There is a Biblical case for modesty! Women either love this topic or they hate it…
When I talk about modesty most people will automatically understand, others will not. I simply mean, the covering of your body as not to distract. And when I talk about intentional modesty, it is something done with thoughtfulness and carefulness.
You can relate intentional modesty to that of a bride getting ready for her wedding. The dress is chosen and fitted, the details of the flowers, the shoes, and the perfect jewelry. The bride is intentional about her dress on one special day for one special man, for one special covenant, marriage. Our dress every other day should be similarly thought out and planned because intentional modesty can be just as beautiful as a wedding dress when a godly woman adorns herself to please the Lord.
The Biblical basis by which I am sharing this with you today is found in Titus 2:4 which explains that older women should teach younger women to be discreet and chaste.
“To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the Word of God be not blasphemed.” Titus 2:4
Discreet in this text according to Strong’s Biblical Concordance means: of a sound mind, sane, in one’s senses; curbing one’s desires and impulses, self-controlled, temperate
Chaste according to Strong’s means: properly, clean, (figuratively) innocent, modest, perfect: – chaste, clean, and pure. Purity from carnality and fault.
The order in this verse is right, we have to be discreet first before we decide to be chaste. Notice discreet means: “of a sound mind” and “curbing one’s desires and impulses.” What we act out or do is a direct result of what we think about.
We have to get the issue of dress established in our minds and hearts before we will decide that we will dress to be chaste and modest.
Modesty in our clothing choices, is a decision to put out of our mind the thought of pleasing others with what we wear. Women seek to please others in many areas, whether it be pleasing men by wearing clothes that accentuate the body or pleasing their peers by trying to fit in to a certain clothing style that our friends or desired friends have. Modesty should have God in mind at all times.
Little girls that wear big fluffy dresses tend to twirl in them and watch as the skirt comes in close and wraps around their legs and as they turn the opposite way, it ruffles back out to wrap around them again. Our dress can determine our behavior. How we act in what we wear often gives away our heart’s intention of our clothing choices. Some people truly have not learned how to dress or act modestly… others choose to be immodest to attract unrighteous attention to their bodies to satisfy their own desires for acceptance or lust.
At the point of salvation, we become a new creation. Ephesians 4 speaks about putting off the former conversation (lifestyle) and putting on the new man who after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
If there is an old lifestyle in which we wore certain clothes and behaved a certain way wearing them and God tells us to put away those lifestyles, then naturally, we should put away these clothes.
If our clothing sparks a desire in us to be impulsive sinfully (the opposite of discreet) then we should recognize that red flag immediately and get rid of that clothing. We can immediately think of the type of clothing that we wear that makes us want to walk differently and act differently. Now think of the clothes that make you feel like a beautiful ambassador, as God’s child, the kind that make you proud to serve the Lord. These two types of clothes should be very different, like water and oil, they should not mix.
As a new creature our outward appearance should reflect something new, lovely, and righteous!
You may be thinking, “well, I already put away all of my old clothes that tempted me to have a lack of self-control and do things that were not godly, what now?” It would be easy to make a list of do’s and don’ts but it would just be easier for you to consult God each day about the clothes that you put on and allow the Holy Spirit to speak in your heart as you go through your day so that when you notice the private parts of your body being shown or accentuated or the spark of lust that makes you want a man to look at you in a sexual way, you will quickly be alert and repent. Then, if God tells you that you probably should put that shirt or other article of clothing in the trash can, you will do it gladly because you now have an understanding that modesty begins in the heart by obedience.
There are practical helps that I like to give to people to help them understand how to keep themselves covered and modest while doing real-life every day activities, but today I just want you to look into God’s Word out of this one simple verse and test your heart and your wardrobe yourself without any thoughts about my list or ideas and whether you think that type of clothing is right or not.
“To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the Word of God be not blasphemed.” Titus 2:4
When you are in transition from your former lifestyle and your new one, God has a way of working on one article of clothing at a time, beautifying women that really want to please Him. He likes producing women to look godly in their modesty! He continues to speak to women as they grow in Him about their clothing, always helping women maintain discretion and chastity. Be willing to do whatever He asks you to do with your clothes. If God knows how to clothe the lily of the field, then He can clothe you modestly.
Matthew 6:28-30 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?
A word of warning, when you buck the Holy Spirit when He speaks quietly in your heart, then your heart hardens toward God’s voice. If you harden your heart long enough, then you won’t even listen to what He has to say about anything in your life, least of all your clothes. Discretion and chastity go out the window like a piece of litter. The choice to reject God’s promptings by the Holy Spirit is to choose the way of impurity.
Impulsive and sinful decisions leave blotches of impurity on the heart and life of God’s child that sometimes even though they can be forgiven, are not easily wiped away or forgotten.
Be wise dear women, and listen to God’s biblical case for modesty by studying and learning His Word, and allow Him to make changes in your heart and wardrobe if He wants to.
We will learn more about the reason we should be modest in our biblical case for modesty in The Case for Biblical Modesty: God’s True Purpose. It’s amazing how God’s Word can teach us just what we need to be what He wants us to be. If this topic bothers you, then please pray and ask God “Is there something in my life that I need to change?” Then listen… you might be surprised at what He has to say!
The Ministry Mama 