In church, in small groups, and in the blog world modesty is heavily debated.
We hear a lot of these questions:
"Is this skirt too short?"
"Is this shirt too low cut?"
"Are these jeans too tight?"
I have written about WHY MODESTY IS IMPORTANT, WHAT IT MEANS TO BE MODEST and about HOW TO MAKE ADJUSTMENTS TO YOUR WARDROBE to be more modest. Now I want to talk about modesty, but not with regard to our clothing.
Modesty also has to do with how you move. When you walk, do you swing
your hips? I don't mean the natural movement of a woman's hip. I mean the carefully rehearsed prance so many women do. I know a LOT of girls who practiced that motion in high school, I was one of them. It was something that I had seen other women do, and I thought that would help make me "beautiful". So my friends and I mimicked the women from the runways, strutting down the halls of my high school. As I got older it just became a habit, that I didn't think much of. Thankfully, I have a good friend and mentor who asked me, "Is that how you would walk before the King of Kings?"Jewelry is another part of modesty that doesn't have much to do with clothes. Now, please hear me I am NOT anti-jewelry. I studied art in grad school, we love jewelry. Why you choose your necklace, why do you chose that necklace? Are you aware of the line made by the necklace that draws the eye to your breasts? I am not saying that jewelry must be avoided, I am saying that we must be aware of the choices we make. When I wear a necklace long enough that it sits on my breasts, what am I asking people to look at?
Modesty also has to do with what you say. Do you engage in inappropriate or suggestive conversation? I know to a lot of Christian women the automatic response is, "of course not!" But I would like to talk specifically with young Christian women here. Christian women who are in college and high school. Inappropriate conversations run rampant in halls where teenagers roam. Guard your heart against these conversations. Watch what you say in response to inappropriate and suggestive conversations, this can be a slippery slope.
Modesty is about so much more than just what you put on your body.
Modesty is an attitude, it is a way of life.
You are so right about conversation, television shows make it seem normal to talk about certain "things" so everyone does without a second thought.
ReplyDeleteA lot to think about. Good for you for broaching the subject.
ReplyDelete~FringeGirl
Dear Morgan,
ReplyDeleteSo you would consider bikinis as immodest? Shouldn't men learn how to control their baser desires without having us have to constantly worry about whether we are dressing modestly or not? Why is it that men can walk around shirtless, swim in teeny trunks and nothing is wrong, nobody gets sexually harassed, but when women wear bikinis, it's their own fault for enticing men? Why? It makes me angry, especially when men say oppressive things like 'it's your fault for parading yourself' and blahblah. Isnt that precisely what happened in the 18th and 19th century? Women dressed extremely modestly, but men still made inappropriate advances to the ones with beautiful faces and beautiful hair. That's why Muslim women wear hear gear and cover their faces. Is this the only way we can be free from the depravity of men? To cover ourselves up head to toe and faces too? Please help. I sincerely want to know.