Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, 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 make themselves beautiful. (NIV, 1 Peter 3:2-5)
God has put it on my heart for some time now to write a blog entry on dressing for God. This is a hot issue in churches, youth groups, and schools today. Ladies I encourage you to read this blog before rolling your eyes and thinking the way you dress doesn't hurt anyone. It can and will hurt others and yourself.
Read the above verses again. The Bible states we should dress modestly. You may ask, What does modesty mean? The definition of modest is below:
modesty- adj. having shown or showing a moderate or humble estimate of one's merits, free
from showing extravagance; having or showing regard for decencies in one's dress
or speech.
You should not dress to draw attention to yourself with plunging necklines and tight jeans. I know the fashion world totally disagrees with this thought, but I could careless. Other's opinions of what I wear are NOT going to get me into Heaven. What many women fail to understand is .....the way you dress really DOES affect others. Take for example a teenage girl goes to school in a low cut top and short skirt. All day long teenage boys and men look at parts of her body that should be saved for her husband. Seeing lots of skin and wearing clothes clinging to every inch of your body can make a man's mind go all over the place. It makes them stumble in their walk with Christ. Do you want to be a stumbling block for your brother in Christ? You may say you cannot control their thoughts, but you can help what they have to look at. Am I saying you need to wear an ankle length skirt every day along with a turtleneck.....NO! You can still dress fashionable and modestly.
Also, too many times a day I see women posting seductive or promiscuous pictures of themselves on facebook. Is that how you want others to perceive you? You must remember if you are SAVED, you are a representative of Jesus Christ. Pictures of women in skimpy clothing and women playing it up for the camera are not what comes to mind when I think of glorifying my Lord.
I know this blog was a little more bold and direct than my others, but I truly felt like it needed to be said. So the next time you are getting dressed and look in the mirror, ask yourself....How does this look for Jesus today?
