About most things in life, I have an opinion. And like many people, there are a few subjects which are my "soapboxes". Modesty is one of them. Growing up, I remember my mother training me how to buy clothes which actually fit my body as well as covered it. I remember hating when she would make me show her every item I tried on, but looking back on it now, I am so grateful that she forced me to do that. As an adult, I know how to dress modestly and I understand the reasons for dressing modestly. Modesty is not just a matter of clothing. It is a matter of the heart. A heart that belongs to Christ will reflect Christ in every area of life. Modesty should be a lifestyle.
Now, I tend to get wordy in my soapboxing, so I'm just going to choose bits and pieces from a podcast by Nancy Leigh DeMoss. She expands on one aspect of modesty, using 1 Timothy 2:9-10.
"[Paul] talks to women about their appearance or their attire, and then he talks to them about their attitudes, and then he talks to them about their actions. He says that the way these women dress is a reflection of their heart and their character. And if they have right attitudes, that will produce a right appearance. But what I think he is saying is, "You can't separate the inward from the outward."
We say that "God looks on the heart. That means the way I dress doesn't matter." No, because God looks on the heart. The way we dress does matter. Because the way we dress is intended to be a reflection of our hearts.
So Paul says, let's read these two verses, 1 Timothy 2:9 and 10, "Likewise also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel . . ." That's their appearance. Now their attitudes, ". . . with modesty and self-control.""
The program is Revive Our Hearts, and the title of the cast is "A Woman's Influence in the Church". For more of Nancy on the issue of modesty, you can click here.
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