would calmly decline. Some people might say, “well, if he requests you to do it, and you do so out of obedience, then he would bear the consequence and guilt before god, not you.” well, perhaps that is true (again, i welcome your opinion). But, here are some thoughts to consider. Bible verses for consideration one of the ten commandments is “thou shalt not commit adultery” (exodus 20:14). The punishment for this crime, in a perfectly just system, would be death: “and the man that committeth adultery with another man’s wife, even he that committeth adultery with his neighbour’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death“ (leviticus 20:10). That’s pretty serious. Jesus confirmed the gravity of this sin in the new testament, going even farther to say, “ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, thou shalt not commit adultery: but i say unto you, that whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart“ (matthew 5:27-28). He goes on to instruct us in how to deal with lust (metaphorically): “and if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.” matthew 5:29-30 it almost sounds as if Jesus is just as “extreme” here in the new testament as god was in the old! — perhaps more so. The contrast is that he says nothing about putting the adulterer and adulteress to death, but instead emphasizes that we each have a personal responsibility to deal with lust in our own hearts and lives. (later, in john 8:1-11, he demonstrates another valid path to dealing with adultery [other than the death penalty], based on the forgiveness he is able to offer us as our savior). But that doesn’t get the one who influences the other person to lust off the hook. “it is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor anything whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak. Have thou faith? Have it to thyself before god. Happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth.” romans 14:21-22 at first glance, paul, here in romans, appears to be speaking of food and drink, and he is, but notice the little word, “anything” — that means that though the conversation in this passage is primarily addressing food and drink, we could apply it to anything else. The point is that we do not have the freedom to act in such a way that would cause another person to stumble and be made weak. Could our clothing fit into that category? I believe it can. (please let me make it clear that i believe in being reasonably modest; i don’t believe burkas are necessary. We women certainly have a responsibility to be modest, but men also have a responsibility to not let their imaginations run away with them. There is a middle ground, a balance.) if the clothing we wear could potentially cause a man to lust in his heart after us, we are putting a stumbling block in his way. We are influencing him to lust after us. We are inviting him into adultery of the heart, whether we intend to, or not. And god is clear that adultery is a death-worthy crime. God will forgive us when we ask him to, but that doesn’t take away the gravity of that sin and its potential to destroy. I don’t know about you, but if my husband requested me to do something that would justify the death penalty from god, and/or that would break one of the ten commandments, i would say, “no.” is adultery of the heart any less damaging than adultery of the flesh, in god’s eyes? Not only do we have to consider other men, that we don’t influence them to lust after us by the way we dress; we also have to consider their wives and the need to respect them and their marriages; and we have to consider their children and how we can avoid being a bad influence in their lives. When you put it all together, i just don’t see any really good reason why a woman should allow her husband to lead her into sinning in this way, but i see several good reasons against it. So, here’s what i would do if my husband wanted me to wear obviously immodest, revealing clothing in public. I would tell him, “i will gladly wear the type of clothing you want me to wear when it is just our family together in our home, even though there will have to be a limit to how revealing it could be because of the children. I will happily be sexy for you in the privacy of our own bedroom. But outside of the house, in the yard where our neighbors could see me, or anywhere else that is public, i can not wear obviously immodest, revealing clothing. I take god’s command to not cause someone else to commit adultery in his heart very seriously. Also, i would feel degraded to lower myself in that way in public, as if i were an exotic sexual trophy to be paraded about. I need to feel that you respect me enough as your wife that you would not ever again ask that of me.” would that be too honest and blunt for you if you were to say that to your husband? I don’t know; it seems to me that sometimes, loving but to-the-point honesty can be a good thing. I think that if you were an affectionate, respectful, submissive, available wife to your husband all the rest of the time, he wouldn’t take your words too hard. He would know that you would do almost anything for him — but not that. A common sense approach in our culture today, many things have come to be accepted as “normal” which for thousands of years in christian and judaic culture were seen as immoral.

It would be helpful for us to take off our cultural glasses, take a step back, and view the clothing question in light of less changeable, low standards than what the fashion industry has for years been trying to get us to accept. Let’s look at the issue in light of human nature. God made us to be able to experience sexual feelings, and that hasn’t changed with time. Yes, we can get used to things, and we can become somewhat desensitized to what may appear “shocking” to others. However, there is a place inside each of us where we, as humans, are naturally attracted to the opposite sex. Come on: when are breasts not sexy to a male? (in proverbs 5:18-19, god says that men are supposed to rejoice in and be satisfied by their own wife’s breasts, which shows that despite the existence of degraded pagan tribal cultures where women wear no tops, god’s ideal is for a man’s relationship with his wife and her body to be unique. Why should we take those degraded cultures as our example? Clearly, they are wrong. And, even given the prevalence of breasts in public, i doubt the native men have no feelings toward breasts, especially young beautiful ones.) when are buttocks not appealing? When are female curves not attractive to any human man alive on this earth, no matter what his age or his culture? We need to have common sense. We need to be realistic. We need to take sin seriously, even if it’s “only” sin of the heart. We need to look down the pipeline of time and envision the outcome of our choices, or the choices we allow other people to pull us into. Will we be able to live with that outcome? What if we could know that our clothing choices had been influential in leading another woman’s husband or a young unmarried man down the path of heart-adultery — could we live with that? If we could know that, would we really feel the excuse of “i was just obeying my husband” was good enough? How about you: i feel very disrespected when other women (especially in church) dress immodestly in tight and revealing clothing. It’s so common, most people don’t seem to think about it, but i know my husband is just a man. Do these women honestly think that men don’t notice thighs and butts and crotches? I just can’t hardly believe the extent of their foolishness, shallowness, and hard-heartedness. I sometimes feel very angry with them for not caring very much about how the way they present themselves in public might affect my husband, or any other man, in his heart. How about my sons? How about the bad influence it is on my daughters? And why do their husbands not put a stop to it? What’s the matter with the men? I bet that most of the time, it’s not really that the husband insists on his wife wearing tight, revealing clothing; it’s that the wife does what she wants, and he just goes along with it. If christian wives were to respectfully state their desire to dress more modestly, i think most christian husbands would allow it. Perhaps, they would not want their wives to wear skirts or dresses only, but they would understand and support their wife’s conviction to not wear revealing clothing styles. Most christian men, i believe, would actually appreciate more modesty in their wives! To know that their wives want to be sexy exclusively for them would probably make most christian men feel very special.

Another great, thought-provoking, post, Jessica. I am very fortunate that my husband has never asked me to wear anything revealing, but I have had two friends whose husbands do expect that of them. One, wanted his wife to dress and make herself up in a way I would have found degrading – but after the kids went to bed. The other (a pastor, no less) has wanted his wife to dress immodestly in public – his thinking being something along the lines of “be proud of how God made you.” I completely agree with your argument against causing men to lust and about being considerate to the wives of the men our attire impacts, but I also have two other thoughts: My primary duty is to God – even before my husband. (Indeed, I obey my husband \*because\* God tells me to. My obedience to him is a direct result of my obedience to Him!) So, I can never concede to any sin my husband would ask me to commit. I cannot sign a fraudulent tax return. I could not have an abortion. I could not lie in support of him. (Sapphira comes to mind here.) Praise God, my husband wouldn’t ask me to do any of these things, but just as I would not agree to any of these sins, I would not agree to dress immodestly – because God, who trumps my husband, has commanded me to dress modestly. The other thing that comes to mind – specifically as I think about my two friends whose husbands have asked them to dress (and sometimes behave) immodestly, is that to do so is to not only sin, but it also encourages their husband’s sin. I cannot think of a single reason a man would want his wife to dress immodestly in public that doesn’t involve sin. And in the case of the friend whose husband wanted her to dress and act a certain way after the kids were in bed, he specifically wanted her to look like a prostitute. While there are many things that are appropriate between a husband and wife behind closed doors, desiring your spouse to look and behave like someone committing a sin leading to death can is not one of them. Whatever reason he has for wanting his wife to look like someone doing something God condemns cannot be godly – and to encourage it is not good for either one of them – in this life or the one to come. To me it seems pretty straightforward: For me to dress immodestly is a sin, so I cannot do it. For me to tempt men to lust after me is a sin, so I cannot do it. For my husband to desire me to sin is sinful, so I cannot indulge that. For my husband to harbor sinful thoughts (whether the sin be pride or lust, or something else) is sin, so I cannot encourage that.    SBS, Very well put! Yes, I agree with everything you said. In each scenario you brought up, my thoughts line up with yours. Yes, God comes first. It is only in blurry areas, where there is room for different possible but equally valid interpretations, that I think we should defer to our husbands’ judgment. But in very clear situations where a woman’s husband is requesting her to do something OBVIOUSLY sinful, the right thing to do is refuse. I agree that we must not encourage sinful behavior. We may not be able to change our husband’s behavior, but at the very least we should not condone it and further it in any way.  I feel the same way about husbands who want their wives to use birth control, especially when it comes to hormonal birth control. It’s wrong to reject God’s gift of life, but it’s even more wrong to use a b.c. method that could put a newly-conceived life at risk of death. We can’t control it if our husbands decide to get a vasectomy or use withdrawal, for example, but we are responsible for our own actions, and we should certainly not encourage our husbands in what is wrong by going along with it as if it’s okay. We would be cheering them on down the road of perversion. (In cases where the husband insists on using a method of b.c. I recommend NFP as a compromise.) Thanks for chiming in with your thoughts! ~Jessica  Thanks so much for this article. It’s bad enough out there in the world I’m more saddened it’s in our church. What really makes my upset is the young cheerleaders (elementary aged) wearing gaudy makeup and midriff showing. I’m sure it’s the dads wanting their daughter dressed this way. It’s too many perverse people and too much sex trafficking for us not to protect ourselves and our children. I don’t have daughters only boys but if I did I would not allow them to run around like this. Hope I don’t sound too mean I’m just tired of it and I’m dreading the summer.   Yes, I can totally relate to what you said. Really good points, and I agree with you. Except, I think it’s the moms, not the dads. I think dads want to think of their daughters as their “little girls.” It’s unsettling for them to see them as sexy women. But, they don’t say anything because they don’t want their daughters to get mad at them and hate them for it. So, they just shrug their shoulders and let them do what they want. The daughters really need the guidance of their mothers, which is sadly lacking in many cases. You don’t sound mean. I think a lot of us feel the same way: frustrated. What can I say? Human nature is depraved, and our culture demonstrates this. Those of us who know the truth need to keep close to God and keep praying for those things we can’t control. ~Jessica   You knocked it out of the park like always :). Clothes are neither modest or immodest it all depends on the setting. You can wear revealing clothes at home and even more revealing clothes in the bedroom with just you and your husband. Totally agree with disobeying your husband if he asks you to wear something that is “clearly” immodest in public. Grey area clothing submit to your husband’s modesty standards.    Thanks for sharing those helpful thoughts, Kevin!    Hi Jessica! Brian & I have always been in agreement about chaste wardrobe. The only thing my wardrobe really “reveals”’is that I’m gonna be a new mom soon. :). I’m grateful that we’ve avoided this as a conflict.   That’s great, Courtney! It’s always so nice to be in agreement as a couple on these things. ~Jessica    Amen Jessica, thank you for speaking the way you do always using Scripture Praise the LORD. It is very sad to see an elderly church women actually teach that we “are to please our husbands” using (1 Cor 7:34 )that includes dressing, the hair, the makeup just to please the husbands. The transformed wife is very big on this which I believe is wrong seeing that she uses lots of social medias. I told her that if husbands are not happy with the outward appearance of their wives they need to read the Scripture on how husbands ought to love their wives, and stop putting burdens on their wife. And also I believe that the women you see dress in this manner in congregation is because the husbands are not washing them with the WORD. They are NOT submitted to their husbands nor much less to the LORD. I also told the transformed wife that we are to please the LORD FIRST, then we will please our husbands and everything else will fall into place in the home. But of course she has it backwards she says we are to please our husbands first than the LORD…She also teaches that head covering is unbiblical. I prayed for her that the LORD humbles her and she repents of her teachings since many women follow her. How I would like to see more videos of the ones you make for teaching. But I understand that you have a family. May the LORD continue to give you wisdom in your writings.   Hi, Marlen, Thanks for your kind words to me and glad you liked the post! I guess I should clarify something. I do believe in pleasing our husbands, even with makeup, hair, and clothes. I think that most husbands are pretty laid back and don’t make demands, but if we love them, why wouldn’t we want to do those things they like? It helps to see it from the opposite angle: We women usually want our husbands to please US, right? I told my husband that I liked seeing him in a beard. Well, he’s had one for something like 5+ years, just to please me. Now, I wouldn’t insist on him having a beard if I knew he hated it, but he doesn’t, and it’s just so sweet to see his willingness to please me. Maybe he’s not in love with beards, but he loves ME. And I think husbands feel the same way (happy, grateful, and loved) when their wives try to please them.  In my article, I address the issue of wearing clothing that is clearly immodest. If something is clearly against the Ten Commandments (and it would need to be SUPER clear), then I believe we can and should disobey. I do believe that God comes first, as you say. And yes, as you said, I also believe that if we have a heart to live for God, then that will spill over into a heart to love others. Of course, if our husbands don’t treat us the way we want to be treated, we have little control over that. We can’t force them to change. And I don’t know about you, but I’d rather not spend my married years fighting over little things like hair, makeup, and dress. I’d rather just do what my husband wants (as long as it wouldn’t be clearly against Scripture) in order to have a happy marriage and save my energy for the battles that really matter.  You made some good points; just thought I’d clarify my position on a few things you brought up. Thanks for taking the time to comment on my post! ~Jessica   Hello, I’ve been a keen reader of the blog for awhile, but first time commenting today. I’m lucky, my husband is very laid back about how I dress, we are both on the same wavelength regarding clothes, and since becoming a Christian about 10 years ago I have changed how I dress ( higher necklines and lower hemlines), I think if my husband wanted me to wear something more immodest, I would, but in the privacy of our home, however we both think our outward clothes should reflect our faith and be of a biblical standard.    Hi, Claire! Thanks for your input on this topic. I’m glad to hear you and your husband agree with each other about the need to reflect biblical standards in our outward appearance. That’s great! I’m also glad that you’ve developed a heart for being modest. 🙂 ~Jessica   Hi, Jessica! I am in total agreement with you! In the summer time it is awful here. It’s like the clothing gets really skimpy! Thankfully Carson doesn’t ask me to wear anything different than what I normally do but I am prepared just in case! Thanks for sharing your thoughts.    So wonderful to hear that we think alike about this topic, Rosemarie!    Look like a prostitute? So in more revealing clothes? I don’t see anything wrong with this. I can’t say roleplaying is a obvious sin, its more of a grey area matter.    Hello Kevin, I was the one who mentioned that her friend’s husband wanted her to present herself as a prostitute for him. Fortunately, that has not been my husband’s interest, but since I am the one who presented the situation as a negative one, I thought I would share why I would have an issue with this particular sort of roleplaying: -Because prostitution is a sin and because Paul tells us many times that sexual immorality is a very grave sin that prevents the sinner from entering eternal life, I would not concede to acting out that role. -Because we are told to every form of evil, and to be holy in all our conduct, I would not pretend to be a prostitute. -Because we are commanded not to participate in the “useless deeds of darkness”…and told that it is disgraceful to even speak of what sinners do in secret, I would not roleplay a sinful role. -Because I am a member of a “chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession…” I wouldn’t demean myself or offend God by playing a role that He condemns and that sent His Son to the Cross. -Finally, in one of my favorite passages of Scripture, Paul tells Titus that older women are to be “reverent” in their behavior. I fell in love with the actual word translated “reverent” – because it actually means like a priest going about his sacred office. This realization changed my world when I came made it years ago and would prevent me from roleplaying a sinful woman. Anyway, as I said, the example was mine but, thankfully, not the marriage situation. I will sum up by sharing a quote that rocked my family’s world probably a dozen years ago. I read it in an article by an apologist named Brad Harrub and it became a guiding principle in our home and, for me, it is a factor in the idea of roleplaying a prostitute: How dare we be entertained by the things that sent Jesus to the cross.    Amen to that! Yet countless Christians turn on the tv every day and do that very thing! I am always telling my children we should not be entertaining ourselves with the very sin He has told us to forsake. We desensitize our hearts and minds towards sin when we watch it. Psalm 1 comes to mind.    Kevin, I don’t think it’s the revealing clothes in the bedroom that would be the problem, but the acting out a scenario that in real life would be a sin. Perhaps the woman’s husband said certain things that made her think he was asking her to do more than just look sexy; perhaps it was clear to her that he wanted her to pretend to be a prostitute. I can’t think of any kind of roleplaying in the bedroom that wouldn’t by nature be filthy! Why would anyone roleplay? Why pretend to be anything but what you are? Why the lie? How disgusting!!! It would be a total degradation of the beautiful, holy intimacy between husband and wife. God wants the woman to be chaste, and I think that would include how she acts with her husband in the bedroom. ~Jessica   “I can’t think of any kind of roleplaying in the bedroom that wouldn’t by nature be filthy! Why would anyone roleplay? Why pretend to be anything but what you are? Why the lie? How disgusting!!! It would be a total degradation of the beautiful, holy intimacy between husband and wife. God wants the woman to be chaste, and I think that would include how she acts with her husband in the bedroom.” I so love how you worded both of these sentiments.  Reply    Thanks for chiming in :). I agree fantasizing sin is a sin. Now thinking about it harder I agree role playing isn’t great its playing with fire at best.    I appreciate your remarks, Kevin. Being able to concede a point after further consideration is something I greatly respect in both men and women. Glad we could all have this conversation about an important issue that people probably wonder about. 🙂 ~Jessica     The word that comes to mind is: attitude! If my heart is submitted to my husband, to his love for me, his protection and provision in my life, than when I disagree with him on whatever the issue may be , with the backing of the Scriptures, than it should be easier for him to accept my reasonings because of my respectful attitude….. Anyway, we haven’t really experienced anything like this in our marriage but so much depends on our attitudes toward our husbands and our circumstances in life. Yes, it can be amusing and cute all the funny little things our husbands do for us cuz they love us and they know we like it! Be sure to thank him for it sometimes! Delight in a dozen roses even though a half dozen would have been sufficient for you, etc. These little things will contribute positively to your marriage and help you to work through differences in a hopefully a more positive manner!😀    Hi, Tea, You made some very good points! What great advice! I was thinking about something else today. If my husband ever wanted me to do something that wasn’t necessarily against Scripture but was just something that wasn’t really “me,” he would definitely listen to me and never insist that I do something (makeup, hair, dress, etc.) that I didn’t really want to do. Maybe not all husbands are like this (so laid-back and considerate), but I do think that a lot of them are. It’s not really hard to please a man like that — pretty easy, actually! ~Jessica    Question for the moms here: during pregnancy, do dress to hide or accentuate your bump? I don’t really do either, BUT I’m VERY (probably a little TOO) proud when I have a belly. It shows the world I’m glorifying God by hearing children.      Hi, Courtney, just like you, I don’t try to hide the baby bump, but neither do I actively try to accentuate it. ~Jessica    My sister wore immodest clothing (ex: leather pants and mini skirts) at her husband’s request out in their everyday lives. This is where it led. She shared with me that she had a stalker one time who followed her home from work. (creepy) Her teenage son would bring his friends home. Their response was, Your mom is hot! (these poor young men) I believe it shows, especially in a Christian man, a lack of spiritual maturity to want other men to covet what you have in an attractive wife. I believe this was my brother in law’s motivation. My thought is that in the privacy of the bedroom, have fun!! God created sex for procreation but also pleasure. (read Song of Solomon) Definitely protectively guard this area of your marriage though. Just like God is a jealous God in His relationship with us, our husbands need to guard us. The hidden things are the most precious and need the most protecting.    Ruthie, Thanks for sharing your thoughts! Your example is perfect, as it illustrates my point exactly. I was thinking as I read it: The Bible says, “Do not covet your neighbor’s wife.” Well, any man who secretly wants other men to covet his wife and asks her to dress provocatively in order to get that result is in direct violation of this command by purposely tempting other men to disobey two of the Ten Commandments (“do not covet,” and “do not commit adultery”). I, as a woman, would not at all feel okay going along with that! In fact, I would refuse. This is one case where I believe submission is not required. ~Jessica    My husband recently requested that I wear dresses (or skirts) only and to grow my hair longer. And while I love wearing dresses, I know it may be a challenge because pants can be such a convenience for me. He doesn’t really ask me to wear anything very immodest in public, he just wants me to look feminine. I never realized how nice it would feel to submit to him in this way, it really has done good things for our relationship. Wearing a dress just helps my mindset to be more respectful and mindful of my womanliness. Now, I don’t really know what to do with all my pants. It seems a shame to just donate them all when they’re perfectly fine clothes…but now they’re just kind of sitting in the back of my closet! I find most of my dresses from thrift stores, Walmart and Amazon, and just recently I found a nice online shop called Catholic Dress Co (I’m Catholic so I love to support business that is in line with my faith). Their dresses are modest and affordable.    alittleflower, Thanks for mentioning Catholic Dress Co. It’s always helpful to know about additional modesty resources! I’m so glad you’ve started wearing skirts and dresses, and having longer hair must feel so feminine! If it were me, I would just take the leap and donate all my pants to a thrift shop. Once they are gone, you probably won’t miss them, you will be so busy loving your new, more feminine style!

## How to tell WHICH CLOTHES will STILL be MODEST ENOUGH for your LDS MISSION (after you receive your temple endowment)

https://overzealousmissionarymom.blogspot.com/2018/02/how-to-tell-which-clothes-will-still-be.html

By Lynell

February 7, 2018

14–17 minutes

Shopping for missionary clothes?  I've noticed that several of the popular blogs out there by future (sister) missionaries have stated that you should wait until you have received your temple endowment (and have started wearing the temple garment) before you start shopping for clothes or "you'll regret it" because you "can't tell what  (mission) clothes will work with your garments." sorry ladies, i have to disagree! These opinions about missionary clothing and modesty are my own personal views (as is everything on this blog and my other lds-related blogs). I'm not an expert, but i am a returned missionary, a temple endowed adult, a mom of a future missionary, and a long-time ward young women president... So i am somewhat familiar with modesty as it relates to clothes, temple covenants, and missionary clothing requirements.  Yes, future sister missionaries- you absolutely can "tell" if clothes will be modest enough to wear as a missionary, which will also mean that they will be modest enough to wear after you are endowed in the temple. If it's modest enough to wear as a missionary, it will be modest enough to wear as an endowed adult who has made covenants that require a higher standard of modesty. If you're looking at a shirt or a dress, and you're not sure if a sort of shortish sleeve or a pretty low-cut neckline will "work" with garments, guess what? - it probably won't!   I sometimes hear people say that they had to buy new all clothes because they needed to dress more modestly after receiving their temple endowment. If you are already carefully following the clothing standards contained in "for the strength of youth," you will probably already be dressing in a way that will cover your "garments," or at least pretty close. Some people are more strict about this than others...Let me explain... As i list the requirements for modesty for lds missionaries (below), you may notice that these same (or very similar) standards are given in ftsoy. However, often younger people and adults who haven't received their temple endowments are not strict about these guidelines as others are, because the ftsoy guidelines are "standards" instead of "commandments"...Meaning, the modesty standards in ftsoy are suggestions instead of requirements - until you receive your temple endowment (and begin to wear the accompanying temple garment), because then you will be under covenant to dress in a specific way that will keep the temple garment sacred. Since the ftsoy says not to wear "short skirts," but does not specify how short a "short" skirt is, you may have a different opinion than another sister does about what qualifies as a "short" skirt... But after you have been endowed in the temple, that gray area becomes very black and white. I can tell if a sleeve is too short for me to wear or if a pair of shorts is too short for me, just by looking at them. My point is, you might have been wearing lower-cut shirts, shirts that don't cover your shoulder & upper arm (like tank-tops or cap-sleeves), or above the knee skirts & shorts before your mission because you still could "get away with it"...But choosing to dress that way will require you to make changes (in wardrobe) in order to be able to keep your temple covenants when you make them.  It's possible that you aren't very familiar with the level of "coverage" that will be required because of the temple garments (special sacred underclothing first received in the temple on the day of your "endowment" ordinance, but thereafter worn at all times under your regular clothes). Not everyone grows up in the church with active parents who are temple-worthy. You might be a convert to the church or your parents are not active, so they might not have been able to help you understand the level of clothing modesty that will be required of you as an endowed member (and missionary). Don't worry - a careful reading of the lds missionary clothing standards (which are required) provided by the official church website missionary.Lds.Org will explain what clothing will need to be like in order to be modest enough to wear as a missionary (who will of course also be a temple-endowed adult). Please note - although approved missionary clothing is also appropriate for all temple endowed members, you don't have to wear the missionary standard clothing your whole life after you are endowed. Some of the requirements for missionaries (like wearing skirts/dresses to work) are required for missionaries, but not regular church members who are not currently missionaries. For example, missionaries must wear clothing that is not see-through, which covers their stomach and back, shoulders/upper-arms, legs down to below the knees, and is not low-cut at the neckline. These are also the same standards that any temple-endowed adult will need to adhere to at all times (whether you serve a mission or not). If you have been wearing clothes that don't provide the level of coverage that will be required of someone who has been endowed in the temple, it would be a good idea to start making the transition (to wearing clothes that will be appropriate after receiving your endowment) sooner, rather than later! This doesn't mean that you have to throw away all of your clothes - you can probably continue to wear most of what you already have by layering, using skirt-extenders, etc. If you need to start supplementing your wardrobe with more modest pieces in order to start dressing more modestly, you can do this over time (maybe even start shopping for items now that you could use as a missionary? Two birds with one stone!) if you carefully read and understand the missionary clothing guidelines, you will know what clothing will appropriately cover your temple garment as missionary. Here are the basics: general guidelines for all missionary clothing: • "is neither too tight nor too loose. • is not transparent or revealing in any way. • does not draw attention to any part of the body. • is not casual, wrinkled, sloppy, or faddish" "you should present a dignified, clean, well-groomed appearance and be feminine and professional in style"... "clothing should be attractive, colorful, tailored to fit well, and conservative in style. Choose colors and patterns that you can mix and match with a variety of outfits" shirts/blouses: "if leaving your shirt untucked, ensure that the bottom of the shirt presents a tailored, professional appearance. You may layer shirts under blouses and tops to increase modesty; however, undershirts should not be noticeably longer than the top layer. Avoid sloppy, tight, or casual styles. Do not wear t-shirts, sweatshirts, golf-style shirts, casual shirts, or shirts with low necklines. Sleeves should fully cover the shoulder and the upper portion of the arm, including the underarm, to cover the garment" (missionary.Lds.Org) shirts are probably the most difficult item of clothing when it comes to being able to tell if it will be modest if you can't try it on first (i.E., purchasing online or buying without trying on), because we are all built differently. A shirt that is low-cut on me might be just fine on you, because of our varying body shapes and heights. This makes looking at an online photo of a shirt on a model (or even in person on a mannequin) not super helpful unless it is obviously a very high neckline or other features that would indicate modesty on pretty much anyone.  If you are worried that the length of the sleeve might not be long enough, it probably won't be. If you're worried that the neckline might be too low, it probably will be. You do not want to spend all day tugging at your sleeves or neckline of your shirt because you're worried about it. It's better to go with a sure thing. You can also remedy some issues (like a lower neckline or sheer sleeves) by layering (see my post on layering for missionary modesty here) if you're considering purchasing a shirt, but you can't see it in person (like if you are online shopping) or aren't able to try it on for some other reason, there are a few things that can give you clues as to whether it is going to be modest enough for an lds missionary: \*a "complete" sleeve is a whole sleeve, meaning that the sleeve goes around the whole arm. A lot of times, "cap sleeves" are sleeves that just have a top part (nothing beneath the arm but an arm-hole), but if they do have an under part of the sleeve, it is much smaller than the part of the sleeve on the top of the arm. A complete sleeve is what i call a sleeve that covers the whole underside of the arm. For lds missionary standards, sleeves should cover not only the entire shoulder, but also the upper arm. A "cap sleeve" (as shown in the lds.Org graphic below) should only be worn as a layering shirt (under an outer shirt) and never worn as a stand-alone shirt. For more information on how to use layering to make shirts/dresses/skirts more modest, see my blog post here graphic from the missionary clothing faq section of lds.Org \*\*shirts should not allow you to see-through to the skin underneath in any way (sheer fabrics, see-through lace,  cut-outs). You will especially want to watch for sheer sleeves! Many times the main part (bodice) of a shirt will be one materials, but the sleeves will be sheer. You will need to make sure that the garment would not be visible through sheer fabric on the sleeves (or anywhere else). If the sleeves are sheer, you can still wear the shirt if you wear a layering undershirt underneath. Based on the information in this missionary clothing section of lds.Org, here are some examples that i have found of shirts that would not be appropriate for lds missionaries (if worn as-is): and here are a few more examples that are specifically focusing on the sleeves. I am showing some examples of shirts that won't work and some examples of shirts that will work (the missionary-appropriate examples on the right side of this graphic are from lds.Org):    please keep in mind that some of these shirts that aren't appropriate as shown could be  wearable as a missionary with some basic layering (i.E., wearing a layering tee underneath or wearing a cardigan sweater or blazer over the shirt). Of course, a lot depends on where you will be serving (because if it is somewhere hot, you are not going to want to wear layers!) skirts: "skirts should fully cover the entire knee (front and back) when you are standing or sitting. Slits should not be above the knee when standing or sitting. If you serve in a mission where bicycles are used, choose skirts with sufficient fullness and length for comfort and modesty while biking" (missionary.Lds.Org) \*\*\*if you have a slit in a skirt (or dress) that reveals the knee area, this can often be remedied by sewing the slit closed using a matching colored thread. The general purpose of a slit is to make it easier to walk in a form-fitting skirt (which is why they are very common in pencil-skirt type skirts). If your skirt has a slit that is revealing, you can have it sewn closed (by your mom, yourself, or a tailor), especially if your skirt is not too tight. If your skirt is very tight, you might not be able to walk well in it with the slit sewn up. But since your skirt shouldn't be tight anyhow, hopefully this won't be a problem for you!  This graphic from lds.Org (the missionary clothing faq section) shows the requirement for skirt length here are some examples of skirts that would not be appropriate for an lds sister missionary and some examples of skirts that would be appropriate for an lds sister missionary, based on the church's missionary clothing guidelines (the appropriate examples of the right side of the graphic are from lds.Org).  Another possible option for skirts that are just a little bit too short is to wear a skirt-extender" (see my post about skirt extenders here) which is sort of an underskirt with extra material or lace on the end which lengthens the overall look of the outer skirt. Dresses: dresses will actually just follow the same guidelines as shirts and skirts: here are a few examples of dresses that would not be missionary appropriate and some examples of dresses that would be appropriate for missionaries (appropriate examples on the right side are from lds.Org): recreation clothes (exercise, p-day, service): "generally, on preparation day you should wear regular missionary clothing in public. However, if necessary for a specific activity, you may wear more casual clothing. You may bring one pair of modest jeans or pants, a few modest t-shirts, loose-fitting exercise clothing, a pair of gym shoes, and pajamas. Be sure to maintain a high standard of modesty in all activities—especially during activities that require you to stoop down or bend over—by avoiding low-rise jeans and shirts with revealing necklines" (missionary.Lds.Org) the same standards of modestly and (yes!) professionalism still apply to the clothes you will bring for recreation. Yes, you can still be professional in casual clothes. The same modesty standards apply to the clothing you will wear for exercising, p-day activities, service projects, and sleeping.   Much of this has to do with modesty, but you will also need to be clean and neat (not sloppy) and not wear anything that could distract from your message.   The missionary dress and grooming site missionary.Lds.Org does not show specific examples of appropriate pajamas, but as stated above, the same modesty standards are expected at all times, whether you are in public or in your missionary apartment. Pajamas will need to fit the same standards of modesty as your other clothes do. (ps - most sisters that i was companions with wore t-shirts and pajama pants to bed. Only a few brought a full  matching set of pajamas). Well, there you go! These guidelines will help you know what clothes will be modest enough to wear as an endowed member and as a full-time missionary. Remember: part of preparing to go to the temple is learning to live a higher personal standard. Part of preparing to serve a mission is learning to sacrifice your personal wants in order to be an ambassador for the lord. Instead of focusing on the "can'ts," try to focus on the joy that comes from being a representative of the lord, whether you are a full-time missionary or a member missionary! Old-lady bloomers - you will want them! (we are 100% serious) - a guide for future lds sister missionaries i hate slips. I don't like the full-length kind (that is kind of like a slippery dress that you wear under your regular dresses) so i wear the half-slip kind (which is kind of like a slippery skirt that you wear under your regular skirts). They are always riding up or falling off. And i don't feel like they really help that much. Here are some examples of the traditional slip types i mean, yes - they're supposed to provide some extra coverage if you have a sheer-ish dress or skirt and i guess they do that. But i always wish that they would give me some better coverage in other ways (like, could they at least stay down when the wind blows instead of just flipping up right along with my skirt? Or how about giving me a little more coverage when i have to get down & up a hundred times on the nursery floor on sundays?) i heard from a rm friend that some sister missionaries in her mission had started wear bloomer style slips. Maybe some sisters have been wearing them for a while, but this was the first i had heard of it. Genius! They are a half-slip that has been made into shorts, so they actually provide some real coverage if your skirt flips up in the wind. Which is a constant problem for any woman who ever wears a skirt. As a missionary, you will wear a skirt/dress every single day (even part or all of the day on p-days!) so even if you think it's not a big issue right now, this is going to become a greater concern in your life when you are a missionary. Here are a few examples of bloomer-style slips (sometimes called bloomers, split slips, petti-pants, or culotte slips): (see the end of this post for a list of places that these can be purchased) i mean, yikes - they look like they are something that would be worn in a historical re-enactment at nauvoo or would be part of your costume for pioneer trek...Right? But before you make up your mind based on looks, lets talk about the positives. I bought 2 of these bloomer slips for my future missionary daughter (50% because i thought they would be great for her mission, 50% because i secretly wanted to try them). She was not into them. At all. So i wore one of the slips myself to church. It was so comfortable. And i didn't feel like i was flashing everyone everytime i got in/out of the car or bent over to pick something up. Even if someone could see the slip, at least it wasn't my underwear! I told my daughter about how great it was to wear to church and she was beyond uninterested... I explained that i wish i could time travel back to my mission and give myself a couple of these bad-boys because of all the thousands of times i had to sit on the floor and try to keep my skirt down while i sat down/stood up and the millions of times i would walk down the road trying to keep my dress from flying up to my waist. Not that i would have been able to totally ignore those issues, but at least i would know that i had some lee-way and that i would be covered if the wind really got out of control. My daughter was still not very impressed. So i happily continued wearing the bloomers to church stuff, and even though i would bring it up from time to time "are you sure you don't want to try wearing these bloomers?" my daughter kept saying "pass." the turning point came when my daughter spent the day working with some local sister missionaries. I strongly suggested that she wear a pair of the bloomers that day - at least to try them out and see if they would be helpful to her during her mission (since she would be going to real appointments with the full-time missionaries for the day). You can read all about my daughter's adventures with the chuukese missionaries that day in her post: "a future missionary shares 3 ways she is preparing to serve a full-time mission - by doing missionary work now!"  when she came home that night, she said the words that every mother loves to hear: "mom, you were right!" (yes!) "i had to sit on the floor so many times, getting up and down over and over...We went up and down a lot of flights of stairs outside in the wind...If i didn't have these bloomers on, i don't know how i would have done it. I need these for my mission! The missionaries said that they wear them, too!" a-ha! So, ya, i think these are pretty great. And i've convinced my daughter, too. Or, actually - doing actual missionary work convinced her! If you're worried about looking like a little old lady from the depression era, then don't worry - nobody is going to see your slip. Your midi-length skirts and dresses will cover the slip. Unless they don't (because a wind storm has attacked you in the middle of a crosswalk) and then you will be happy that you're wearing dorky old-lady bloomers... Seriously, my daughter just walked by and saw the title of this blog post is "old-lady bloomers - you want them!", and said, "heck yes i do!" (remember, before she actually tried them i couldn't even get her to be a tiny bit interested in taking them on her mission!) a few notes:  i bought our 2 pairs of bloomers (that i keep borrowing) on amazon. I bought 1 black and 1 white of the same brand/size (see bottom of this post for information on where to purchase). I do not get any type of compensation from amazon or from the seller or manufacturer of these slips, i'm just giving my honest opinion and review of what we personally bought. Amazon has a great variety of these types of slips, which is nice because they don't sell them in most stores (not a huge demand, i guess!). There are probably other websites and stores where you can buy these bloomers/split slips, especially if you live in an area with stores that especially cater to missionaries. We don't have anything like that in our area, so amazon it is! I bought the kind of bloomers that are called "snip-it" which means that you can adjust the length of the legs by cutting off a bottom strip (or multiple strips) of the lace on both legs. My daughter is 5'5 and i am 5'4. We had to cut all of the extra lace strips off of the bottoms of the bloomers we bought because they were hanging out under our midi-length skirts at the length they started with. This is a good thing. I'd rather have a slip that is too long and have to cut off the extra length instead of worrying about them being too short. And you don't have to hem them or anything after you cut off the lace. However, make sure that you don't cut off too much at once, because once the extra strips are cut off, they don't go back on (unless you re-sew them on, i guess). This is the type of bloomer/split-slip that we bought (see the adjustable length cut-aways) we were going for knee-length, which is the length that these particular bloomers fall on us with the bottom layers cut off. If you are taller than us (or just want your bloomers to be slightly longer), you can adjust the length accordingly. I've seen some bloomers like this that fall on the mid-thigh, but personally i want (and i think would be most practical for a missionary) to have knee-length. You'll also want to avoid going too long...There are some bloomers that you can buy which are almost ankle-length. I'd just stick to the knee-length bloomers, no matter what the lengths of the outer skirt/dress. You don't want to have long bloomers that can only be worn with one or two outfits. Thats not multi-tasking enough! Save the space in your luggage! You will be able to wear the knee-length bloomers with all of your missionary-appropriate skirts and dresses. If you have questions about what skirt lengths are appropriate for sister missionaries, please see my posts on the subject (look at the right side of this page for a search box and search for "modest" or click on the label "modesty" or "sisters" to see all of the posts on the topic of sister missionary clothing guidelines.  Here are the links to the examples of bloomers that i've shown in this post:  slip a- velrose snip-it 26" culotte slip (currently $17-$24.38 on amazon, depending color & size) (available in 3 different colors and sizes s m l xl 2x 3x 4x) here slip b & c- avidlove women lingerie pettipants snip-it culottes (currently $5.99-$14.99 on amazon, depending color & size) (available in 3 different colors and sizes s m l xl 2x) here  slip d- underworks woven cotton batiste culotte slips pettipants (currently $19.99 on amazon) (available in white only in sizes s m l xl 2x 3x 4x 5x 6x) here  i bought the style shown in b & c (i bought white & black, though cream & black are shown in the collage) and they are good quality, so i would recommend them. I haven't purchased the other slips listed, but they look like they would be the right length and have good reviews, so might be worth a try! Tuesday, february 20, 2018 modest clothes in 4 easy steps - tips for future lds sister missionaries as i've mentioned in my previous post "how to tell which clothes will be modest enough for your lds mission (even after you receive your endowment)," layering clothes can be a great way to make certain clothes that aren't so missionary appropriate, appropriate! Ideally, you will want to have at least some shirts, skirts, and dresses that you do not need to layer, especially if you will be in a mission with a hot climate, or is hot at least part of the year. Some missions are hot during part of the year and freezing the rest of the year, so you may need to have a range of options. It's good to be versatile. Personally i try to find shirts and dresses that do not require wearing something else under/over it (because it is a hassle), but that isn't always possible... Often you will need to add a little something to make a shirt or skirt modest enough to wear as a missionary here is a great example of a dress that you could wear with a cardigan or blazer, or you can wear it just as-is. You would not need to wear a layering tee for modesty because of the already-modest sleeve length and neckline and you would not need to wear a skirt-extender because of the missionary-appropriate skirt length: "anna dress navy dot" found at the missionarymall.Org (available in sizes xs-3x) for $41) realistically, it is not always easy to find clothes that are modest enough and professional enough (for a full-time missionary) right off the rack. Don't worry - there are some things you can do to ensure that you are dressed appropriately when you arrive at the mtc. Here are 4 steps for ensuring your missionary wardrobe is appropriate!   #1- layering tees: "layering tees" are fitted stretchy shirts that are meant to be worn under other clothes. Technically, you could wear them as a shirt when you aren't serving as a full-time missionary, but they are very form-fitting so they might be a little tight looking for your taste. As a missionary, these types of shirts are not allowed as a stand-alone shirt, but can be worn under other shirts (maybe a shirt that is lower-cut or with sleeves that are not quite long enough, or maybe you would like more coverage at the waist for a shirt that is a little shorter). These layering shirts are different than regular t-shirts, they are a little more dressy looking, they are stretchy, and they are not see-through. They are made by a lot of different companies and sold in many stores in the utah area. If you don't live in utah (like i don't!), they aren't as readily available, but you can order them online from many different online stores or find them on ebay and amazon (search for "layering tee" or "layering shirt").  Here are a few examples of layering tees: if you only want coverage for the chest/shoulder area for a particular shirt or dress and don't necessarily need more coverage for the stomach area, there are also cropped layering tees. If you will be in a hot mission where you need to limit the number of layers, this would mean less fabric on your torso, which might help you stay cooler if you have to layer for modesty. An example of a layering half-tee from halftee.Com layering tees and half-tees are available in a range of colors, necklines, and sleeve types from many different companies/stores. If you need a layering shirt for shoulder/upper arm coverage, make sure that the sleeve length will be long enough for what you need. Here are some examples of how a layering-tee or a layering half-tee can be used (not specifically for a missionary, but just in general): examples of how to use layering tees & half-tees (from halftee.Com) #2- faux camis: a camisole or "cami" is little a tank top that women used to wear (not that popular anymore) under their shirts for added modesty (especially if a blouse was sheer or a little low-cut). Sometimes the top would peek out a little bit, so they often had lace detail. If you need some extra cleavage coverage for some of your shirts or dresses, you might want to try a faux-cami!  Faux-camis are a little triangle of fabric that snaps on around your bra straps - they have a reputation of being kind of a grandma thing, but if it's 100 degrees and your shirt is a little too low to wear without layering, you will pick this piece of fabric over a whole layering shirt any day. They give you the look of a camisole and the coverage at your neckline, without wearing an actual camisole tank top or a layering tee. I wear these faux camis a lot, many shirts and dresses have a dip in the neckline that shows cleavage, especially in plus-size clothes. The only thing i would warn you about is if your neckline is wide, you can sometimes see the sides of the triangle as you move around, so these are best for using when only a little extra cleavage coverage is needed.  If you get some of these, i would suggest neutral colors, especially white and beige, because those colors will go with almost any outfit (and unless you are heavily sweating you might be able to wear these several times between washings). One type of faux cami available from camisecret.Com another faux cami (slightly different, more expensive) that is available from cleava.Com i've seen tutorials for making your own faux cami, but honestly unless you are really gung-ho about sewing and have lots of time on your hands, i would just buy them. They are pretty in expensive. I just looked on amazon and they have 3-packs of "cami-secret" faux camis for $5.99. #3- skirt extenders: a common issue for sister missionaries at the mtc is bringing skirts (or dresses) that they thought were long enough, but are actually not long enough. Apparently this happens a lot. Everyone gets the same packing list and clothing standards, but it seems that some sisters are not getting the message that the skirt/dress has to cover the whole knee, even when sitting. Test it out - try on a knee-length skirt that you already have (or one that you have already purchased for your mission) and sit in a chair in front of a mirror. If you have to yank down the fabric to keep your knees covered, its not long enough. Yanking fabric during a meeting is not professional. Before you report to the mtc, you might think a skirt is "close enough," but you will be taken aside at the mtc and asked to change your clothes if you're dress/skirt is too short, because it isn't missionary appropriate. Even then, you might think a sort-of-shortish skirt will be "fine" once you get in the field, but when you are sitting on the dirt floor of a hut or running after a bus, it will not be good enough coverage and you will not have the energy to keep worrying about modesty all day. You will start to hate that skirt and you will end up tossing it. So follow the guidelines and be on the safe side. It would be awful to have your clothes all picked out & outfits carefully planned (and paid for) just to find out that you have to leave some of your skirts behind at the mtc (and either spend money to buy replacements or try to have your mom send you more clothes because you now don't have enough clothes for the week anymore).  Even if you sneak by in the mtc with a too-short skirt, you will soon arrive in your mission and your mission president will notice. And your trainer companion will notice. And the lord will notice. You are his ambassador. Do things his way. Obedience brings great blessings. Sneaking by with clothes that don't follow the rules does not. Yes, its hard to find skirts that are long enough. But its not impossible. You can search online for stores that specifically sell missionary clothing or modest clothing. Or you can search sites like amazon for a specific type of skirt you want ("midi" is the term for skirts that fall between the knee and the mid-calf, so if you search "midi skirt" you will narrow down your search).  For skirts (or dresses) that you love (or already own) that are too short to cover the whole knee while standing and while sitting (ps- constantly tugging on them to keep them in place doesn't count as being long enough), you can also try a skirt extender (also sometimes called a layering skirt or a extender slip). Its basically like a slip that goes under your regular skirt that gives it extra length. "skirt extenders" might look like skirts, but they are actually slips that are meant to go under your skirts/dresses.  Here are a few examples: sistermissionaryfashion.Com vezanie shop on etsy peekaboo chic skirt extenders come in a lot of cool prints & styles, but i would recommend trying to stick with neutrals (like white, black, tan, etc) because then they will be more likely to match with more than just one skirt/dress. Also, a lot of the cute skirt extenders are lace, but be careful not to keep a skirt-extender that is sheer (see-through) because that sort of defeats the purpose of a skirt extender that you need because your skirt is too short (i.E., your skirt is hitting mid-knee, so you buy a sheer skirt extender that gives you 3 extra inches of length, but those 3 extra inches are see-through, so the skirt still isn't missionary appropriate). You can purchase skirt extenders from some shops (especially in utah), but for the rest of us (and people who like to shop online) you can find skirt extenders of all kinds/colors/sizes available for purchase in online stores, etsy, ebay, amazon, and more.  Or, if you sew, you can make one yourself! Here is a tutorial i found on pinterest (search "diy skirt extender" on pinterest and you will find many other tutorials): click here to go to the lace skirt extender diy tutorial on the sisters, what! Website #4- adding length to the skirt/dress itself: if you sew (or know somebody who does), you could add length to a shortish skirt by sewing ribbon or fabric right onto the skirt, as in these examples (below): add fabric to the hem instructions at kristinaclemens.Blogspot.Com there you have it, 4 steps toward making some of your store-bought clothes modest enough to wear as a full-time missionary! While you're at it, check out my other blog posts about preparing to serve a full-time mission! What does it mean to be modest? What are proper modesty rules? I’ve been talking all month about how the message that “men lust all the time so women have to have sex to stop men from lusting” is so dangerous and unbiblical. Yet in far too many christian marriage books (like love & respect or every man’s battle) that’s the message that’s being given. It’s a fear-based message for women, and it needs to stop. And it’s an unbiblical way of looking at men’s sex drives as well. Every man’s battle/love and respect  how love & respect gets sex horribly wrong  men are visual: does that mean all men lust? A corollary to this idea that all men lust is that women should dress modestly to stop men from lusting. I’ve written before about how the don’t be a stumbling block modesty argument is actually unbiblical, too (and i encourage you to read that post! It’s important). Perhaps because that’s so prevalent, i get a lot of reader questions from moms asking how they can teach their daughters to dress modestly (i very rarely get anything relating to sons in this vein). And so today i thought i’d tackle it in a new way. Yes, what we wear is important. But we have to make sure we’re tackling it with a non-feared based message, because so often that’s what we get. Let’s take a look at what the Bible actually does say about modesty (because i think we’ve gotten it wrong). Here’s the passage that is usually quoted:  1 Timothy 2:9-10 i also want the women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, adorning themselves, not with elaborate hairstyles or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship god. Okay, so women are to dress modestly. This leads, however, to two clarifying questions: • why are women to dress modestly? • and what does modesty look like? Let’s deal with the first one first. Why does paul want women to dress modestly? It flows out of his purpose for writing his first letter to Timothy. The main purpose of that letter was this: as i urged you when i went into macedonia, stay there in ephesus so that you may command certain people not to teach false doctrines any longer (1 Timothy 1:3) paul wanted Timothy to fight against false teaching. His letter is really about how to set up a church that honours god and doesn’t spread false teaching or come into disrepute, but instead spreads the gospel. Hence all the references to being an apostle–he wants others to hear the good news. So the concern that paul has here with regards to modesty is that the way that women are dressing may be turning people away from the message of christ. Paul talks in 1 Timothy 2:3 about how god “wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.” that’s the context for this verse–let’s make sure that people get to know god and are saved. However, the way that women were dressing may be working against that. So let’s look at what women were doing specifically that was bad: what does modesty look like? It’s interesting that paul’s version of modesty has absolutely nothing to do with causing men to lust or even about the shapes of women’s bodies, but everything to do with women dressing to look rich. One of the big issues in the early church was a class divide. Rich people didn’t tend to associate with poorer people. So if women came into church wearing expensive jewelry and expensive hair styling, they would make others feel excluded. And paul didn’t want anyone to feel excluded! So that is paul’s main modesty message: dress in such a way that you are approachable and welcoming and that you put Jesus in a good light. I want you to hold on to that thought–dress in a way that you are approachable and welcoming–because when we look at modesty that way, something interesting happens. Let’s make modesty cultural for a second: in our culture, how do you dress in a way that is approachable and welcoming? The biggest way to make others feel welcome by what you wear is that you don’t make anyone feel that they somehow don’t fit in. You want people who come into your church or your social circle to feel as if they belong. My kids once attended a summer camp where a number of very rich teenagers went, and brand names became a big thing among the girls. My daughters had never been into brand names (we gave them a clothing allowance and so they paid for their own clothes, and they were really frugal!), and it did feel off-putting and exclusionary to them. If you want people to feel like they fit in and that you are approachable, then you must be culturally appropriate. Like paul said:  1 corinthians 9:19-22 niv though i am free and belong to no one, i have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the jews i became like a jew, to win the jews.To those under the law i became like one under the law (though i myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law i became like one not having the law (though i am not free from god’s law but am under christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak i became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means i might save some. He fit in to the culture so that the culture felt that he was appropriate! So what does being culturally appropriate mean for modesty? Here’s where my 40% rule comes in! Human behaviour tends to fall on a bell curve, that looks something like this:  what a bell curve says is that most people are remarkably similar. In fact, 68% of people fall within 1 standard deviation of the mean (the average), and 95% fall within two standard deviations. Then there are those outliers. If we want people to feel as if they fit in, then, and we want to seem approachable, in general you want to be in that middle section where about 68% of people fall. That’s what’s “normal” in our culture, and that helps people to feel at ease. If we think of this in terms of modesty, some people on the very right end of that graph dress very immodestly, wearing hardly anything, drawing attention to cleavage, etc. Etc. You definitely don’t want to be like that. But here’s the corresponding message that christians often miss: when we fall too far on the left end of that bell curve, and try to dress extremely modestly, in long denim skirts, long sleeves, nothing below your clavicle, oversized t-shirts, etc., we are just as out of the mainstream as those who are very immodest. When you appear too modest, you actually make others feel like you are judging them. That does not bring anyone to the gospel. That is very off-putting. That tells people they don’t belong in your church or community. That makes you seem very unapproachable. Paul was not setting up specific modesty rules that applied for all time. He was setting a principle that people should not feel excluded. When we think about modesty, we should be thinking the same thing. So when i dress, i think something like this: “what’s about the middle point of modesty in our culture? And how can i be just on the left side of it?” and that pretty much works! That’s my 40% rule! In fact, i wear some things now that i would not have worn twenty years ago because fashions have totally changed. Think of the difference between the mom jeans of the 80s and the jeans we wear today. Twenty years ago our modern jeans that are ultra-form fitting would have been scandalous; today they hardly make anyone bat an eye. But go out in a pair of those mom jeans, and people would think there was something wrong with you. Here i am rocking those mom jeans back in 1990 (keith and me about a year and a half before we were married):  i’d never wear those today; i’d stand out like a sore thumb. I wear much more form-fitting ones, as does everyone else. I’m not saying modesty is entirely cultural; there are some things i could never do in europe it’s normal to be topless at the beach, and that would likely fall within that 68%. I would never do that, for all kinds of reasons. So there are exceptions. But on the whole, i think it would be better if we started talking about modesty the way that paul did. It’s not about not causing someone to lust. It’s about being approachable and not being off-putting. That means that: • we should not appear so rich that people think they can’t talk to us. • we should not appear so immodest that we put others ill at ease. • and we should not appear so modest that we make others feel uncomfortable and even judged..  what do you think? Am i wrong? Is that a more biblical way of looking at it? Let’s talk in the comments!

The Need for Christian Families to Address the Issue of Modesty

https://forthefamily.org/need-christian-families-address-issue-modesty/

By Randy Alcorn

March 3, 2014

5-6 minutes

My husband and I are glad that the church is finally talking about the problem of pornography and purity in the Body of Christ, and helping men address this issue. But why do we never hear about purity for women in the way they dress? I’m talking about women who profess to be Christ-followers. They become a stumbling block to their brothers when they dress seductively or dress to be sexy as the world has deemed fashionable. Please address the issue of modesty. That is a great question, and it’s very problematic. When I was a youth pastor, many years ago, we had a problem with swimsuits — a problem that is much worse today for church youth groups because of the change in fashions. The way girls wore their two-piece swimsuits, and even many one-pieces, showed so much. You have young men on a church retreat who are looking at these girls—their sisters in Christ—and thinking what young men think and being led into temptation. I’m not justifying the way men think. It is a problem, but it is also true—as the person indicates who asks this question—that there’s a responsibility here for girls, and certainly for their dads and moms, to seriously consider this. As for the part of the question asking why this is not being addressed like it should be in churches, I believe the answer is fear. I think there are many pastors and church leaders, who, like many husbands and fathers, are afraid to speak up for fear of offending women who are fashion-conscious. Some women think that to be fashionable, they have to wear outfits that are sexy—including the split skirts, the very tight skirts and pants, and low-cut tops. It’s a difficult topic, but it’s an issue which I believe male leaders of the home and church need to courageously and directly address. We also need godly women (especially godly women who can be fashionable and attractive in the right sense of attractive—not sexually attractive) who will lovingly challenge other women and let them know they are sending a wrong message. We need open, clear discussions so women can become aware and understand the issue. As I share in my book The Purity Principle, parents need to screen their children’s clothing. Men are responsible to help their wives and daughters understand why this is so important. Women, please believe us—when we say a prom dress, shorts, top or swimsuit is inappropriate, we know exactly what we’re talking about. When my daughter Karina addressed this topic several years ago, she wrote: Modesty is not… just an issue for young women, although that is a time when women often develop their habits and lifestyles. Unfortunately, there are so many moms and even grandmas who don’t seem to have a grasp on the issue. The sad thing is that according to Titus 2:3-5, one of the things the older women are to teach the younger women is how to be pure (or chaste) so that the word of God will not be blasphemed. And 1 Peter 3:3-5 reminds us that as women our beauty should not come from outward adornment, but rather of character that is honoring to God. This doesn’t mean that we should be sloppy and not take care of our appearance, but that our appearance should not be our primary attractive quality. The Bible says our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit. That compels us to honor God in all we do and say. I do believe modesty is something which families need to take a very close, careful, prayerful look at.  We need to not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of our minds. For parents looking for resources, Nancy Leigh DeMoss has excellent material on modesty and purity. She has a wonderful booklet titled The Look: Does God Really Care What I Wear? as well as several resources about the freedom of modesty at her ministry’s website. Also check out this article from Mary Kassian.

## Modesty: A Timeless Principle for All

https://www.churchofJesuschrist.org/study/liahona/2009/07/modesty-a-timeless-principle-for-all?lang=eng

By Silvia H. Allred

July, 2009

9-11 minutes

The way we dress demonstrates our understanding of the gospel of Jesus christ. One of the challenges members of the church of Jesus christ of latter-day saints face today is obeying principles of modesty in an increasingly immodest world. Difficult though it may be, we can show our discipleship to the savior Jesus christ by obeying the church’s standards of modesty. Modesty encompasses dress, language, thought, and personal conduct, but here i would like to focus on dress. Originally, the main purpose of clothing was to cover our bodies and protect them from the elements. Those purposes continue, although clothing now serves more complex purposes too. Today it can be an expression of many things such as wealth, social status, individuality, or belonging. But clothing also reflects our attitudes and values. For latter-day saints, the way we dress demonstrates our understanding of and commitment to the gospel of Jesus christ. In a world that constantly tries to undermine our sense of who we are and what we can become, observing the principle of modesty can improve our confidence. By living and teaching this principle, we can help instill that same confidence in the next generation. What is modesty? The pamphlet for the strength of youth offers basic guidelines for modesty. This booklet is valuable for both youth and adults: “immodest clothing includes short shorts and skirts, tight clothing, shirts that do not cover the stomach, and other revealing attire. … women should wear clothing that covers the shoulder and avoid clothing that is low-cut in the front or the back or revealing in any other manner. … men should also maintain modesty in their appearance. All should avoid extremes in clothing, appearance, and hairstyle. Always be neat and clean and avoid being sloppy or inappropriately casual in dress, grooming, and manners. Ask yourself, ‘would i feel comfortable with my appearance if i were in the lord’s presence?’”1 seek the guidance of the spirit as you choose modest apparel. Additionally, as you consider the principles associated with modesty, you might also benefit from asking yourself specific questions like these: • am i exposing too much of my body when i sit down, bend over, reach up, or climb stairs? • do i call attention to myself by wearing clothing that is revealing or provocative? • do i need to adjust, tuck, or rearrange my temple garments in order to wear a particular item? Why modesty? When we better understand the doctrine behind the principles of modesty, we realize that modesty is the virtue that guides and moderates action. The doctrine behind modesty begins with our knowledge that we are children of god, created in his image (see moses 2:27). Our bodies are sacred gifts from heavenly father and have specific purposes that he has planned. As grateful recipients, we acknowledge this gift by treating our bodies as he has asked us to (see d&c 88:33). We learn to train, control, and bridle our bodies and their physical uses to become like heavenly father. From the beginning, the lord has asked his children to cover their bodies. After adam and eve partook of the forbidden fruit, their eyes were opened and they became aware that they were naked. Adam and eve tried to cover themselves with simple aprons made of fig leaves. But the aprons were not enough, so the lord made them more modest coats of skins. (see genesis 3:7, 21.) god had a higher standard then, just as he does now. His standards are not those of the world. As he says in isaiah 55:8–9: “for my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the lord. “for as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.” a timeless principle because modesty is one of the lord’s “higher ways” and not a passing social trend, it has been taught throughout the ages. Consider these other scriptural examples about clothing and what they teach us about modesty. Modesty shows humility. The book of mormon prophet jacob denounced pride and love of riches. He admonished his people to prevent their prideful hearts from destroying their souls. One of the ways they had showed their excessive pride was in their manner of dress. Jacob told them, “because some of you have obtained more abundantly than that of your brethren ye are lifted up in the pride of your hearts, and wear stiff necks and high heads because of the costliness of your apparel, and persecute your brethren because ye suppose that ye are better than they” (jacob 2:13). The idea of being humble in how we dress is further reflected in doctrine and covenants 42:40: “thou shalt not be proud in thy heart; let all thy garments be plain.” does this mean that we cannot dress stylishly? No, we should dress appropriately for the occasion, but we should not consume ourselves with brand names or with always having the latest fashion. It is better to use financial resources for more lasting and meaningful purposes. The way we dress for worship shows our reverence for the lord. The lord asked moses to prepare sacred clothing that would be worthy of use in his holy house (see exodus 28:2). It is clear from this commandment that the lord felt everyday clothing was inappropriate for such a purpose. Do we, like moses, reflect our feelings of love for heavenly father by dressing appropriately for worship? As these examples show, “prophets of god have always counseled his children to dress modestly.”2 in our own time we have been reminded that “the way you dress is a reflection of what you are on the inside. Your dress and grooming send messages about you to others and influence the way you and others act. When you are well groomed and modestly dressed, you invite the companionship of the spirit and can exercise a good influence on those around you.”3 blessings associated with modesty one of the foremost blessings associated with modesty is an increased sense of confidence. One sister shares the story of a friend who learned—and was blessed by—the principle of modesty in the course of learning about the gospel: “several summers ago, a colleague attended church with me. She arrived at my home beforehand dressed in what is traditional for our warm climate: a sleeveless sundress. I appreciated her sense of occasion in wearing a dress to church, and off we went. Other ward members welcomed her to our congregation, and she returned several times in the ensuing weeks. She even began attending home, family, and personal enrichment meetings and bringing her several children to primary and youth activities. During those midweek activities on those hot summer days, she usually wore a sleeveless blouse and shorts that reached mid-thigh. She was not vulgarly dressed, but it was apparent that she did not yet understand latter-day saint standards. “after several weeks, i asked her if she would be interested in learning more about the church from the missionaries. She told me that she was shy and that she was uncomfortable talking to people she didn’t know. She wanted simply to continue to participate in our ward’s worship and activities and assured me that if she had any questions, she would ask me or some of the other people in the ward with whom she was already acquainted. “it was interesting to me that as she continued to come to church and church activities, she began wearing longer skirts, longer shorts, and shirts that had sleeves. Initially i thought it had to do with the oncoming autumn weather, but i soon realized that she was simply taking note of how her latter-day saint associates dressed. “i don’t know that her change in apparel was solely responsible for the increase in confidence i started to notice in her, but i think it was part of it. As she continued to learn gospel principles, such as her divine heritage as a daughter of god, her sense of self-worth seemed to escalate. Her confidence increased as she began to better understand the reasons behind some of the things we do. And as her confidence increased, she was eager to learn more about the gospel—including taking the missionary discussions, something that had previously made her nervous. “her dress was just one aspect of her coming to know and understand gospel principles and standards, but as she found she was able to adjust that area of her life, she saw that she could make more significant changes too. Eventually, these changes led to her conversion to the gospel of Jesus christ and her joining the church. Later, she was endowed in the temple, and her wardrobe required no change because she had already been practicing the principles of modesty.”4 as modesty becomes the virtue that regulates and moderates action in our lives, we too will find an increased sense of self-worth. Recall the promises of doctrine and covenants 121:45–46: “let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly; then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of god; and the doctrine of the priesthood shall distil upon thy soul as the dews from heaven. “the holy ghost shall be thy constant companion, and thy scepter an unchanging scepter of righteousness and truth.” may we all endeavor to qualify for these blessings. Don’t be a dummy a mannequin wears whatever the world is selling. Your standards are higher than that. Are your standards shrinking? If it’s too tight, too short, or too revealing, it doesn’t fit church standards. Don’t stretch your standards to fit the world’s. (see for the strength of youth, 14–16.) don’t shortchange yourself the way you dress advertises your standards. Send the right message. (see for the strength of youth, 15.) standards you will never outgrow them. (see john 14:15.) dress for success dress appropriately. Don’t let a bad choice trip you up. (see for the strength of youth, 14–16.) aspire to something higher the lord invites you to prepare yourself to enter his house. It holds great peace

## 6 Sophisticated LDS Tips for Modest Clothing in Church

https://innermod.com/blogs/editorial/lds-tips-modest-clothing-church

By Alexis Anne Guerrero

July 6, 2020

7-8 minutes

Posted by Alexis Anne Guerrero in the Editorial

## Best-Kept Secrets on How To Style Cheap Modest Dresses for Church

https://innermod.com/blogs/editorial/how-to-style-cheap-modest-dresses-church

By Alexis Anne Guerrero

August 24, 2020

7-8 minutes

## How to Style Women’s Loose Fitting Tops For Online Meetings

https://innermod.com/blogs/editorial/style-women-loose-fitting-tops-online-meetings

By Alexis Anne Guerrero

August 14, 2020

7-8 minutes

## Simple Modest Clothing For The Trendy No-Frills Fashionista

https://innermod.com/blogs/editorial/simple-modest-clothing-trendy-fashionista

By Alexis Anne Guerrero

August 4, 2020

7-8 minutes

Mother of the Bride? These Modest Evening Gowns Are For You

https://innermod.com/blogs/editorial/mother-bride-modest-evening-gowns

By Alexis Anne Guerrero

July 24, 2020

7-8 minutes

## Client Meeting? Modest Wear Tips That’ll Seal the Deal

https://innermod.com/blogs/editorial/modest-wear-tips

By Alexis Anne Guerrero

June 25, 2020

7-9 minutes

When Should You Wear Long Modest Skirts? (Hint: Not Just To Church!)

https://innermod.com/blogs/editorial/when-wear-long-modest-skirts-church

By Alexis Anne Guerrero

January 10, 2020

7-9 minutes

## Sunday Funday: Modest Dresses For Church in the UK

https://innermod.com/blogs/editorial/modest-dresses-church-uk

By Alexis Anne Guerrero

February 7, 2020

6-8 minutes

## Women should wear only modest dresses, with no exceptions to wearing pants

By OpenAI's Chat-GPT

Cultural and religious preservation: Emphasizing modesty through dress is deeply rooted in various cultural and religious traditions. By adhering to modest dress codes, women contribute to the preservation of these important cultural and religious values. Counterargument: Dress codes should not be based solely on cultural or religious beliefs, as they can be subjective and restrict individual freedom. Rebuttal: While individual freedom is valuable, it is also crucial to respect and uphold cultural and religious practices that have historical significance and provide a sense of identity to communities.

Promoting traditional values: Modest dress can be seen as a reflection of traditional values that prioritize dignity, self-respect, and modesty. Encouraging women to wear dresses promotes these values within society. Counterargument: Traditional values may perpetuate gender inequality and limit women's opportunities for self-expression and empowerment. Rebuttal: Modest dress codes do not inherently perpetuate gender inequality. It is possible to advocate for modesty while also promoting gender equality and empowering women in various other areas of life.

Fostering a respectful and dignified environment: Modest dress helps create an atmosphere of respect and dignity by reducing objectification and promoting a focus on individuals' character and intellect rather than their physical appearance. Counterargument: Dress codes should not place the burden of responsibility solely on women to avoid objectification; society should address the issue by educating and changing the attitudes of individuals .Rebuttal: Modest dress codes are not solely responsible for addressing objectification, but they play a role in fostering an environment that values respect and dignity. Combating objectification requires a multifaceted approach that includes education, awareness, and changes in societal attitudes.

Enhancing professionalism: In professional settings, modest dress, such as dresses, can be perceived as more formal and appropriate. It helps individuals convey a sense of professionalism and seriousness in their work.Counterargument: Professionalism should not be determined by attire, but rather by competence, skills, and behaviour. Rebuttal: While professionalism is indeed multifaceted, appropriate attire plays a part in establishing a formal environment and projecting a certain image that aligns with societal expectations in professional settings.

Preserving aesthetics and cultural heritage: Modest dresses often showcase intricate designs, fabrics, and styles that are unique to specific cultures or historical periods. By wearing dresses, women contribute to preserving and appreciating these artistic and cultural traditions.Counterargument: Aesthetic choices should be subjective and not dictated by societal norms or expectations.Rebuttal: Appreciating and participating in cultural and artistic traditions is not solely about conformity but also about acknowledging the historical and artistic value of different dress forms. It allows for the continuation of diverse cultural expressions.

Encouraging self-discipline and self-control: Adhering to a modest dress code requires self-discipline and self-control. By choosing modesty, women cultivate these virtues, which can extend to other areas of their lives, such as behavior and decision-making. Counterargument: Self-discipline and self-control should not be imposed through dress codes but should be cultivated through personal choice and internal motivation.Rebuttal: Dress codes can serve as external reminders and catalysts for personal growth. They can help individuals develop self-discipline and self-control, which can then be applied to various aspects of life beyond clothing choices.

Reducing societal pressure: Modest dress codes can alleviate the pressure on women to conform to narrow beauty standards. By emphasizing modesty, the focus shifts away from physical appearance and encourages individuals to be valued for their character and contributions. Counterargument: Society should address beauty standards and body image issues rather than enforcing restrictive dress codes. Rebuttal: Addressing beauty standards and body image issues is essential, but modest dress codes provide an immediate solution to alleviate some of the pressure placed on women by shifting the focus away from physical appearance and fostering a more inclusive environment.

Creating a sense of unity and belonging: Modest dress codes can foster a sense of unity and community by providing a shared identity and a sense of belonging among those who adhere to them. Counterargument: Individuality should be celebrated, and dress codes can suppress personal expression.Rebuttal: Modest dress codes can coexist with individuality, as they primarily focus on a specific aspect of appearance. Personal expression can still be celebrated through other means such as accessories, hairstyles, and personal interactions.

Acknowledging historical significance: Modest dresses often have historical significance, representing the struggles, achievements, and cultural milestones of women throughout history. By wearing dresses, women pay tribute to their predecessors and honor their legacy. Counterargument: Historical significance should not restrict personal choices or limit progress.Rebuttal: Acknowledging historical significance does not necessarily restrict progress or personal choices. It provides an opportunity to remember and appreciate the achievements of those who paved the way, while also recognizing the potential for further progress and evolution.

Encouraging mindfulness and self-awareness: Modest dress codes require individuals to be mindful of their appearance and its impact on themselves and others. This cultivates self-awareness and consideration for the broader societal context. Counterargument: Personal appearance should not be a source of constant scrutiny or self-evaluation. Rebuttal: While it is important not to excessively scrutinize one's appearance, modest dress codes encourage individuals to consider their impact on others and cultivate self-awareness. This can foster empathy and respect for diverse perspectives within society.

   1    Tradition and cultural significance: Some cultures have a long-standing tradition of women wearing dresses, and it can be argued that adhering to these cultural norms promotes cultural identity and unity.

   2    Feminine aesthetic: Dresses are often associated with femininity and can accentuate feminine features, allowing women to embrace their femininity and express themselves in a distinct way.

   3    Variety and style options: Dresses come in various designs, patterns, and styles, offering a wide range of options for women to express their personal style and creativity.

   4    Comfort and breathability: Many dresses are made from lightweight and breathable fabrics, providing comfort and freedom of movement, especially in warmer climates.

   5    Versatility: Dresses can be dressed up or down for different occasions, making them versatile and suitable for both formal and casual events.

   6    Empowerment through femininity: Wearing dresses can be seen as an empowering choice, as it embraces traditional symbols of femininity and challenges societal norms that may prioritize masculine attire.

   7    Historical significance: Throughout history, dresses have been worn by influential women, including political leaders, artists, and activists, who have used fashion as a means of expression and social change.

   8    Sense of occasion: Dresses can help create a sense of occasion and formality, allowing women to feel elegant and special during important events.

   9    Symbol of modesty: Some argue that dresses promote modesty by covering more of the body compared to pants, aligning with certain cultural or religious values.

   10    Symbol of professionalism: In some professional settings, dresses are considered appropriate attire, and adhering to this dress code may enhance a woman's perceived professionalism and authority.

   11    Encouraging creativity: The unique design elements of dresses can inspire women to explore their creativity when it comes to accessories, hairstyles, and makeup, leading to self-expression and confidence.

   12    Encouraging body positivity: Dresses can accommodate a variety of body types, allowing women to embrace their individual beauty and feel confident regardless of their shape or size.

   13    Historical fashion influence: Dresses have played a significant role in the evolution of fashion and can be seen as a representation of art and craftsmanship.

   14    Promoting sustainable fashion: Dresses often require less fabric compared to pants, which can contribute to reducing waste and promoting sustainable fashion practices.

   15    Cultural appreciation: Wearing dresses from different cultures can be seen as a way to appreciate and celebrate diverse traditions and styles.

   16    Enhancing femininity: Dresses can enhance certain physical attributes associated with femininity, such as curves and gracefulness, allowing women to feel more connected to their bodies.

   17    Sense of tradition: Wearing dresses can create a sense of connection to the past and honor the fashion choices of previous generations.

   18    Positive psychological impact: Wearing dresses can boost self-esteem, confidence, and mood, as they can make women feel more beautiful, elegant, and put together.

   19    Expression of personal identity: Some individuals may personally identify with dresses and find them to be an authentic reflection of their personality and values.

   20    Promoting inclusivity: By encouraging women to wear dresses, it can challenge traditional gender norms and promote inclusivity and acceptance of diverse expressions of gender identity.

   21    Embracing femininity as a form of resistance: In societies that historically devalue femininity, wearing dresses can be seen as a form of resistance and reclamation of power.

   22    Historical preservation: By advocating for dresses, we contribute to preserving historical fashion and craftsmanship, ensuring that future generations can appreciate and learn from it.

   23    Supporting the fashion industry: The dress industry is a significant sector within the fashion industry, and promoting the wearing of dresses can contribute to its growth and sustainability.

   24    Connection to nature: Flowing dresses can be seen as an embodiment of natural elements like wind and water, fostering a connection to the environment and promoting eco-consciousness.

   25    Historical role model influence: Many historical female figures who challenged societal norms and fought for women's rights wore dresses, and embracing dresses can honor their legacy.

   26    Reducing objectification: Some argue that dresses can be less objectifying than tight-fitting pants, as they offer more coverage and can deter unwanted attention.

   27    Bridging the generation gap: Wearing dresses can create a shared experience and understanding between generations, as it connects older and younger women through a common fashion choice.

   28    Encouraging craftsmanship: The intricate designs and details of dresses often require skilled craftsmanship, supporting artisans and promoting the appreciation of handcrafted fashion.

   29    Unifying women: A shared dress code can create a sense of camaraderie among women, fostering a supportive and inclusive community.

   30    Breaking gender stereotypes: By exclusively wearing dresses, women can challenge traditional gender roles and stereotypes, promoting a more fluid and open-minded society.

   1   Cultural and historical significance: Throughout history, dresses have played a significant role in various cultures around the world. They often symbolize femininity, grace, and elegance. Advocates could argue that embracing dresses exclusively honors and preserves these cultural traditions.

   2    Comfort and freedom of movement: Dresses can provide a greater sense of freedom and comfort compared to tight-fitting pants. They allow for better airflow, and the loose design can be advantageous in warmer climates. Additionally, dresses provide ease of movement, enabling women to engage in various activities without restrictions.

   3    Diversity and personal expression: Arguably, limiting women's wardrobe choices to dresses promotes a unique and diverse sense of style. By embracing dresses, women can explore a wide range of colors, patterns, and designs, enabling them to express their individuality more vividly. This can contribute to a more vibrant and diverse fashion landscape.

   4    Breaking gender stereotypes: Some might argue that by wearing dresses exclusively, women challenge traditional gender norms and stereotypes. They claim that choosing to wear a garment historically associated with femininity can be a powerful way to assert their identity and reject societal expectations about clothing choices based on gender.

Rebuttals to popular arguments against women wearing only dresses:

   1    Practicality: Opponents often argue that pants offer practical advantages over dresses in certain situations, such as physical activities or certain professions. Advocates for dresses could counter this by emphasizing the importance of adapting dress designs to accommodate different activities, such as incorporating pockets, adjustable lengths, or athletic-friendly designs.

   2    Gender equality: Critics might argue that advocating for women to wear only dresses reinforces gender stereotypes and restricts women's choices. Advocates could respond by stating that true gender equality means empowering women to choose what they want to wear without societal judgment or pressure, whether it be dresses, pants, or any other form of clothing.

   3    Individual preference: Detractors might argue that clothing choices should be based on individual preference and comfort, rather than imposing a specific dress code. Advocates could acknowledge this perspective but emphasize the potential for women to discover new forms of self-expression and confidence by embracing dresses.

It's essential to recognize that individual preferences and comfort should always be respected when discussing clothing choices. The purpose of this debate is to explore different perspectives, not to dictate or limit choices in the real world.

   1    Embracing Femininity: Wearing dresses can be seen as an embrace of femininity and a celebration of womanhood. Dresses have historically been associated with elegance, grace, and beauty, allowing women to express their individuality and style.

   2    Empowering Choice: Advocates argue that limiting women's wardrobe options to dresses can actually be empowering. By encouraging women to embrace their femininity, they argue that it creates a strong sense of self and confidence. Emphasizing dresses as the primary choice of attire can be viewed as a way to reclaim and redefine societal perceptions of femininity.

   3    Cultural and Historical Significance: Throughout history, dresses have played a significant role in various cultures around the world. By wearing dresses, proponents argue that women can honor and preserve their cultural heritage, contributing to the preservation of cultural diversity.

   4    Comfort and Versatility: Contrary to popular belief, dresses can provide comfort and versatility. With the right selection of fabrics and designs, dresses can offer breathability, freedom of movement, and a wide range of styles suitable for various occasions. By exploring different dress designs, women can find options that suit their personal comfort preferences.

   5    Challenging Gender Norms: Arguably, promoting dresses as the primary attire for women challenges traditional gender norms and expectations. It encourages society to question and redefine preconceived notions about gender roles, promoting equality and inclusivity. By breaking away from the constraints of pants, women can embrace their own unique style without conforming to societal expectations.

   6    Promoting Body Positivity: Dresses come in various styles and silhouettes that can flatter different body shapes and sizes. By advocating for women to wear dresses, the focus shifts from body shape to individuality and personal expression. This shift can foster body positivity, helping women embrace and appreciate their bodies as they are.

## What Scripture Teaches about Modesty

https://findingjoyinyourhome.com/what-scripture-teaches-about-modesty/

By Jami Balmet

April 2, 2014

7-9 minutes

An honest and open talk about modesty must begin with the Bible. As Christians, the Bible is our ultimate authority for what we say, how we dress, how we act, and how we live our lives. It doesn’t matter what I have to say on the subject or what the world has to say. Ultimately, the only truth in this world is what Scripture teaches, and its teachings are all we need to run our lives. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. ~2 Timothy 3:16 God’s Word is truth. He gave us His holy Word so that we could learn how to live lives for Him. By reading and studying God’s word, the man (or woman) of God may be complete, and ready to handle EVERY good work. Scripture is sufficient to teach us all that we need to know about living a Christian life, parenting, work, ethics, morals, and yes, even how to dress. We must first know and grasp that before we can delve into how the Bible handles modesty and dress. Scripture does not go into every detail. It doesn’t talk about hemline lengths or how tight is too tight. But it does give general principles on how to live a Godly life. From there we must go to the Lord in prayer and ask Him to convict our hearts and show us His way for modesty. Modesty is an attitude While Paul does not speak to specific guidelines when it comes to dress, he does call women to be modest and to have self control. The New Testament church, hearing this for the first time, would not have been confused on what Paul meant by modest dress. Many in the church that Paul wrote to were copying the fashion of the Roman ladies, which was provocative and extravagant. They dressed to seduce. In contrast, the woman of the church were expected to wear modest clothing that did not draw sexual attention to themselves. Essentially, modesty is putting on an attitude of humility. Humility in dress, in speech and in life. A humble woman does not draw unnecessary attention to herself, but rather serves her brothers and sisters in humility. Part of our modest and humble heart is serving those around us. The Bible commands us to not be stumbling blocks to one another. You may feel comfortable wearing a mini skirt, but chances are, it is causing a brother around you to stumble. But take care that this right of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak. For if anyone sees you who have knowledge eating in an idol’s temple, will he not be encouraged, if his conscience is weak, to eat food offered to idols?  And so by your knowledge this weak person is destroyed, the brother for whom Christ died. Thus, sinning against your brothers and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ. Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble. 1 Corinthians 8:9-13 This verse is talking about eating food that was previously forbidden under the old law, but is now acceptable under the New Testament covenant. But, even in this context, where eating the food is acceptable by God, if it makes your brother stumble to eat it, then don’t. God clearly commands this, if it is causing your brother to stumble then it’s not okay.  Image from Time Warp Wife We need to be careful to not take this to the extreme. Some men have such a problem with lust that looking at any woman in any condition will cause them to lust. We obviously cannot base modesty on them. But we should be concerned about the teenage boys in our youth groups, and the men across the pew, and the pastors in charge of our congregation. Are we making it difficult for them to stay pure at church and at Bible study? And unfortunately, our modern fashion and clothing are designed for just that. Sex appeal. We must be careful to not buy into this fashion crazed culture. We can have some fun shopping and enjoy being trendy without causing our brothers to stumble or not being humble and modest in our dress. C.J. Mahaney said it well: Modesty means propriety. It means avoiding clothes and adornment that are extravagant or sexually enticing. Modesty is humility expressed in dress. It’s a desire to serve others, particularly men, by not promoting or provoking sensuality. 1 Likewise he shares what immodesty looks like: Immodesty, then, is much more than wearing a short skirt or low-cut top; it’s the act of drawing undue attention to yourself. It’s pride, on display by what you wear. Scripture commands that we dress modestly. God wants women to learn to be modest, self-controlled, and humble in our dress and how we act. We are also commanded to not be stumbling blocks to our brothers. This means wearing clothing that will not cause them to lust. Clothing that emphasizes cleavage, is too tight, too short, shows too much skin, too much leg, etc. Specific modesty guidelines will differ from household to household based on how the Lord convicts each person individually.  But a good starting place is to read C.J. Mahaney’s God, My Heart, and Clothes. His wife, Carolyn Mahaney wrote an excellent pamphlet, the Modesty Heart Check, which helps outline certain styles of dress that may be less modest than others. Another excellent resource is to ask the men in your life. Do you live at home still? Ask your father before you buy a new outfit or leave the home. I know, this sounds extreme if you are not used to doing this. But your Dad can give you an accurate idea of what MEN are thinking of when they see you in an outfit. What seems cute and innocent to us, can drive men wild. My husband greatly helps me with this. My husband can give his opinion and share how men might be seeing my outfit.

## 7 Biblical Principles for how to dress as a Christian woman

https://biblicalgenderroles.com/2014/07/11/7-biblical-principles-for-how-to-dress-as-a-christian-woman/

By Biblicalgenderroles

July 11, 2014

10-13 minutes

Does god care about how you as a christian women dress? Does the Bible provide guidelines for how a christian woman should dress? If you are looking for an exact dress code, down to lengths of clothing and what parts of your body must be covered when and where you will find no such thing in the Bible. However, if you are looking for biblical principles that can guide you as christian a woman in how to dress the Bible does give these principles. Here are some biblical principles for women’s dress that should guide you as you select your clothing, whether it is when you purchase it, or when you are choosing when to wear it. Principle #1 – your physical beauty is symbolic of the spiritual beauty of the church your beauty is symbolic of the beauty of the church. Psalm 45 which is a messianic prophecy of christ and the church says this: “so shall the king greatly desire thy beauty: for he is thy lord; and worship thou him…the king’s daughter is all glorious within: her clothing is of wrought gold. She shall be brought unto the king in raiment of needlework…” -psalm 45:13-14(KJV) in ephesians 5, where paul talks about marriage being symbolic of the relationship of christ to his church he writes: “husbands, love your wives, even as christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.” – ephesians 5:25-27(KJV) just as god wants his church to be glorious, without spot or wrinkle, and without blemish, so too a woman should keep up her appearance, not only for her husband if she is married, but also out of respect for the symbolism for which god designed her. So when you as a woman dress, you should accentuate your beauty knowing that your physical beauty, is symbolic of the spiritual beauty of christ’s bride, the church. You dress first and foremost to please god and to show the beauty of his creation – which is you! Principle #2 – you should dress appropriately for the occasion contrary to the modern meaning of modesty, the biblical meaning of a woman dressing modestly means that women are to dress “appropriately”. Modesty is such a huge subject, and especially the interpretation of passages such as i Timothy 2:9 that i needed to write an entire separate post on the topic. You can find it here at what does modesty mean in i Timothy 2:9. In summary though, dressing modestly biblically speaking does not specifically mean “not dressing in a sexual way”. It means to dress appropriately for the occasion. So while it may be perfectly acceptable for you to wear a bikini to the beach, it would not be appropriate for you to wear a bikini to a job (unless you are a life guard or a model) or to a church service. Principle #3 – you should dress in feminine clothing someone should be able to look at your clothes wherever you go, and just by your clothing they should be able to tell you are a woman. Yes clothing styles change, but a woman should always look like a woman in her culture (whatever women wear) and a man should look like a man (whatever men wear). “the woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman’s garment: for all that do so are abomination unto the lord thy god.” -deuteronomy 22:5 (KJV) this passage from deuteronomy does not forbid a woman from wearing pants (yes there are some christians who still teach this). There was a time in our culture and history where pants were strictly the purview of men, and at those times it may have been wrong for a woman to wear pants, especially when there were no pants designed especially for women. But fashions and styles do change, and women have pants now that are made and cut especially for them, and these pants are pants a man would not be caught dead in. In roman society, before 200 bc, men and women both wore togas. After 200 bc women began to wear stolas and only prostitutes still wore togas like men. Before 200 bc, when men and women both wore togas, the only difference may have been a colorful belt or the color of the material that would have separated a man from a woman. Even after 200 bc, peasant men and women still both wore tunics for their daily work. Only color variations or belts may have separated them. This would be exactly the same as men and women both wearing pants today – there is no issue with this as long as the woman’s pants communicate a feminine style as we understand it in our culture. Principle #4 – you should dress to please your husband “therefore as the church is subject unto christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.” – ephesians 5:24 (KJV) god wants women to submit to their husbands in everything.  Everything includes how you dress and how you manage your appearance as well as many other things. When you are married, you should dress to please your husband. Find out what colors he likes on you, find out what styles he likes and try to wear those types of clothes. This also means you should dress sexy for your husband in the appropriate circumstances. If you know your husband will be taking you out for a night on the town, why not go pick up some sexy dress to wear for him? If you doubt whether this is right or wrong, i invite you read my post i referred to earlier what does modesty mean in i Timothy 2:9. There is nothing wrong with you looking sexy for your husband in the appropriate circumstances, whether that is wearing lingerie for him at home, or wearing a sexy dress for a night on the town, or wearing a sexy bathing suit for a trip to beach. Your body is work of art that god has graciously gifted to your husband, and you should not be hiding your beauty. Principle #5 – don’t be lazy with your appearance yes big tee shirts and sweats are more comfortable than wearing attractive clothing. But as a christian woman your appearance is important to god (see principle #1). If you are married, god has given you to your husband and your appearance should be (and most likely will be) important to him (see principle #4). As believers, and specifically as a christian woman, god wants you to do everything you can to the best of your ability. It is one thing if you are sick, or if you are doing some work around the house then your clothing might not be as attractive. But besides those limited times, a woman has duty to keep up her appearance, not only for god but also for her husband. “whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the lord” colossians 3:23(niv) modern christian women today mock the women of the 1950’s who prided themselves in making themselves pretty before their husbands came home from work – what was wrong with that? This is what god wants from godly christian women. Does this mean you have to have a dress and nylons on each day and go to the beauty salon before your husband gets home? Of course not. But what it means is making sure you have showered, that you have done your hair and maybe you have an attractive pair of jeans on with a nice shirt when you husband gets home. You should not view this as some dreary task, but it should be looked at as a privilege and honor that is given you by god, your ability to make yourself beautiful! Principle #6 – what others think does and does not matter this is a very important principle for you as a christian woman to understand. In some cases it does matter what others think of how you are dressed. If you as a christian woman wear the wrong clothing for the wrong occasion, it might offend others and also bring shame on christ if they know you are a christian. You can wear a bikini to the beach, but if you wore it to church others would be offended, and they would be right in being offended, because that is inappropriate attire for church (see i Timothy 2:9). But let’s turn the bikini situation around when you go to the beach. If you and your husband are going to the beach and you happen to be wearing a bikini, and there happens to be a family there from church they need to leave that between you and the lord. The only exception i would say to this is if you were specifically going to the beach with a family whom you knew were opposed to bikinis, then temporarily out of respect you might not wear one in that instance. You should not be picking dresses out for a night on the town with your husband, with the thought in your mind of “what would this person think or that person from church think if they saw me wearing this with him” – your thoughts should only be of two people, god and your husband. God is not ashamed of your beauty, your husband is not ashamed of your beauty, and neither should you be ashamed of your beauty. Principle #7 – do not hide your beauty from other men for fear of causing lust many christian women have since the early days of the church dressed with this idea in mind – that they cannot wear nice things for their husband or show their figure as they may cause other men to lust in doing so.  If you believe that church tradition trumps biblical theology, then i can’t help you. But if you understand that well-meaning men and women (even some church fathers who came after the apostles) added a lot of tradition to god’s word then i can help you. I invite you to read my post on what does the Bible say about lust to fully understand the issue of lust from a biblical perspective. A summary of what i said in that post is that lust is not the same as sexual arousal. There is no shame in a woman displaying her beauty, and there is no shame in men appreciating that beauty or even being sexually aroused by that beauty. Before you reject that premise, please read the post i just mentioned. Sin comes with how men handle their sexual arousal, or appreciation of the female form. If he begins to think of how he can actually get you to go to bed with him (and you are not married) then those have become lustful thoughts, sexually covetous thoughts. But as a christian woman you don’t have to go around at all time with a sheet over your entire body from head to toe as to not cause men to lust after you. No scripture ever teaches this concept, it is completely added by the traditions of men. Conclusion i hope as a christian woman you will search the scriptures. Then discuss this respectfully with your husband. If you need to make changes, then make them. Know that god wants your best in all areas of your life, and dressing in beautiful ways appropriate to the occasion is what god has called you to. Do not hide the beautiful work of art that god has made, but display it in ways that please both god and your husband.

## Does Modesty Still Matter?

https://fearfullywonderfullyme.com/2015/05/13/does-modesty-still-matter/

By Emily Susanne

May 13, 2015

5–6 minutes

Modesty is one of those hot button issues–especially in today’s american culture. Even christians can’t seem to agree on modesty’s relevance or what the definition of modesty is. Some will say that it is not an important issue today; we are more advanced in our culture, and women do not need to be oppressed by layers of clothing. Others will say that we need to follow every word of the Bible and dress like we’re from another century. I’m not putting either of these extremes down. I am just calling them what they are–extremes on the ever confusing spectrum of the great modesty debate. And let’s face it, now that it’s summer and bikinis and shorts are being thrown at us, christians really do need to evaluate what modesty means. So where do we begin to tackle this issue? I think that modesty can be broken down into two parts: 1. What is modesty? According to merriam-webster online dictionary, the definition of modesty in regard to apparel is, “the quality of behaving and especially dressing in ways that do not attract sexual attention.” that is pretty blunt and straight to the point. It also goes against pop-culture and society’s desire to make women and teenage girls sexy. So we can see why modesty would clash with women and men who are not christians. It goes against cultural values. So what does modesty mean for christians? The Bible says: “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, but, which is proper for women professing godliness, with good works” (1 Timothy 2:9-10 nKJV). There’s a lot to these verses, but the two words that stand out the most (and what i think can help us the most) are moderation and propriety. We know that moderation is avoiding extremes. A common example would be not eating too much or too little–but in moderation. So when it comes to dressing, having moderation would mean avoiding extremes with clothing. This would obviously mean nothing too short, revealing, or showy. It also would mean nothing too extreme on the other end of the spectrum. In other words, you don’t have to dress head to toe in a paper sack to be modest. Propriety is also a word that is important here, but it’s also one that you don’t hear very often. Propriety is basically being proper. It means to act/do things in a just manner. So if we dress with propriety, then that means we are dressing appropriately. We are to follow the biblical standards of dignity and purity with our clothing. 2. Is modesty important? Although there are plenty of non-believers who dress modestly, if you don’t live your life by the Bible then modesty might not seem that important to you. After all, it’s already been established that our culture does not value modesty. Christians, however, are held to a higher standard. The Bible tells us to dress modestly (guys aren’t off the hook either, but this blog is for the ladies), and if we dive into scripture, we can find out why. “or do you not know that your body is the temple of the holy spirit who is in you, whom you have from god, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify god in your body and in your spirit, which are god’s” (1 corinthians 6:19-20). Even though this verse was talking about fleeing from sexual immorality, it can also be applied to any behavior a child of god exhibits. We have the holy spirit in us. We belong to Jesus…we are not our own. If we dress like everyone else in the world–showing off all of our body parts–how does that glorify god? If our bodies are temples, then it is time to start dressing like it. I find it funny that when women argue against modesty, they often talk about not being ashamed of their bodies and showing themselves off to prove it. If your body really is that precious, and it is in the lord’s eyes (psalm 139:14), then you wouldn’t want everyone to see it! Pop-culture has managed to promote the exploitation of women by idolizing skimpy clothing, but we don’t have to follow this trend. Now i’m not saying that you can’t wear jeans or that the hem line of your dress has to be a certain length. Let the holy spirit convict you of what is modest. When you get dressed and look in front of the mirror, ask yourself, if Jesus was in the flesh standing next to me would i be embarrassed by what i’m wearing? The more you practice this, the more it will become a habit. Modesty does not just involve dress–it’s a way of living. In fact, modesty is not really about clothing, guys, or your body. It’s about Jesus, and we need to be glorifying him in everything we do–including how we dress. If you’re a daughter of the king, then dress with the dignity that a royal lady should! Thanks for reading! I know this post was a bit late–i’m getting used to my new summer schedule! Please comment below 🙂 love, emily <3

## Biblical modesty for women

https://www.neverthirsty.org/Bible-studies/topical-Bible-studies/biblical-modesty-for-women/

By Rachel Calahan

June 2021

54–68 minutes

It is not often that believers publicly consider what the Bible teaches about feminine modesty. When i speak of modesty, i am not simply talking about dress because your dress is bottom line evidence of your heart attitude. Modesty, even by its definition, implies a heart attitude of humility. We know that god hates pride and the opposite of pride, of course, is humility and humility is possible only when the holy spirit does a transforming work in us. My goal here is not only to consider god’s standards for dress, but we want to consider the condition of our heart when this subject is raised. Many churches are rightly concerned about avoiding the legalism of laying down man-made rules as opposed to biblical injunctions. I once heard a pastor say “i wouldn’t touch the subject of modesty with a ten-foot pole.” but the response of my heart was, “if the word of god addresses it, if the word of god teaches it, we have a responsibility before god to understand it and to teach it.” in the new testament women are taught their behavior should be chaste and that impacts dress. 1 peter 3:1-7. We do not want to make a list of rules. To make decisions about dress for yourself, you need to understand certain principles from the Bible. Don’t ask me, “how many inches from the floor should my hemline be?” we’re just going to address what the word of god has to say and then i’m going to share with you what your christian brothers would like you to know as to how your dress impacts them. What is it about feminine dress that constitutes major stumbling blocks for men? I have found a lot of agreement among men on this subject. When a young man is 18 years old, certain things about women’s dress are going to hit him one way. Then when he’s 80, it might not resonate with him to the same degree. You can go from one christian husband to another and say, “is this okay? Is this a problem?” they might answer you a little differently, but you will find a lot of agreement. Modesty reflects humility let us now look into the word of god. We’re going to begin with a bottom line statement. The bottom line is micah 6:8. It tells us what god requires of his children. It says, “he has told you, oh man, what is good; and what does the lord require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your god?” that verse implies a spirit of submission and obedience to whatever god says is good for us. I was struck when i read that verse again after my study on this subject. I was struck how modesty in a woman does justice, it shows kindness, and it demonstrates if you’re walking humbly with your god. What do we mean that it does justice? Simply that it is not fair to behave or to dress in an immodest way in front of a man when he can’t stop the arousal of his feelings that you are stirring in him. He can only determine not to act on them. When you are dressed immodestly, ladies, it’s not fair to the fellows. You expect respect from them towards you. I am hoping, if i don’t accomplish anything else, i hope you learn today that behaving and dressing modestly shows respect towards our christian brothers. We need to respect that god made them male. God designed males to be sexually aroused by the sight of the female form or body. To women males can be mysterious creatures. In many ways, they are different from us; but god is the one who made them the way they are. You want men to respect you as a woman. Then if you are going to show respect towards your christian brothers, one way you will do that is with modesty in your behavior and in your dress. 1 peter 3:2-5 says, “as they observe your chaste and respectful behavior, and let not your adornment be merely external.” (what that means is your dress is not to be emphasizing primarily the external). “braiding the hair,” (is a term that does not refer to just braids, but refers to extreme hairdos). “and wearing gold jewelry or putting on dresses; but let it be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit which is precious in the sight of god. For in this way in former times the holy women also, who hoped in god, used to adorn themselves, being submissive to their own husbands.” remember we said that modesty wasn’t just the way you dress. Modest dress is the reflection of the modesty that comes from a humble heart. In 1 peter 3, we have the definition of it. It says, “the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit.” the apostle then states this attitude is precious in the sight of god. It is very, very important to god that we be women with a modest heart, with a holy heart. When we are, he values that. He desires your life to reflect that attitude. Your savior’s life reflected this attitude and this is what he longs to see in you. Think on what christ did for you. He went to the cross for you. He laid down his life for you. Now he is asking us to be the kind of women he wants us to be. That kind of woman is described in titus 2:4-5. “older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips, nor enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good, that they many encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, that the word of god may not be dishonored.” ladies, we are living in the world, but we are not to be of the world. There is a big difference. You can be very much involved in society without being of your society. You are to be different. By the way, that word ‘discreet,’ in the greek means, “careful and circumspect in one’s speech and actions.” actions include our behavior. The verse calls for modest behavior. “especially to avoid causing offense or to gain an advantage.” when we’re not modest in our dress, we will cause offense. A chaste married woman is one who abstains from extramarital affairs and flirtations. Then what does it mean to be modest in our dress? One recent dictionary gives as a definition for modesty “dressing or behaving to avoid impropriety or indecency, especially to avoid attracting sexual attention. Modesty in clothing is not revealing or emphasizing the figure.” modesty is not revealing or emphasizing the figure. A lot of christian women think, “if my skin is covered, i’m modest.” no, even the dictionary recognizes modesty prohibits revealing or emphasizing the figure. This dictionary gave as an example: “modest dress means that hem lines must be below the knee.” let us look at the word impropriety. Impropriety is a failure to observe standards or to show modesty, to use improper language, behavior or character, to be unbecoming, unseemly, indecent, or to display improper conduct. The conclusion? Modesty involves much more than how you dress. Modesty again reflects a humility of heart and spirit. How is that accomplished in our lives? The fruit of the spirit growing in a woman’s life will bring that about. In our sinful natures, we tend towards pride. When you grow up in the american culture, you grow up valuing attitudes of “i can do it myself, i don’t need anybody else, i am strong.” there’s that self-reliant attitude of freedom. I’m going to do what i want to do and that’s that. In high school, they used to teach us, “your freedom ends where my nose begins.” as long as i’m not hurting anybody else, i can behave the way i want to behave and you can like it or lump it. Ladies, you won’t find that in scripture. The Bible teaches believers are part of a body or family. Our behavior is always going to have an impact on others. Three foundational truths there are several axioms i believe we all need to accept. These are foundational and you might say, “why in the world are you articulating them?” they’re important for the conclusions that we reach. 1) it goes without saying that our behavior should stem from a desire to please our god. If we name the name of christ, what should drive our behavior is a desire to please god. When we know that something doesn’t please him, then it should check us and we should want to turn away from that kind of behavior. 2) it goes without saying again that the Bible is our source for truth. It’s inerrant – without error or incapable of being wrong. It’s the very living word of god. 3) it goes without saying that we worship a god who is holy and consequently, everything he does is good. Does that include when he made adam and eve to be different from one another? Yes! When we have problems in life, sometimes it’s because we don’t understand why he’s done what he’s done. He made men and women differently for his plan and purposes. Sometimes we don’t trust him to bring understanding to us in his timing. We can trust his judgment. He knows what is good for us. We live in a culture that has rejected our god and has rejected the truth in his word. One of the reasons we approach the subject of biblical modesty with mixed feelings is because we have been brainwashed by our culture. For many generations in our society there were modest standards for dress that were largely accepted by most people. Few questioned them. Only a woman who was a harlot dressed differently to sell herself and to advertise her availability. For generations, there was no question that certain parts of our body that should be always clothed, covered, and concealed outside of the bedroom. Children were raised that way and be they christian or non-christian, they were expected to behave that way. I can remember the news story when jacqueline kennedy was caught by a photographer wearing jeans. The picture made the papers. Today most women wear jeans. But the first time jackie was caught in public wearing jeans, there were those who had a problem with it. The times change. When i was growing up and i went to school, every boy at school wore levi blue jeans. In public school, girls wore dresses or skirts to school. Girls dressed as girls and the boys were attired as boys. I remember the women all chattering about jacqueline kennedy and her jeans. Why do i bring that up? I bring it up as an example that the times have changed rapidly when it comes to dress. Most women today wear jeans and think nothing of it. There are a couple of things that have accelerated that change. It’s not just fashion that has changed. It is not just fabrics that have changed, but the whole issue of what is modest and what is not has undergone a tremendous revolution. Leading that change is a godless women’s liberation movement – a movement of women that rejected the word of god. There are things about the women’s liberation movement that probably every woman will appreciate. I believe in equal pay for equal work. I’ll sign up for that any day. You need to understand that the movement was strongly influenced by lesbians who wanted to communicate the message that we don’t need men, that we can’t stand men, and we can do anything that a man can do. I remember when the free speech movement hit the university of california at berkeley. That was the start of the ’60s movement towards the rejection of many standards and law, and what was right or wrong. One of the changes that came right at the beginning was, “i don’t have to wear a bra and if anyone does not like it, that’s tough.” a lot of women then chose not to wear bras. They didn’t care what impact that would have on men. They were going to be in control of their bodies. Unless you had been alive and had come to maturity back then, you would have no understanding of the incredible change that we have experienced in this country when it comes to the roles of men and women and to what is right and wrong in our relationships. That’s why we want to look at the word of god and what it says on this subject. Let us go back to the basic truths of the word of god and draw our principles from the Bible. Then between you and god, pray about what you learn today and say, “lord, am i okay with you, or is there anything in the way that i am living right now that you would want to change?” instead of having the attitude, “if i have it, i am going to flaunt it.” modesty in genesis now let us go back to the garden of eden and creation. On days one through five, god spoke and everything just instantaneously appeared. On day six his creative nature took over in a different way. He took dust from the ground and the Bible says, “he formed adam.” it’s not too clear how much time passed, but adam was there alone with all the animals and plants god looked down from his heaven and he concluded that he was not quite through because adam was by himself. There was no other person like adam. He did not have a friend or companion. He was all alone. God then became the first surgeon. I imagine he may have said, “okay, adam, i want you to lie down.” he put him to sleep. God didn’t have to call in the anesthesiologist; he just did it himself. He put him to sleep. Somehow, he took from adam’s side what is translated as a rib. I don’t know if rib is the best translation from the hebrew, but he took something from adam’s side and from that he formed eve. Then when god presented eve to him, adam looked at eve and said in genesis 2:23, “this is now bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh. She shall be called woman for she was taken from man.” i have heard several times preachers quote that verse a little in jest as adam looking at eve and telling god, “wow! God, you did a good thing here.” recognizing that is not a good translation, i don’t discount that as adam’s basic reaction. Knowing men to the little degree that i know men, i don’t discount it at all. When she was standing there in her birthday suit, adam looked at her and he was turned on majorly. Right there in the Bible it says god gave him a command. He said, “be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth.” i think adam may have thought, “well, that’s going to take a little bit of time, lord. That command i can’t complete this week. But we will go to work on it.” ladies, that’s the first evidence in scripture that men react physically to the visual. In fact, recently, a very godly man said when he knew the subject i was going to address, “if we didn’t react to the visual, rachel, there would never be a baby. There just would not be any children.” he said it’s as plain as that. Adam and eve were in the garden of eden and there was no sin. With me imagine being in that garden before the fall with the temperatures perfect. You never got up in the morning and said, “what am i going to wear today?” there was no one else except this wonderful man that god had given to you. I don’t know what all they had to do because everything was so perfect. I don’t think there was any weeding there because there were no weeds. In that environment, total and complete nudity was not only okay, it was god blessed, and god planned. I think that some women when they think about sex feel that probably some dirty old man came up with the idea. Ladies, the almighty, our holy god planned the physical relationship. He did it and declared it to be good. Remember, everything that god does is good. Before sin entered the picture, it was perfect and there were no problems. Then one day eve encouraged her husband to join her in doing something that god had told them not to do. They sinned and they violated the command of god when they ate the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. That was the one time when adam should not have gone along with what his wife had to suggest. Have you ever noticed the immediate reaction of adam and eve once they sinned? The first change it made in their lives was they realized that they needed to be covered. I’ve always wondered, “how did they go about sewing those fig leaves together? Where did they get the thread and the needles?” i understand why they just made loin cloths. Because if you are going to try and make full garments out of fig leaves, it is not going to be easy. The word of god doesn’t give us all the details. Somehow, they took fig leaves and fastened them together and made loin cloths. They covered the part of their bodies that’s commonly referred to as private parts. Then the good lord showed up to walk and talk with them in the garden, and called out, “adam where are you?” genesis 3:9. They were hiding because even though they had loin cloths on, they didn’t want to be seen because they were not covered. You can’t hide from god. God had to teach them to cover their bodies. But first, their sin issue had to be addressed. There needed to be the death of an animal by sacrifice and the shedding of blood for that to happen. In hebrews 9:22 the Bible tells us that without the shedding of blood there is no remission for sin. God then provided a covering for their bodies and for the forgiveness of their sins. Then god taught them to make clothes from the skins of animals. The hebrew word in the biblical account tells us that it was a tunic like garment. What does the hebrew mean? The tunic at least covered the knee. In very ancient times, there were two lengths of tunics. Both men and women went around wearing what we might call gowns or robes. There were two lengths. The first was one that just covered the knee and was worn for work. When you read in scripture that a man girded up his loins, he would reach down between his legs and grab the loose fabric behind them and pull it up between his legs. Then he would tie it around his waist leaving his knees exposed. He was then free to do whatever work needed. It’s said that peter did that on the fishing boat. He was a fisherman. To do his work he had to gird up his loins. The good lord put adam and eve in garments that covered them and he taught them that they were to wear clothes. Richard baxter and the puritans younger women today have been raised in times when there are no common-sense dress standards. I use the expression ‘common-sense.’ because of the way dress fashions impact men. Are you familiar with the way pilgrims and puritans dressed? We can all agree that puritan women dressed modestly. You would think that there would not have been a problem back then. Guess again! I want to read to you from the writing of richard baxter, a great puritan preacher and writer. Listen to what richard baxter had to say, and remember he is saying this as a pastor. “if it, the matter of dress, tends to the ensnaring of the minds of the beholders in shameful lustful wants and passions, though you say you intended not, it is your sin. That you do that which probably will procure that reaction, yay, that you did not your best to avoid it, and you must not lay a stumbling-block in their way. You must not blow up the fire of their lust, you must not make your ornaments snares to entrap, but you must walk amongst sinful persons as you would do with a candle amongst straw or gun powder. Or else, you may see the flame which you did not foresee when it’s too late to quench it.” now, that’s a very formal, puritanical way of saying, “ladies, if you are not behaving and dressing in a modest way, you’re going to ignite a flame of passion in a man, and it may be so strong that he can’t quench it.” someone recently said to me, “if women only understood that there are times when their dress stirs such strong passionate sexual desires in a man — and let’s face it, if he’s on a job, he’s out there in public somewhere and he has no way to deal with this, no way to relieve it, he may be fighting those feelings sometimes for hours on end.” that came from a man who said, “if only women understood how important this is.” men and the visual i want you to hear from another man right now. His name is dennis prager. He is not a christian. From the exposure that i have had to dennis prager, he has won my respect often for the stands he takes. He is a jew and he feels that he needs to speak to the women of today. This topic is so important to him that he’s published a dvd at his prager university on the subject. I want you to understand this is not just a problem in the church, but society has greatly suffered because of the way many women today conduct themselves and dress. We are quoting mr. Prager with the permission of prager university. Men and power of the visual - dennis prager “every year men spend billions of dollars to look at women with little clothing on, such as the annual sports illustrated swimsuit issue, or with no clothing on such as on internet sites and in so called men’s magazines. Women on the other hand spend virtually nothing to see unclothed men. Why? Some say that the reason is that men are socialized into viewing women as sex objects, and that women are socialized into not viewing men as sex objects. But if that’s true, how do these people explain gay men? They are always aroused by pictures of naked men as heterosexual men are aroused by pictures of naked women. Obviously then, it’s not socialization. It’s that men are programmed by nature, not by society, to respond sexually to the visual. This is an area in which men are so different from women that it’s probably impossible – no, not probably – just outright impossible for a woman to truly understand. Of course, women find some men attractive, and of course a woman can have an intense reaction to seeing a very appealing man, but there is still no comparison. The visual alone arouses men. It takes far more to arouse a woman than seeing naked men. If that’s all it took, most husbands would walk around the house naked whenever possible, or at least every time they wanted sex. The average heterosexual man is excited countless times a day simply by seeing women in person, on billboards, in magazines, on television, and even in his imagination. This is not the case for women. Yes, there are some male strip shows for women. But few women ever go and the few who do attend them in groups, a girls’ night out. For every one of those shows, there were probably 10,000 female strip shows for males, most of whom attend alone, not as a participant in a guys’ night out. Let’s be honest. There is no magazine featuring men’s legs for women to look at and get aroused by. But there are websites and magazines of women’s legs for men. Are women paying to view topless men? Men pay good money to look at topless women. Again, that doesn’t mean women never get turned on by merely looking at some men. Of course, they do. But it’s only by some men, on rare occasion a stranger, and more usually, a celebrity. Men get turned on by any sight of female flesh on almost any female. The effect of the visual in men is so powerful that it even amazes men. A man came over to me after hearing me lecture on male sexuality and said, “i’ve got a story to tell you. I was in front of a department store, and in the window was a seated mannequin. I couldn’t believe it but i found myself looking up her skirt.” here was a perfectly normal, responsible man who found himself looking up a skirt on an inanimate object shaped like a woman. That’s how instinctive it is for men to look at female flesh. It’s perfectly understandable that women cannot fully relate to this. But if a woman wants to understand males’ sexuality, the first thing she has to understand is the power of the visual. That’s why you see ads on billboards, on tv and in magazines, for every sort of product a man might buy accompanied by a scantily clad woman or sometimes, just part of her. I recall a famous liquor ad that showed a woman’s legs and a bottle of tequila: no face, just beautiful legs. Would you ever see an ad showing men’s legs? People would laugh. It would be considered absurd. An ad with women’s legs is not absurd; it’s alluring. None of these is in any way meant to excuse inappropriate male behavior. Men must always control themselves. But to deny the power of the visual on men is like denying that the earth is round. I’m dennis prager.”  god’s word on modesty now there, you have heard from a man. He said it much more quickly than i could have and far more succinctly. I hope that you can accept at this point that this is a bottom line truth. Men are strongly attracted by the visual. They don’t have to know anything about you. Understand this, ladies. This truth is why women end up being used because a man attracted to her physical appearance says, “i love you, i love you and if you love me…” and then promises her the moon. You know what happens. A woman will believe whatever is said and often ends up being used. From the beginning of time, women have often been fooled when a man says, “i love you.” they forget that words alone do not prove love; a man’s behavior and actions prove and demonstrate his love. You need to be very careful that a man is not simply saying “i want your body.” men are attracted and stirred strongly by the visual. When they see partial nudity, a red blooded american male is going to start thinking about sex and what sex with that woman would be like, et cetera. If you do not want to unduly arouse that passion in a man, you need to be very careful about how you dress. I want at this point to say, “what god designed in the male female physical relationship was and is beautiful and perfect.” ladies, we can have good, beautiful relationships with our husbands, but god wants that physical relationship to be limited to marriage. Anything outside of marriage is going to wreak havoc in your life. In proverbs 5:15-19, he commanded men, “drink water from your own cistern, and fresh water from your own well. Should your springs be dispersed abroad, streams of water in the streets? Let them be yours alone and not for strangers with you. Let your fountain be blessed and rejoice in the wife of your youth as a loving hind and a graceful doe. Let her breasts satisfy you at all times and be exhilarated always with her love.” if you have never read the song of solomon, you need to read it; and you need to read and benefit from the advice of the proverbs. God cared so much about the physical relationship between a man and his wife that he devoted an entire book of the Bible to it. When god planned the physical relationship, he planned something in which he rejoices and that he wants to take place between a man and his wife. In that scenario, it’s a beautiful, beautiful experience. If you are married, you have a responsibility to be sure that your husband is completely fulfilled and satisfied sexually in your relationship. That will go a long way towards helping him when he is all day long having to avert his eyes from looking at certain things and at some women. I have known men who walk into church and need to almost immediately turn their eyes away to avoid sinning. For them the sin is not in what they see. The sin is in what they do with their thoughts and how they deal with them. How about it, ladies? When we go to church, how do we present ourselves? It’s something that we need to think about. God commands men to show respect to their wives and to be faithful to their relationship. The song of solomon goes into great detail about the physical relationship. When you read the song of solomon, you will see how powerful the visual is to that king. There is a very erotic description of her body. That’s what hits him. Then when the shulamite starts talking, have you noticed the way she talks? She talks about his character. She talks about his accomplishments. She talks about his reputation in the land. She’s attracted not just to the physical. She has a little to say about that, but she’s very attracted to whom he is as a man, what he has accomplished, and what his character is. It’s tremendous. It illustrates the difference between men and women. I have read several surveys of christian men where fellows will say that, yes, the first thing they see in a woman is the visual, but if they spend any time at all with her and there isn’t good character to back that up, they just lose interest. In the song of solomon, there is the most intriguing warning given. The shulamite is the spouse in this book. Three times – in solomon 2:7, 3:5 and 8:4 – she says these words in speaking of her man. “i adjure you, oh daughters of jerusalem, by the gazelles, or the does of the field, that you not stir up or awaken love until it pleases.”  ESV i was just gripped by that. Three times, she gives a warning to women not to stir up or awaken passion — it’s translated love. In speaking of passion, she says to wait until it pleases, until the time is right. Ladies, you have in your physical body a very powerful tool, if i can be so blunt. Depending on how you conduct yourself, you can stir a man to desire you physically. The shulamite is warning these women that within marriage the physical relationship is totally proper and it is what god planned. But outside of the bonds of marriage, you’re not to be physically involved. We’re living in a culture now where some women try to ensnare men. I’m not talking about harlotry alone. Women today feel the freedom to pursue men because that’s what the women’s liberation movement has advocated. It has taught women that they have just as much right to pursue physical pleasure as the men do and that it is good to do so. Instead of men being the ones who initiate relationships, we have women who feel that they need to do this. I’m one of six sisters and we used to say, “we girls do not have to chase a fella.” i felt good about that. We didn’t have to chase boys. The boys would be chasing us! When dad and mom said that they didn’t want their daughters chasing boys, they explained that it was natural for males to pursue females. We learned from experience that we would be approached. When you’re a christian woman, you can and should trust god to bring a man into your life. When he wants you to have a husband, he will do it. You can dress modestly and the right men in god’s timing will take notice. One of the first things christian men will notice about a woman is if she dresses modestly. If so, it raises a man’s feelings of respect for her. Many men have said they have no interest in a woman who looks like she’s trying to entrap or ensnare guys with her body. It’s not that they won’t notice it. It’s not that they won’t have to fight a battle with their aroused passions over her appearance, but that’s not the kind of woman they want to marry. They want a woman who’s modest. We’ve talked about adam and eve and how they responded to their nudity. I want to show you what the scripture teaches about nudity. God clothed adam and eve in the garden and gave them tunics that covered them. God also gave instructions for priests. I was intrigued with what the Bible says about covering the thighs. Whether we need to cover the thighs is a big topic for debate. I’m going to show you from the word of god what god says about covering thighs. First time it shows up is in the priest’s clothing. The priests already had tunics. God had given instruction for the tunics and one might think, “isn’t that enough?” god says if a priest is going to show up for work in the tabernacle or the temple, underneath the tunic he was to wear breeches or short trousers that covered the knees. Exodus 28:42-43 let me read to you what god said. “and you shall make for them linen breeches to cover their bare flesh; they shall reach from the loins down over the thighs and they shall be on aaron and on his sons when they go into the tent of meeting or when they approach the altar to minister in the holy place less they incur guilt and die.” underneath the long tunics, the priests had to wear trousers that covered their knees. In covering their thighs, god said they were covering their nakedness. The loin area that we sometimes refer to as the private parts and the thighs were considered nakedness that needed to be covered. That really gripped me. I had not seen that before. Then in isaiah 47:2-3, god is describing the humiliation of babylon and he compares the city of babylon to a woman. He said that the humiliation of the city was going to be like exposing one’s nakedness. I’m now quoting scripture, “take the millstones and grind mills. Remove your veil, strip off the skirt, uncover the leg, cross the rivers. Your nakedness will be uncovered. Your shame also will be exposed. I will take vengeance and will not spare a man.” to take off the skirt, to reveal a woman’s thighs, god said was nakedness. All throughout scripture, nudity outside of marriage is considered as very shameful and something god hates. In isaiah 24 prisoners of war were shamed by exposing their buttocks and their thighs. In micah 1:8 -11 mourning for judah in israel was done in naked shame. In ezekiel 23, nudity and harlotry went together and are described as lewdness. In nahum 3:5, god levels judgment on nineveh and states that he’s going to lift your skirts over your face and show the nations your nakedness. In jeremiah 13:22, the nation’s sinful state is compared with the shame of nakedness. In revelation 3:18, the sin of the church people in laodicea is compared to the shame of nakedness. Again, in 16:15, the sinful state is compared to nakedness. Do you think that god has strong feelings about the issue of nakedness? Our western culture has gradually been desensitized. It happens little bit by little bit, year after year, often influenced by hollywood and celebrities. It’s incredible how little by little, the stars and celebrities set new standards — i should say they lower the standard little by little until the nation has become very desensitized to this whole issue. The fall or the entrance of sin has strongly impacted a beautiful relationship that god wanted between a man and his wife. Because of the fall, god has laid down standards for covering and concealing nakedness to avoid the sin that will otherwise take place. Let’s look at the new testament. Matthew 5:27-29 says, “you have heard that it was said, “you shall not commit adultery. But i say to you, that whoever looks on a woman to lust for her, has committed adultery with her already in his heart. And if your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out, and throw it from you; for it is better for you that one of the parts of your body perish, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.” across america men will walk into their church and be forced to avert their eyes from looking at an immodestly dressed woman to avoid temptation and possibly sin. Wouldn’t it be nice if men didn’t have to do that in church? Job had a solution. Job 31:1 says, “i have made a covenant with my eyes. How then should i gaze at a virgin?” his covenant with his eyes was to look away and not to sit there and enjoy the view in a sinful way. Again, do you see in scripture the very principle that dennis prager was sharing? The principle of the impact of the visual on a man. Ladies, it was god who made our brothers that way. Bearing in mind how god chose to make men and women differently, let me ask you: is our god good? Does he do everything well? When he made men to respond to the female form this way, he had something good in mind. It was the marital relationship between adam and eve. He made man to be stimulated in that way and to initiate physical relations with his wife. That was something very good. He made women to respond to their husbands. To what do we to respond? Often we respond to a man’s touch. But men will respond to the visual with desire, and just the loving embrace from a husband can trigger desire in a wife. God’s word regarding our response now i want to share with you scriptures that impact how we should be responding. 1 john 2:15-17 says, “do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the father, but is from the world. And the world is passing away, and also its lusts, but the one who does the will of god abides forever.” many women are controlled by the lust of the eye, the lust of the flesh and the boastful pride of life. They end up taking too much pride in how they appear to others and are not always concerned if their appearance is modest. Even within the church, there are women who will try to use female charms (or the visual) to control or influence men. The Bible says such behavior is not from the father but is from the world. 1 corinthians 6:18-20 says, “flee immorality. Every other sin that a man commits is outside the body, but the immoral man sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the holy spirit who is in you, whom you have from god and that you are not your own. For you have been bought with a price: therefore, glorify god in your body.” when you walk to the closet in the morning, ladies, you make a choice as to what you’re going to wear. If you are a daughter of the king of kings, you are clothing a temple of the holy spirit. May i remind you that your savior suffered on the cross giving his life for you so that you could be his princess. His standards for dress have your best interest in heart. Because he is omniscient, he knows what is best for you. He wants to protect his princess. One of the ways we can avoid a lot of trouble in life is by dressing in a modest way. Romans 12:1-2, ” i urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of god, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to god, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of god is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” have you thought about this recently? If you are a believer, you do not own your body! The is different from what the women’s liberation movement told us. What does the abortion industry tell us? They say that our bodies are our own, that we have control over our bodies, that we can do what we want to do with our bodies, that we have choice. When you are a daughter of the king of kings, your body is not your own. He paid with his life for you, and all he wants to do is in love show you the way to live so that you will have the greatest peace and joy possible. By the way, when it comes to the subject of choice, i always say i believe in choice. A woman does have a right to choose. She chooses whether she will get into bed with a man or not. That’s the time to make the choice. Do you follow what i’m saying? You should get into bed only with the right man under the right conditions: with a man who is your husband, who loves you, who is going to care for you, is going to provide for you and who is going to do everything he can to help you raise any offspring from your relationship. That’s the time to choose. You do not have the right to choose whether another human being lives or dies. That is god’s choice. A young ruler came to Jesus and he said, “teacher, what is the greatest commandment in the law?” and Jesus responded, “you shall love the lord your god with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great, and foremost commandment.” then the second is like it. “you shall love your neighbor as yourself.” when we think of a neighbor, i want us to think of our christian brothers and any man that god has put into our lives. We are to care about them as much as we care about ourselves. Sister, if you name the name of christ and you say you belong to him, he asked you to care for others as much as you care for yourself. You should care about the spiritual walk of your brothers in the faith. If you know that there are things that you can do in regards to your appearance that will be of help to your christian brothers, then that should become very, very important to you. Each of us is going to give an account to god. Romans 14:13. “therefore, let us not judge one another anymore, but rather determine this – not to put an obstacle or a stumbling block in a brother’s way.” then in galatians 5:13, it says, “for you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love, serve one another.” understanding then that the sight of the female form, either partially clothed or unclothed, can arouse a man’s sexual passions, we need to come to grips with the concept that what we wear can potentially cause christian men to stumble and can be a very poor testimony to the unsaved world. “oh, she calls herself a christian and that’s the way she dresses? She calls herself a christian and she dresses no differently from any other woman in the world?” there has been many a man who has responded to a professing christian woman like that. This is a heavy responsibility on us because we are forced to go against our culture in a bigger way than women have ever been forced to go. 1 corinthians 10:31 tells us “whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of god.” have you asked, “lord, how can i glorify you in how i choose to dress?” has that thought ever crossed your mind? It should. This is the way we should want to respond: out of a heart of love for my savior, i will dress to please him, not to meet the letter of any law, not to get by with whatever i can, but to please him regardless of the practices of my society.” what is objectionable to god? Are there forms of dress that god finds objectionable? Does scripture tell us to what he objects? In deuteronomy 22:5, it says, “a woman shall not wear man’s clothing, nor shall a man put on a woman’s clothing; for whoever does these things is an abomination to the lord our god.” women are to dress distinctly differently from men and vice versa. What do we see in our society today? Things have become so wicked that some in education are trying to brainwash school teachers into not recognizing the gender differences and not to acknowledge there are boys and girls. They claim we are just whatever gender we feel like. Teachers are undergoing training on how to handle their class situations so they don’t acknowledge the difference between boys and girls. That is how bad it is. What does our god find objectionable? It is gender-less dress and cross dressing. Anything like that is an abomination to god. I don’t know a stronger word that you could use. I don’t believe that this is a subject about which to joke. Anything the scripture says is an abomination to god should never be the subject matter of joking. In isaiah 3:16-23 god says of the jewish women, “because the daughters of zion are proud and they walk with their heads held high and seductive eyes, and go along with mincing steps, and tinkle the bangles on their feet, therefore the lord will afflict the scalp of the daughters of zion with scabs. And the lord will make their foreheads bare.” in that day the lord will take away the beauty of their anklets, headbands, crescent ornaments, dangling earrings, bracelets, veils, headdresses, ankle chains, sashes, perfume boxes, amulets, finger rings, nose rings, festal robes, outer tunics, cloaks, money purses, hand mirrors, undergarments, turbans and veils.” i wonder what the size of their closets were! What is god objecting to there? When they walked with their heads held high is walking with a prideful spirit. Secondly, seductive eyes: a woman can wreak havoc with her eyes. These are wanton eyes, eyes casting voluptuous or amatory glances and acting at the same time, totally innocent. By the way, a second meaning is painted eyelids. The testimony of scripture would indicate that women use some products to enhance beauty, but when it’s overdone, god’s hates it. The meaning of this is eyes that are just heavy with makeup, with paint. Next are the mincing steps. The talmud says some women took very short steps, just putting the heel of one foot against the toe of another. In addition to that, they wore foot rings above their ankles that were connected. There was a chain from one foot to the other connecting them, and they had bells on those chains. When they took tiny mincing steps, they were making noise. Everybody would know where they were. The bottom line is that they attracted attention to themselves. James 4:6 says that, “god is opposed to the proud but gives grace to the humble.” a woman with a heart of humility will submit therefore to god. From this we see that in the eyes of god, it is wrong to purposefully dress in such a way to attract the interest and attention of the opposite sex, especially when you do it by accenting your sexuality or your physical attributes. God does not like that. In 1st Timothy 2:9-10, god says, “i want women to adorn themselves with proper clothing, modestly and discretely, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly garments; but rather by means of good works as befits women making a claim to godliness.” is he saying that he doesn’t want them to comb their hair or to wear any jewelry? No, it’s the overdone to which he objects. Notice he said, “costly garments, gold and pearls.” our reputation is not to be how much jewelry we have or the value of our wardrobe. In addressing the conduct of a church service, the apostle specifically lays down principles for how women should dress when they come to church. Do you know what that tells me? Even in the early church, there was a problem with how women dressed. They came to services oftentimes dressed in such a way that they were a distraction, either by causing their brothers to stumble or just by attracting attention to how much wealth they had. In those days, some women loaded down their hairstyles with jewels. It has been said that they wore their wealth or their bank account, so to speak, piled up in their hair dos! The apostle said that they were to adorn. When it says ‘adorn,’ it means to arrange or put in order. We are supposed to pay attention to how we dress and how we appear. We should be orderly. I don’t want anybody to get the idea that to be dressed modestly means that you run around in the same old outfit all the time. No, we don’t have to dress down to be modest. In fact, our attire should fit the occasion so long as it’s modest. We are to come into church adorned, arranged, in order, and the word that’s translated order is the opposite of chaos. One gets the impression very clearly that a godly woman does pay attention to her style, does take time to get ready, and she presents herself as orderly and appropriate. The word that’s translated clothing actually means her whole demeanor. That is her behavior. It includes how she conducts herself. She’s orderly and she’s not in chaos. May god the holy spirit apply that truth to your life. Then paul uses a word here to describe clothing that means of a sound mind, curbing ones’ desires and impulses, self-control and temperate. Again, contrast that with a woman who comes into church in very costly garments, with all her jewelry either in her hair or dangling from her. She’s overdone. A godly woman doesn’t do that. In other words, there’s no room for personal display, whether it’s a display of wealth or a display of your sexuality. There should be no immodesty that draws attention to herself or to her body. Again, remember that however you present yourself at church will reflect your heart attitude towards worship. The word translated as braided is talking about hairstyles in general. In other words, we are to avoid the gaudy and the ostentatious. The word in that passage that is translated modestly appears only one time in the Bible, right there. It’s the only time. It includes, again, that sense of humility, coupled with an idea of shame. She is not ashamed of who she is or ashamed of her body, but has an appropriate shame. That’s such a hard word to use in our culture today because we have the wrong idea. If i said to you, it’s sad that often in our society, there doesn’t seem to be any sense of shame. Everything goes or is okay, do you know what i’m saying? In the world, it doesn’t matter what you do, it doesn’t matter how you behave, there is no sense of shame. The apostle is saying here that humility and modesty involves a certain sense of appropriate shame. In other words, there are things i wouldn’t do, i wouldn’t dare do. Why? Because i’m a daughter of the king of kings. I am his princess. Remember also that we are not saying that jewelry or good clothing are forbidden. Remember proverbs 31 describing the ideal woman? Remember it said that her clothing was made with very fine fabric. We are not advocating for no jewelry. We are not saying no good or fine clothing or clothing that might have cost a little bit at some point in time. What is not to be present in our lives is pride and the necessity to flaunt what we have and who we are. The godly woman doesn’t draw attention to herself by extremes. Instead, she does not lead the fashion parade, but she is not at the tail end of it. When she comes to worship, she comes with a sense of humility and orderliness. All of this is made possible in our lives by a work of the spirit. That should be our focus. The fruit of the spirit is temperance or self-control and that is what the entirety of scripture is saying should mark our dress. What are problems for men? I want to share now what the fellows say about modesty in dress. These are not the opinions of one man or even ten men. I have pulled these suggestions from several surveys of christian men. The way a woman dresses can stir a man’s passions and at the worst, it could force him to end up fighting that arousal for hours if there’s no way to relieve it. Men would like us to understand that some of the current fashions cause problems for men who genuinely want to respect us. They then have a problem respecting us when our dress is less than modest. One man’s comment that has impressed me was that he never goes to a public swimming pool or to the beach because of what he knows he would see. What does the Bible say? “flee lust,” right? This man flees by practicing that principle. When it comes to the bust line, the men say to avoid tight or form-fitting tops or see through shirts. There should be looseness in your top garment. They say to avoid tops without undergarments or a bra-less look. That look is deliberately designed so that bosoms will bounce. Ladies, i’m going to tell you that if you have a bouncy bosom or a bouncy rear end, it will catch a man’s eye and encourage him to look and then to start thinking. There should be some looseness in your garment to avoid this problem. Christian men agree that we should always avoid any cleavage. For many women, this means that you’re going to have to stay away from spaghetti straps and strapless designs or wear a cardigan or shrug over the garment. Women ask, “how low is low when it comes to a neckline?” stand in front of a mirror and bend over. If you can see anything, realize that for most men that will be a problem. That is the best test that i know of to check your neckline. When it comes to the bust line, men point out that if you’re wearing a sleeveless garment, you need to be very careful, because some sleeveless garments are deliberately designed loosely to reveal your bra. I have heard men say that on occasion if a woman just raises her arm, she is on full display. Let’s review. The fact that a man has a sexual reaction to a woman’s attire, is that his fault? Does that mean he’s some bad guy? No, he’s a male, ladies, he’s a male and god made him to react that way. God says he wants you to be a team member. He wants you to conduct yourself around men in a holy manner. Remember that a man reacts as he does, because god made him that way to motivate him to choose a godly woman to marry and to bring children into the world, build a home et cetera. Do you get the picture? In so many words, god is saying to us that he wants us to get with his program as a team member. He wants us to live as he planned, knowing what would be the best for all of us. We talked a little already as to how god feels about thigh exposure. Men will tell you that partial thigh exposure is a big turn on. Many a man will say just part of the thigh can be more stimulating than seeing the whole leg. That’s not true of every man. It’s the concept of the tease. A little bit of cleavage is a big tease. A little bit of thigh is a big tease. Showing part of your thighs is a major tease for men. In everything that i could find, it seems that the safest hemline is one that would cover the thigh. In other words, a hemline that at least hits the knee. Whether we are at church or in any public place, when women walk in and sit down one of the first things you will see are women trying to pull their hemlines down to cover as much thigh as possible. Why don’t women just wear a longer dress or skirt? By the way, the straighter the skirt, the more problem it’s going to be. The more fullness there is in a skirt, the less problem when you sit down. I’m sure you all realize that, but you may not have realized what’s happening to the guy sitting next to you when you sit down. Suddenly your hemline climbs partway up your thigh and he starts imagining, “oh, i wonder what’s up a little bit higher.” you didn’t know he was thinking that, did you? Men have often said, “if women only knew what men are thinking and for a godly man, if they only knew what he goes through to wrest control of his thoughts.” i hope today you can take it as truth that this is a real problem. Backless tops and dresses with the plunging backs were designed to look sexy. Ladies, they do and they attract attention to your body. If you’re wearing a backless garment and there’s no bra across the back, what do you think a guy is going to be thinking? Do i have to tell you? Your midriff and your stomach should always be covered, always. We need to avoid tight or form fitting skirts. Carry this thought with you – modesty involves not just covering; it involves concealing. Cover and conceal. If you’re wearing a form fitting top and a tight or form fitting skirt, or you’re in form fitting pants or leggings, a guy sees that and thinks, “wow, she leaves nothing to the imagination. I know exactly what she looks like.” then their temptation can be to start imagining such a woman in the nude. The lord put tunics on adam and eve in the garden. Most tunics kind of fall straight from the shoulders, do they not? We need to avoid tight skirt, shorts, dresses and pants that reveal every shape and curve. The men caution us to avoid revealing the shape and curve of the buttocks. Jeans, pants, or slacks with words or decoration on the hip pockets or the hip area are designed to catch the eye. If it is a form fitting garment with décor on the hips drawing a man’s eyes to your buttocks, the next thing he’s having to fight are sexual thoughts. I hope i’m getting the point across. The curves of the female form are a turn-on for men. You need to do some concealing when it comes to that. That is accomplished by looseness in a garment. When your clothes lack any looseness to them and your curves are on full display, you have created a problem for a man. When you are one of god’s princesses, you want that man’s respect. Do you not? You want his respect, but he has trouble respecting you when you’re attired immodestly. Ladies, it’s personal for the guys too. We want men to respect us as women and all that means. The fellows are saying that they would like our respect. They want us to understand how god made them, and they would like you to respect them by protecting their eyes. When you walk into the room, they would rather not have to avert their eyes. They would rather see a modest, pleasant female person, their sister in christ and to be able to engage you in conversation et cetera. When we don’t dress in a way that takes into consideration how god made them as males, then we show a lack of respect for our christian brothers. This is the bottom line concept our brothers would like us to understand. I think it goes without saying that we shouldn’t expose our underwear. I almost didn’t say that, but ladies be careful. They’re making garments nowadays that are made to look like underwear is showing. Watch the so-called modesty panels designed to wear with a lower necked garment. Watch it if they have lace trimming that looks like the lace trim on a slip. Because at times, it’s designed to look like a slip is showing. Sometimes we’re going to have to think in ways we haven’t thought before because so much of the fashion world is very wicked. Something else to consider are leggings. It’s a popular fashion now to wear leggings with either a mini skirt or a very short dress. 65% of christian men say that’s a major problem for them because the exact form of your legs is on display often with quite a bit of the thigh showing. 96% of guys will tell you that they notice whether we dress modestly. We’re talking christian men now. One of the fellows said, “i don’t know how to say this strongly enough. I don’t want to marry someone who looks like they have tried to sell themselves to every guy they have ever met. If she’s using that kind of bait to hook me, why would she stop after catching her first fish?” why would a man want his wife to advertise herself to other men? What the fellows are saying is, “we don’t just want you to cover up, we want you to conceal.” remember the two cs – cover and conceal. 97% of christian men say girls and women can dress attractively without being immodest. 95% say a guy can’t consider a girl attractive without thinking of her in an impure way if she is immodest in her clothing. 94% say, a modestly dressed girl can still be a stumbling block because of her behavior and attitude. You can be clothed from your neck to your ankles and be inappropriately flirtatious. When we dress modestly, we serve our brothers in christ. If we’re married and dress modestly, we honor our husbands because we are saving our bodies and the display of our bodies for him alone. That is what a christian man will want from his wife. Sure, in the marital situation, they want you to be completely free, but when you are around anybody else, they want you covered up. In conclusion in conclusion, let me leave you with jeremiah 7:23, but this is what i commanded them, saying, “obey my voice, and i will be your god, and you will be my people; and you will walk in all the way which i command you, that it may be well with you.’” then in jeremiah 6:16, thus says the lord, stand by the ways and see and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is, and walk in it; and you shall find rest for your souls. Related links 1. Biblical modesty for women – pdf 2. Biblical modesty for women – mp3 references: 1. Mr. Prager is quoted with the permission of prager university from men and the power of the visual. Comments or questions? Sign-up to be notified about future studies?

## 10 Insightful Bible verses on modesty for today's generation rock solid faith

https://www.rocksolidfaith.ca/tips-for-dressing-modestly/

By Shanique

2020

10–12 minutes

Long dresses and long skirts just aren’t my cup of tea. In my teen years i would squirm when ever i had to wear long skirts out on the town. Who would ever show interest in me wearing long skirts or a baggy jeans i would question? Guess i am just never going to ever get married i sighed. Dressing modestly wasn’t one of my top priorities! As i grew up and had more control over what i could wear, i felt powerful, being able to strut my stuff and loved the stares and attention that followed. Whether it was my desire for affirmation or being able to capture a man’s attention, it felt darn good. As females i am sure you can identify with wanting to dress in the latest fashion and look sexier than the next girl that thinks she is all that. We are socialized to believe that the shorter the hemline and the more skin we reveal the sexier we look. But should this really be the case? Through fashion we showcase our personality, sure that is perfectly ok, but do we really need to be skimpy about it? In this article, we will be unpacking Bible verses on modesty to discover what does the Bible say about modesty. This post may contain affiliate links. You can read my full affiliate disclosure here. What is modesty | modesty definition? Fashion has evolved so much over the years. We have seen hemlines get shorter, and more skin being revealed over the past few years. While it may have been inappropriate to show cleavage a few years ago, it is totally acceptable and the norm in this decade. Check out this video created by glam inc. That highlights how fashion has evolved over the past 100 years. The webster dictionary defines modesty as: “ the quality of behaving and especially dressing in ways that do not attract sexual attention”. When persons think of modesty, they thing of long skirts and perhaps turtle necks, but its more than that. You can have on a long skirt and still be immodest. A long tight fitting skirt that snugs and accentuates all the right areas of your body, to me is the same as wearing a short mini skirt, because it stirs up all the same sexual emotions. Modesty in the Bible 1 Timothy 2:9-10 niv says, “i also want the women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, adorning themselves, not with elaborate hairstyles or gold or pearls or expensive clothes. But with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship god.” modesty, is more of a lifestyle and not so much about a style of clothing. It is not about us; it is about honoring god with our body. It should not be about making a fashion statement, saying hey “look at me” but rather hey i am a child of god. It is us decreasing so that god might increase. What does the Bible say about modesty? Dressing modestly doesn’t mean we are ashamed of our bodies. It is actually the opposite, we believe we are fearfully and wonderfully made. We are a child of the king and we are respectful in how we carry ourselves in public as it reflects god and in turn ourselves. We do our best not to mar our family name or do anything that would hinder the reputation of our families, why then should the concept of fashion be any different? 2 corinthians 5:20, niv says: “we are therefore christ’s ambassadors, as though god were making his appeal through us. We implore you on christ’s behalf: be reconciled to god.” you make a greater impact by standing out from the crowd than trying to fit in with the crowd. People will likely get curious about the reason why you dress a certain way giving you an open door to talk about your belief. Romans 12:2 (n.I.V) says: “do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what god’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” another reason to be modest is that you shouldn’t try to be a stumbling block to others. Even the most devout christian can fall to temptation. Let us help out one another by dressing modestly. Yes, sure they may still lust after you while dressing modestly, but at least, you are guiltless, you aren’t the one deliberately pushing them into temptation. As females we hear it a lot that we need to dress modestly, but it also applies to the males as well. The way you dress can be a stumbling block to females as well. We were all given the freedom of choice and in reality, we can do as we please. Wear that short skirt, show some cleavage, you name it. We most certainly will get the attention we desire. Words of affirmation, the whistles and the stares, all short lived if i may add. In that moment, there is only one thing that is desired. Don’t sell yourself short, know your worth. Don’t be desired just because of what’s under that skirt but more so, who you are inside. “your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in god’s sight. For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in god used to adorn themselves.” 1 peter 3:3 n.I.V i totally get it, wanting to be fashionable and doing what seems the norm, but i promise you, there are others just like you. You don’t need to do what everyone else is doing to fit it. You make an even bolder fashion statement by not trying to be like everyone else. The following Bible verses about modesty have all been taken from the king James version. I encourage you to use these modesty Bible verses as part of a topical Bible study to help you understand for yourself what does the Bible say about modesty. “what? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the holy ghost which is in you, which ye have of god, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify god in your body, and in your spirit, which are god’s.” 1 corinthians 6:19-20 “favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the lord, she shall be praised.” proverbs 31:30 scriptures on modesty “but i say unto you, that whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.” matthew 5:28 “for all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the father, but is of the world.“ 1 john 2:16 “ whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of god.” 1 corinthians 10:31 Bible verses about modesty in dress “in like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array;” 1 Timothy 2:9 ” whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; but let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of god of great price.” 1 peter 3:3-4 ” the woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman’s garment: for all that do so are abomination unto the lord thy god.” deuteronomy 22:5 “ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: i am the lord.“ leviticus 19:28 dressing modestly fashion hacks dressing modestly doesn’t mean you need to dress old- fashioned. You can still look good and be modest. With that being said, here are a few modesty fashion hacks, alternatively you can also consider getting a personal shopper  stylist for only $4.99 a month. Camisoles – these are lifesavers, i typically get these in either black or white and wear them under shirts where i am looking for a little extra cleavage cover. Safety pins – where camisoles don’t work well with what i am wearing or the time is very hot, safety pins are super helpful. Cardigans – i love cardigans! I wear them with pretty much everything to the point i think my husband would really love to put a ban on them. But they are also lightweight and works with tank tops or outfits where i want extra skin coverage or just want some warmth. You can also invest in longer cardigans to give you that extra coverage when wearing close fit outfits. An alternative to the cardigan are jackets, they have the same function and allows you to switch things up a bit. Shirt tied around waist – i am not really sure what to call this one, but we will work with the tie around. Again, this can provide you with additional coverage in the rear. Just use a flannel shirt or any plain button down shirt and tie it around your waist to execute the look. Here is a short video to show you how to do this. Swimwear – this one is a hard one. There are various more conservative options that have popped up for swimwear outside of bikinis that you can check out at your local swim store. Alternatively you could consider board shorts and a top. Here are some cute modest swimsuits you could consider purchasing. For even more ideas, be sure to read these 5 tips on how to dress modest while still looking cute. Modesty in the Bible here is the key that i want you to take away when it comes to dressing modestly, in everything be temperate. Being moderate doesn’t only apply to fashion. As you spend time in the word and your relationship with god blossoms he will guide you towards truth and convict you on what you should or shouldn’t be doing. “do you not know that your bodies are temples of the holy spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from god? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor god with your bodies.” 1 corinthians 6:19-20 n.I.V. What are some of your favorite verses about modesty? Drop them in the comments below. More Bible verses to encourage you 10 encouraging self-esteem Bible verses to boost your confidence 7 inspiring Bible verses about weight loss for your weight loss journey what does the Bible say about sexual purity 10 assuring Bible verses on negative thoughts 10 important Bible verses about foods not to eat.

## Biblical modesty (and why it’s a big deal) - mother hen five

https://www.motherhenfive.com/biblical-modesty-and-why-its-a-big-deal/

By Michelle Hoover

August 4th, 2018

10-12 minutes

i’m so excited (and terrified) about this blog post! For years i’ve been wanting to “write down” my view and biblical standpoint on women’s modest dress. So when a question came in last week about our biblical stand on modesty i knew the lord wanted me to take on the challenge. Let me preface this post with a few points … i am kind and polite to everyone. This (hopefully) mutual respect is not dependent upon what you’re wearing. This post is written for those looking for biblical reasons to dress modestly, not those who have already made their decisions. I’m not here to debate. I know what i believe, and i’m not ashamed or embarrased. I’m just sharing what the lord has asked me to. Before we start, i’m going to share my personal standard of dress. I’m not saying this is the appropriate standard for everyone. These are the guidelines i’ve set for myself and any girl that lives in our home. I follow the rectangle rule. I wear loose fitting clothes, that aren’t see-through, to cover this area of my body. Shirts that come near the end of my shoulder, skirts and dresses that touch the knee, and tops that come close to the top of my sternum (the bone near your throat). I’ve never worn a pair pants or shorts in my life. Those would show the exact form of my bottom and thigh, even “loose” bottoms would still show some form. The thought of anyone (male or female) knowing the exact shape of that part of my body makes me sick to my stomach. Except my husband, of course. 😉 in the snow i wear snow pants with a light weight skirt over top. To swim and bike ride i wear loose fitting basketball shorts (similar to cullotes) that come to my knee. I’ve done everything imaginable with these guidelines … biking, horseback riding, rock wall climbing, zip lining, trampoline parks, swimming, water tubing, paintball, four-wheeling, etc. I can’t think of one thing i couldn’t do wearing these clothes. If i want to protect my legs, or if i’m worried about my skirt flying up, i wear tights or leggings under my skirt. Let’s start with a question … what’s your standard of modesty and why? Most of us have the “what” part, but not the “why” part. Myself included! I freeze when someone asks me why i dress the way i dress. “becuase i’ve always dressed like this” or “i just like it” seem like shallow reasons for me. So le’ts look at the Bible (and some common sense) and get to it! 1 samuel 16:7, “but the lord said unto samuel, look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because i have refused him: for the lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the lord looketh on the heart.” – this is one of the most populoar verses used when discusing the issue of modesty. Instead if using just the last part of the verse to justify what we’re wearing, let’s take a look at the middle section of this verse. “for man looketh on the outward appearance” … a lost person only sees what we are wearing. Are my clothes a testimony, or a hindrance to others? Are my clothes pointing others to Jesus or myself? Sure, what we are on the inside is much more important than the clothes we put on our body, but we live in a physical world for the time being. Those around us can only see the physical aspect of our being. Matthew 5:28, “but i say unto you, that whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.” – here is the argument that it doesn’t matter to what we wear, men will still have impure thoughts. Ladies, let’s just take responsibility for ourselves. We are not in charge of the thoughts of others … only our own actions. If you can get dressed in the morning, look in the mirror and ask god, “are you pleased with this?” and not feel one prick of the holy spirit saying, “no”, then walk out the door in confidence that you are honoring the lord with your dress. Don’t worry about what others think, male or female! Do i think women should be extra cautious about modesty and the way they look to the opposite gender? Yes! Do i think men should be extra cautious in averting their eyes to avoid wrong thoughts? Yes! Work, effort, and consideration should be taken on both sides. 1 john 2:15-17, “love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of god abideth for ever.” – the flesh is a constant battle. Our flesh wants to take over our lives. It’s creeping into our homes, the church, our cities, etc. Everything surrounding us is about our flesh. The movies we watch, the music we listen to, and the places we go are catering to our flesh. Let’s be sure that what we are wearing is not solely about our flesh. We should wear clothes that fit, are in style, and compliment our feminity, but clothes should not consume us. I’m not talking specifically about seductive clothing either, what about wearing certain styles over and over because it’s “easy” or “comfortable”? As christians, we should be the sharpest people in the building! We should be put together, clean, and polished … so god gets the glory. Even if it makes us stick out or a little uncomfortable. One of the main reason i choose to dress the way i do is my unspoken testimony. I don’t have to say a word and people know there is something different about me. They can see me and my daughter from across the grocery store and notice a difference. Talk about a conversation starter! Stick an 18 month old little girl in a jean skirt and you’ll get all kinds of comments! Mostly good, praise the lord, but i have the “judgy” ones too. “how can she run in that?” “poor girl must feel constricted” 🙂 ha! You should see my daughter, she gets around just fine. Our testimony is much more important to me than those comments. Proverbs 7:10, “ and, behold, there met him a woman with the attire of an harlot, and subtil of heart.” – we see here that there was a certain style of clothing a harlot wore. Modesty has changed throughout the decades. We are not wearing what they wore in biblical times. I dare say, that what harlots wore back then would probably be more modest than what we wear today. They were dressed and covered from the top of thier heads to the tips of thier toes! Certain religions today would deem us “immodest” for showing the ankle, or not wearing a head covering. So aside from mentioning specific articles of clothing … what would classify as “the attire of an harlot”? Let me suggest this list: too tight, too low, too short, too sheer, too guady, too loud, etc. Anything that would bring unnessecary/negative attention to our bodies. 1 corinthians 10:31, “ whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of god.” – everything we do in this life is to be pleasing to the lord. Why hold back on something so small as dress when christ gave so much for us. Of course, we would all prefer to do things in our lives a certain way. It’s difficult to surrender specific areas of our lives. But in the grand scheme of life, nothing we could do could ever repay the price he paid for us. Holding onto a temporal piece of clothing seems pretty petty when we put things into perspective. Are we glorifying god in all the other areas of our life, but holding back in the area of modesty? Remember, we will all stand and give account for what we know is right. Did you use to hold a standard of dress that you have recently let slip? Why? Was there a biblical reason? We have to stand strong for christ in all areas of our life. Not just the ones that make us feel comfortable. We are responsible for what we know! My heart goes out to anyone that is ignorant of god’s call to modesty. They don’t know … they’ve never been taught. What breaks my heart is those who drop their standards (in any area) because of the “freedom they found in christ” or “god only cares about what’s on the inside” or “my church changed the standard, so it must be fine”, etc. Our god is a holy god. The closer we get to him, the more seperated, holy, undefiled, unlike the world we should be. Some of the kindest people i know don’t dress modestly. But ladies, it’s time we stand strong in a world that’s shifting. Who will the people we win come back to when they need the lord? They will be counting on us to be in the same place we were when we reached them! My heart is broken for the state of our churches in this country. We as ladies need to keep our standards high!! It’s not popular, it’s not fun (at times), but you can’t beat the reward of doing right. Nothing is worth sacrificing the approval of god almighty. No one will stand before the lord one day and be thankful they dropped a standard. But we will all be wishing we had done more  so much more. Is what i’m wearing pleasing to the lord? Would you have to change for church? Would you change if you were meeting up with a certain group of friends? Would you be embarrassed if you ran into someone that knew you from your sunday school class? These may seem like small fears, but they ask a very serious question. Is god honored with how i got dressed today? Plain and simple. If there is even the smallest tug on your heart, it’s time to reivaluate where we are, and get back to where we should be. Nothing can compare to the feeling of being in complete obedience to god’s word and his principles. Most of this post has been Bible, some has been opinion. I hope you know my heart and know that i love each one of you, no matter where you are in the christian life. My prayer is that we are all sensitive to god’s leading in our lives … myself included. May we not only be hearers but doers! 1 thessalonians 2:4b, “but as we were allowed of god to be put in trust with the gospel, even so we speak; not as pleasing men, but god, which trieth our hearts.” – let’s carry the gospel and represent christ well in every area of our life … especially our dress. As a result, we will be pleasing the lord!

## How to dress modestly in the summer | more radiance blog

Moreradiance.com

By Rebekah

May 14, 2018

9–12 minutes