Modest Apparel

[JoyfulJuliana28]

1 Timothy 2:9-10:



I have felt personally convicted about summer wardrobes and swimsuits in particular. I host a daily podcast and thought I might discuss this issue on my show. I was curious to hear your thoughts on it. Obviously, our culture fully accepts most swimsuits and other revealing clothing as appropriate. As a Christian, what do you believe?

Don't forget our culture also embraces the use of sexual overtones in our society. In fact, much of our music, clothing, and advertisements advocate the sexual. Now do I believe that our arms and legs have to be completely covered and we should wear burkas? Certainly not! But there is a fine line of discernment here. The best way to think about it from a godly perspective is to consider the opposite sex. Do you think what you're wearing will cause the opposite sex to be stirred up and lust? Some people lust no matter what, but for the most part certain outfits simply scream "Look at me! Aren't I sexy?!" It is this we need to stay away from.

What really ticks me off the most is when young women (and even older women too!) walk into church with a skimpy outfit that reveals boobs, butt, thighs, etc. Dresses are too low, pants are too tight, skirts are too short. I understand if someone is new to Christianity or even the church, but there should be a standard for those who should know better! Especially when it comes to serving on the worship team or in ministry. Holiness is about the heart, but from the heart holiness should be exemplified in the way we act, speak, and even dress. To be holy means to be set-apart. Set-apart from what? Set apart from the ways of the world (which glorifies self) unto the ways of God to glorify Him!

 

[jason taylor]

Seeing what the girls wear in the Middle School where I work, I think the Moslems have a good point! And the parents allow them to wear these clothes, even buy them for them.

Moslems go to far the other way. The face is the most expressive part of the body and covering it just dehumanizes women.

 

[Dark Rabbit]

I do think revealing clothes are immodest, but I think it's because we as a society are used to nakedness being taboo. But it doesn't matter how much a woman covers up, men will still lust after her, because the taboo is not broken. In fact, I have heard (secular) men say that the more-covered woman comes across as sexier, because she's leaving stuff up to the imagination and not exposing everything for him to see. It gives her a sensual mystery.
It's not the body that is the problem. It's when something gets charged with eroticness (by that person or society) then you run into problems with lust, even if the woman were to cover herself up totally.

 

[Johnnz]

I do think revealing clothes are immodest, but I think it's because we as a society are used to nakedness being taboo. But it doesn't matter how much a woman covers up, men will still lust after her, because the taboo is not broken. In fact, I have heard (secular) men say that the more-covered woman comes across as sexier, because she's leaving stuff up to the imagination and not exposing everything for him to see. It gives her a sensual mystery.
It's not the body that is the problem. It's when something gets charged with eroticness (by that person or society) then you run into problems with lust, even if the woman were to cover herself up totally.

Well said. This is something that tends to be overlooked. People look at stifling effects rather than understanding to roots of the issues.

John
NZ

 

[WannaWitness]

I do think revealing clothes are immodest, but I think it's because we as a society are used to nakedness being taboo. But it doesn't matter how much a woman covers up, men will still lust after her, because the taboo is not broken.

A great point, indeed. It only means, sadly, that in this corrupt world some people constantly have their minds in the gutter. They don't stop at just admiring, but think nasty thoughts and make unnecessary remarks. And that can't be helped, as some women can't hide their curves even in the ugliest, frumpiest muumuu they can find.

This is why, while I take great care to dress as modestly as possible, I do so knowing that it's not a cure for the problem of lust, but rather a treatment which sometimes works and sometimes doesn't (not unlike a prescribed medicine for an illness or disease). I don't seek to "flaunt my stuff", but I don't deliberately seek to hide in a sack, either.

And those of the mindset of dressing plain and ugly on purpose to show off their so-called "holiness" can be a form of immodesty, in itself.

 

[ezekielle]

Ladies, we are all fully functioning adults, right? That means we all know exactly what we're doing when we put on a piece of clothing. Even those who won't admit it know which kinds of clothes are designed specifically to elicit a sexual response in men. We know it the moment we pick it up off the rack at the store. And we certainly know it when we put it on and take a look at ourselves in the mirror. And, whether or not we are honest about it, we put those clothes on for the exact same purpose they were designed -- to elicit a sexual response in men... not just OUR men - but ANY man who sees us in it. Now that's the truth. Deliberately dressing in things we know are designed for that purpose is just plain evil and born of the Jezebel spirit.

Lets get right, Church!

 

[JoyfulJuliana28]

Right on Ezekielle!!

 

[desmalia]

Ladies, we are all fully functioning adults, right? That means we all know exactly what we're doing when we put on a piece of clothing. Even those who won't admit it know which kinds of clothes are designed specifically to elicit a sexual response in men. We know it the moment we pick it up off the rack at the store. And we certainly know it when we put it on and take a look at ourselves in the mirror. And, whether or not we are honest about it, we put those clothes on for the exact same purpose they were designed -- to elicit a sexual response in men... not just OUR men - but ANY man who sees us in it. Now that's the truth. Deliberately dressing in things we know are designed for that purpose is just plain evil and born of the Jezebel spirit.

Lets get right, Church!

 

[Catherineanne]

Ladies, we are all fully functioning adults, right? That means we all know exactly what we're doing when we put on a piece of clothing. Even those who won't admit it know which kinds of clothes are designed specifically to elicit a sexual response in men. We know it the moment we pick it up off the rack at the store. And we certainly know it when we put it on and take a look at ourselves in the mirror. And, whether or not we are honest about it, we put those clothes on for the exact same purpose they were designed -- to elicit a sexual response in men... not just OUR men - but ANY man who sees us in it. Now that's the truth. Deliberately dressing in things we know are designed for that purpose is just plain evil and born of the Jezebel spirit.

Lets get right, Church!

I don't have the first idea what you are talking about. I think this kind of attitude is rather smutty, to be honest.

I have never in all my life dressed to elicit a 'sexual response' in anyone.

What is wrong with appreciating the beauty of the human body? If a man looks at a woman and finds her attractive, why is that necessarily to be regarded as a sin? To me, admiring the beauty of the human body is the same as admiring a sunset, or a tree or a flower; there is no need to bring lust into it at all.

People are not animals. We have reason, we have intellect, and we do not go around behaving like dogs.

 

[dusky_tresses]

But Catherine there are people who go around behaving like dogs, and even worse. I have met women who admit that they wear clothing which is revealing to attract sexual attention from men. I've heard of young girls wearing short skirts or tight shirts because they know the boys will look at them "that way." So unfortunately people do act in this way and have those kinds of attitudes. I'll admit that when I was younger, the reason I bought a skimpy miniskirt was because I wanted to show off my legs, as in my skin. I wore low-cut shirts that showed off cleavage because I wanted people to see it! Yes, I haven't always acted with my reason and intellect when it came to modesty and I knew exactly what I was doing and why I bought the clothes that I did.

The whole "admiration of the human body" can become a slippery slope from what I've observed. The human body should never be seen as a source of shame, something to "hide" because it's evil, or something that is the source of everyone's sin. But you see, admiration can easily turn into lust and sin. For example, it's easy for me to see a pretty woman and think "oh my gosh, she's gorgeous! she could be a model," and leave it at that. However, if a nice looking guy were to walk by I have to be mindful to not allow myself to always "admire" because the next thing I know, I'm comparing his guns to my husband's, and then that never leads to anything good. Yes, I'm able to think that certain celebrities are attractive but that's as much as I get into it. I do find it disconcerting that my health and fitness magazines often feature men with their clothes off and it's obvious why they are there-- for eye candy-- and I find myself skipping those parts of the magazine. Maybe not all women have this issue.

 

[Kitty.]

My opinion on all of this is:

When I go swimming, (which isn't often) I wear a two-piece bathing suit. I wear that because it is comfortable. With my body shape (larger up top and small everywhere else) I have rarely been able to find any covering bathing suits and trust me I have looked.
I wear two-pieces because it is most comfortable. I don't wear them to get looked at by guys. I already have my eye on the guy I want anyway so I don't even want or need attention from any other guys.
And with my figure, well, there is bound to be some revealing part in the swim suit.
Example: I managed to find a one-piece bathing suit and it was the largest size possible and it barely fit my top and it was really baggy everywhere else.
With tankinis, the tankini never fits on top.

It's easy to tell someone to dress modestly when swimming when it's easy for you to find what you need.

And also, I have no clue how people swim comfortably in a one-piece bathing suit/tankini. They are uncomfortable to try on lol.


As for regular clothing, I don't wear shirts that show cleavage. I usually wear T-shirts. Sometimes, I will wear other clothes, but T-shirts usually work best for me. It's a chore shopping to find what will fit me well haha.
As for pants, I normally wear fitted jeans. Once again, they fit my frame best.

I don't dress for sexual attention. I dress for comfort lol.

I love my body type and I wouldn't change it ever. It took me years to build up good self-esteem about my body and my looks.
Once again, this is my personal opinion on the matter

 

[salida]

Let me try to answer what is so special about it from my point of view. Cleavage in the right setting can be pretty darn special, but I don't want to go to walmart and see a bunch of boobs. I'm a single guy and I like women but in my little world a woman that shows too much just isn't appealing to me. There are other guys like me, but there are alot of guys that aren't and they wander around all day looking for things like this and spend too much time looking.
I generally think of it as, If I had a daughter, I wouldn't want her to look like that, and I wouldn't want her to BE looked at like that.

Sorry, it took me a so long time to respond-I agree.

Also, I find showing cleavage in public is demeaning to ladies.

 

[salida]

One more thing which I find disgraceful are t.v. shows that may have christian overtones and they dress with their cleavage showing. I don't see this often-but when I do it pushes my button of disgust.

 

[desmalia]

Sorry, it took me a so long time to respond-I agree.

Also, I find showing cleavage in public is demeaning to ladies.

I agree. And it's disrespectful to men.

 

[ezekielle]

I don't have the first idea what you are talking about. I think this kind of attitude is rather smutty, to be honest.

Funny that you don't have any idea what I'm talking about but understand it well enough to call it "smutty."

As I said - even those who won't admit it know what they're doing...

 

[ezekielle]

I believe that men, in general, are more visually stimulated than women. This is not to say that ALL men are more visual than ALL women - I know there are exceptions. But MOST men are more visual.

We, as godly women, should be mindful of this. Dressing as the Word of God tells us to not only honors God, but it also honors our brothers, their wives, and ourselves.

Simply put, we need to stop playing games. We know what we do.

Lord help us be more pleasing to You!!!

 

[dusky_tresses]

ezekielle, I agree with most of what you're saying but I do believe that sometimes people make clueless mistakes. This is especially true with teenagers, where a teen girl may think that because her friends all thought her see-through-ish and floaty outfit was all the rage at last week's party or hangout, she might think "hey why not wear it everyday." That's where gentle correction comes to play IMO. There are these t-shirts that I purchased from Express which I didn't realize were somewhat see-through (eek!) until sometime gently said "Um, did you realize that I could sort of see your bra?" I just about died. But now what's more pathetic when I go shopping is I'll have to not just look at the sizing, but also put my hands underneath the garment to see if it's transparent!

 

[LyraJean]

If my husband says it's okay then I wear it. No he does not do my clothes shopping for me I'm an adult. But there are times especially when we are going out together where I ask his opinion on my outfit. Or he's staying home and I'm running to the store and he'll say something like, "You might want to change your shirt cause it looks like you are wearing pajamas."

Also I have male friends, if I happen to wear an article of clothing that makes them feel uncomfortable they know they can tell me. Guess what, I won't wear that article of clothing around them anymore. My one friend with him it's tank tops. So I still wear tank tops just not around him. But you know when it's hot he doesn't go shirtless just because it's acceptable by a guy in American society to do so. In fact he usually has an undershirt and a regular shirt or button shirt on. So he is also modest.

I'm tired of these conversations about modesty and only women are admonished to be modest. If swimsuits are immodest for women to wear to the beach then if you are a guy don't wear swim trunks without a shirt and don't make it a white shirt either because then it will be see through and we can't have that.

If a person has a problem with women who wear swimsuits to the beach well then they shouldn't go to the beach. Much like a recovered alcoholic who is tempted to drink shouldn't hang out in bars.

 

[Amanda192303]

I agree that clothing should be modest. Especially for teens I'm tired of seeing teens wearing too little or clothing with lewd messages. I recently got a shirt from a company called Reflect Gear. They sell christian tees that are hip and have a look like the modern trends, but they have a subtle christian message to them. I'd much rather see teens wearing clothing like that!

 

[Johnnz]

I am old enough to remember when lipstick, nylons, trousers, shorts, off shoulder dresses and skirts mid calf were all denounced as immodest. Plus dancing, movies and TV. I wonder how many modest dressers here would react to being banned from public meetings for wearing their currently 'fully decent' attire as offending the 'Christian standard' that obviously must have been right back then?

John
NZ