Dressing to Profess Godliness

I'm sure that everyone else has noticed what I have noticed. The weather has been warming up and the clothing has been coming off. It has become painfully obvious that our society has regressed to be just like the Israelites. Twice Jeremiah says that the people of his day had forgotten how to blush (Jeremiah 6:15, Jeremiah 8:12). Judging from what one can see simply by walking down the street today, it can safely be said that the people of America have forgotten how to blush. There is, it seems, nothing that can be too embarrassing for a person to wear!

Quite often, we focus on the attire of women, as that seems to be where the problem usually lies. As soon as the weather warms up past freezing, the layers start coming off, until there isn't much left to remove! This is distressing enough for one who is striving to be different, but when such immodest dress starts coming into the church, the task becomes much more difficult. Dressing in immodest attire, just like the rest of the world around us, is not what God desires. Consider what the apostle Paul had to say:

"I desire therefore that the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting; in like manner also, that the women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with propriety and moderation, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly clothing, but, which is proper for women professing godliness, with good works." (1 Timothy 2:8-10)

I know that there is always a lot of discussion about what is "modest apparel" and what is not. However, I'd like you to consider a couple of thoughts concerning what Paul was teaching in this passage.

Clothing can and does declare something about us. Paul warned Timothy to teach women to dress in a way that professes godliness. This tells us that we can profess godliness by our raiment, and that we can profess something other than godliness with our raiment. One should consider what her clothing is professing when she puts it on. Ladies, if you are thinking about how your outfit is going to draw the attention of the guys around you, then it is professing something other than godliness! If our clothing is not professing godliness, then the only other option is that it is professing worldliness.

We shouldn't be getting as close to the world as possible. If our clothing either professes godliness or worldliness, then we should be erring on the side of godliness! Unfortunately, too many people go in the opposite direction. They want to acknowledge that there is a line in the sand there somewhere, but they want to get as close to it as they possibly can! This mentality is what spurs on discussions questioning things like:

* How short is too short?
* How tight is too tight?
* How low cut is too low cut?
* How much of my midriff can I show?

If we were truly concerned about professing godliness, these questions would not be issues. We would not be trying to dress just like the world around us, which has no standard at all! The godly minded woman will not try to get her skirt or pants as short or as tight as she thinks she can get by with, but will be wearing clothing that depicts her modest heart. I can almost hear the complaints already. "You can't tell me what I can and can't wear! There are not any specific standards in the scriptures!" While doing an in depth study on the principles of modesty is beyond the scope of this article, I will point out that one should spend some more time in study before dismissing a general standard of modesty! The point here, however, is that this type of approach depicts a person who has decided to be as much like the world as they can be, rather than being separate from the world.

Having considered this idea briefly, there are a couple of other ideas that I would like you to consider in the realm of modesty. First, ladies should consider how their dress affects those around them. Many have minimized the fact that the attire that a woman wears can cause men around her to commit the sin of lusting after her. Some believe that any ungodly thoughts on the part of the man are his, and his alone-the woman wearing the immodest clothing bears no blame. This is simply not the case. If she is wearing ungodly attire, she is responsible for causing him to sin (but that does not relieve him of his guilt). Matthew 18:6-7 says:

"Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea. Woe to the world because of offenses! For offenses must come, but woe to that man by whom the offense comes!"

Do we really want to be among those who would cause another to sin? I should hope not! Others might argue that a man could lust after a perfectly modest woman. That may be true, but the modestly dressed woman would not be the cause of his sin. She had done nothing to cause him to transgress. Such an argument is often made in a very insincere manner. What percentage of men might lust in their hearts after a perfectly modest woman? In contrast, how many might lust after an immodest woman? Ladies, you should be considerate of the men around you. Why would you ever want to do something that would cause a brother to stumble?

Second, consider the times at which many dress immodestly. Many see nothing wrong with going to the beach and exposing themselves in less than undergarments. They wouldn't go to answer the door for the mailman if dressed in the same amount of clothing! Such identifies a concept of "situation ethics." It is ok to dress immodestly in certain situations. The list of acceptable situations seems to be expanding! How disappointing it is to see wedding pictures and see a bride dressed immodestly. Strapless, low cut, tight and short dresses don't suddenly become "modest" because it is your wedding day! A man should have a better sense of modesty than to allow his wife-to-be to be paraded out in front of people in such immodest attire! Often, at least among typically moral people, a young lady will preserve her chastity for her wedding day, and then dress in anything but a chaste manner on that day!

This same type of immodest attire is stampeding into the church (it certainly hasn't been "sneaking" in!). Several years ago, a friend of mine spoke on this topic and referenced the "Lord's Supper peep show" to illustrate the temptations put upon young men trying to serve the Lord's Supper to improperly dressed girls. High hemlines, and low cut blouses present quite the problem for the young man trying to serve the memorial supper. It is quite disturbing to see ladies tugging on skirts, and pulling on blouses. That is a sign that you know, in your own heart, that those garments are not modest, and you are trying to fix them! When the conscience is so seared that a person can wear immodest apparel into an assembly of the saints, we have moved past having the ability to blush.

So, what does your dress say about you? Would someone look at you, and think that you are a godly person? Or would your attire immediately cause the onlooker to think something else about you? Your attire will say something about you. It's up to you what statement you want to make. You can make either a godly statement or a worldly statement. Which way will you go?