Weekend Worship - Modesty, Part 1

I had a GREAT time at the women's retreat for those of you who are wondering. It was a wonderful time to get away, relax, laugh, share, and develop ideas for a better relationship with my spouse, my kids, and my Jesus.

One of the things we discussed this weekend was the issue of modesty. Depending on where you live in the country, you may not see this as a very big issue or you may wish there was a dress code for women to go out in public. I have nothing against the coastal states, but in general, they tend to be less conservative in their attire. The Midwest and surrounding states tend to be a bit more conservative. However, as always, there are exceptions to every rule.

At any rate, modesty is an issue that is unfortunately lacking in our society, specifically in our church's curriculum. Young women are growing up completely uninformed. They do not understand the importance of modesty nor do they understand what modesty is.

What is modesty?

Dressing modestly is not about having a set of rules. It's not about setting a dress code. It's about the heart. I would define modesty as the desire to please the Lord in what one wears so as not to cause a man to stumble.

One of the specific things about which we talked at the retreat was the "good, better, best" idea. A woman can go shopping and find a shirt (or skirt/shorts/etc.) that she thinks is fairly modest. It might be a good choice. And there's an excellent chance (in today's society) that it's a better choice than lots of other shirts on the same rack. But is it the best choice? I am a Christian and therefore desire to please the Lord in all that I do - including how I dress. I don't want to be somewhat godly or even mostly godly; I want to be as godly as possible! Since what I wear affects my brothers (and sisters) in Christ, my wardrobe is therefore a part of my spiritual life.

Consider going through your closet this week and choosing the best items of clothing instead of just the good or even better ones.

I want to continue this topic next week because I believe this is something that needs to be addressed in today's culture, but I don't have time to elaborate tonight. (The retreat was nice, but it did exhaust me!) Next week, we will talk about why modesty is important, how men think, and what Christian men have to say about the way Christian women dress.

Other parts of this series:

Part 2
Part 3