Modesty....It Matters!

I am always so impressed with moms, and especially dads who are caring about the subject of modesty and the affect of it on their children's hearts and minds. In following several Christian Facebook groups, there are always a lot of "shoulder to knee" modesty comments. Many Christians follow this rule simply because the Bible refers to covering the "loins to the thigh" as God's instructions for the linen trousers (NKJV) or “breeches" (KJV) which were part of the priests' garments "to cover their nakedness" in Exodus 28:42. The thigh is the entire area from above the knee to the hip.

When you research the tunics worn during these times, they were a garment that covered from the shoulder at least down to the knee. Also in Isaiah 47:2-3, uncovering the thigh is again referred to as revealing nakedness.

As Christians, we are priests!
We are Christ’s ambassadors!
How are we representing ourselves as such?

In Genesis 3, after Adam and Eve sinned, they realized their nakedness and covered themselves with fig leaves (Genesis 3:7). God then made them "tunics of skin and clothed them" (vs. 21 - NKJV). Apparently the simple coverings Adam and Eve made for themselves were not enough to adequately cover their nakedness. If it wasn’t enough clothing for God’s original people in the garden, why would it be enough clothing for His children today?

These two thoughts from scripture put a whole new perspective on modesty for me, even though I always believed it to be important.

I did try to teach our children to "DIVERT THEIR EYES" and look away when people were dressed immodestly. People in the world think modesty doesn’t matter. Christians should know better because scripture teaches these truths. We mustn’t cave to the world’s standard of what is modest or not. It’s pretty apparent that the world doesn’t have a standard.

Many years ago my high school FHA chapter was going to tour a state penitentiary. I wasn’t able to go due to dental surgery , but I still remember one of the of the rules we were told. No one could wear sleeveless shirts.

Out of curiosity, I looked up the requirements for pension visits now. Guess what? Thirty-plus years later, sleeveless shirts are still not allowed. Interesting, huh? Check out the other dress code requirements below. Crazy how big of a deal it is to have schools or other places enforce a strict dress code, yet a prison is stricter and sees the issue of wearing immodest clothing more than in our free society. That speaks volumes, doesn’t it?!

As followers of Christ, our bodies are temples. We must respect our bodies and not defile them in any way. Through the way we dress and by how we appear, we can show that we know how precious our body is. We can show that we are a disciple of Jesus Christ and that we love Him by how we dress. Our dress and grooming influence the way we and the way others act around us.

We must never lower our standards of dress. We must not use a special occasion as an excuse to be immodest. When we dress immodestly, we send a message that is contrary to our identity as a son or daughter of God. We may also send the message that we are using our body to get attention and approval from others. We mustn’t seek approval from the world, from social media, from those who desire to harm our influence as a child of God. Modesty in thought, word, appearance, and behavior keep us in step with the Spirit. It will also show others that we are different than the world, giving us the opportunity to tell them more about Jesus and His influence on our life.

“Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.” 

1 Corinthians‬ ‭6:19-20‬ ‭