"Legalist!"
"You're just being judgemental!"
"It's Christians like you that make people not want to come to church!"
"Men should be keeping their eyes to themselves!"
Modesty does not make you closer to God. Someone who believes it does, is indeed a legalist of sorts. But just because someone dresses modestly does not automatically make them a legalist. There are plenty of reasons to dress modestly that have nothing to do with the belief that God somehow loves you more when you're covered head to toe.
The purpose of this post is not to define what is modest rather make a case for modesty in general. I truly believe that if a woman seeks after the definition of modesty, because it is important to God, she will be guided to an appropriate definition. I realize that my definition of modesty is more liberal than some women who read this blog (I don't always wear skirts, and when I do they might be shorter than calf length) and more conservative than others ( I don't like anything more than an inch above my knee, and I don't like tank tops)
So here they are, presented with a humble heart. My reasons to dress modestly for the Christian woman or young lady.
1) It's Kind
When a man looks at a woman in lust, he is the one that is sinning, period. A man is responsible for where his thoughts and eyes go, but............. Isn't it kind of mean for a Christian girl to purposely dress in a way that will cause a man to stumble and think things about her that he shouldn't? We are admonished in scripture to be kind to one another. Men struggle with their thoughts, dressing in a way that doesn't provoke these thoughts is kinder than the alternative.
2) Your husband Present or Future doesn't want you to dress provocatively in public.
See point number one.
3) Our Clothes Send a Message
I firmly believe Christians should give each other as much grace as we can muster. In our church for example someone would have to be wearing things that are grossly inappropriate (read super short, midriff baring etc.) week after week before anyone would mention anything to them. In fact I can't really think of an instance where this has even happened. Why? Because in almost all cases God will convict on his own he doesn't need us helping things along.
With that in mind however, our clothes, no matter what we wear send a message. A woman wearing too short too tight shorts, and a strapless top that shows cleavage for example is sending a message.
Person "A" thinks, "She's a baby Christian, as she grows closer to the Lord her dress will change, I won't mention anything."
Person "B", "Doesn't she know how cheap she looks?! Someone needs to say something."
Person "C" who is a non-Christian thinks, "Wow, I thought she was a Christian. I've never seen a Christian wear THAT before."
Person "D" who is a Christian man doesn't know what to think so he just stares at the ceiling when she enters the room.
Person "E" who is insecure about her own appearance thinks, "I can't believe she would wear such a thing around my husband! She is so completely rude and insensitive. Doesn't she know this isn't a singles bar."
Person "F" is completely non-pulsed and asks if she can borrow the top next weekend.
Now I'm not saying any of these potential thoughts are right, wrong or in between, but these are the things people think. God absolutely looks in our hearts, but we forget that man does look on the outside. Does what we wear define us? No, absolutely not!!! But our clothing does send a message. So we need to choose carefully what message it's sending.
4)We are Representing Christ
As I stated before God doesn't love you any more or less because of how you're dressing, but when you dress consider the message. If your clothes don't say I am royalty because I'm a child of the King then reevaluate your clothing. We live in God's Holy presence and show his love to a lost and dying world, do our clothes reflect it? Plain and simple, they should.
