Modesty: Godly Feminine Appeal

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A female with an unregenerate heart will desire to reveal the contours of her body to the world through dress. This desire is motivated and inspired by feelings of attractiveness toward the opposite gender. Our bodies are a blessing, and not a curse. We were carefully and beautifully fashioned by God. The anatomical differences seen in a woman and a man's body were formed purposefully by our Creator, and it was His intended will. However as young women grow, the physical changes noticed on their bodies, makes them to take pleasure in accentuating their newly developed body parts. They become boastful and prideful of it. Competition and jealousy arises within the female 'circle.' As well, sensual thoughts and imaginations are ignited in the hearts of young men. Nevertheless, a regenerated heart by Jesus Christ, will not want to be an instrument used in such manner. Women are so much more than their bodies. The definition of a woman goes much deeper than her bust and curves. In fact, God has made women instruments and pillars of change, inspiration, wisdom and power. Therefore, to advertise our bodies to the world would cause us to decrease our worth as God originally intended it as earlier mentioned. 

Our bodies are only a supplement and should not be the spotlight of who we really are or identified by. When we walk into a room our aim should not be to 'shock' the people with what we are wearing. Truthfully, any female who majors in revealing her curves through every piece of clothing that she puts on is not a female of confidence. She lacks true, godly confidence; thus, uses her body as a compensatory mechanism for such deficiency! Examine yourself, why do you dress the way that you do? What is your motive? Jesus Christ gives us wisdom to focus inwardly than outwardly. Grievously, some females dress in such a manner that their bodies have become the object they are recognized by. They are not identified by their intellect, wisdom, gracious words, gentle and kind comportment. They are so keen on making sure that their body is in the forefront at all times - spending hours and finances to ensure that this desire is met. You may be an intelligent young lady or woman, but when you begin to dress provocatively exposing your body, your intellect becomes overlooked, your body gains all the attention, and to men you are an object of pleasure to toy with! My question to you is, who do people say that you are? The young lady who men drool over because of her body, or the young lady who dresses so modestly such that elegance, poise, humility, are exuded through her and such characteristics gain the attention of others? The latter is indeed the evidence of a godly woman whose worth does not come from exposing her body through dress, but whose confidence comes from Jesus Christ, her Lord, who has so beautified her from the inside out - beauty that is inescapable. I pray we will fall into the latter category in Jesus name.

The message of this post is not to ignore or demean the natural shape and elements of a woman's body; but rather to promote more of the inner beauty of women. There is an inner beauty that women can have that only Jesus Christ can make manifest in her and through her. There is a distinctive difference in dressing to exhibit the gentility, softness and beauty of a woman; versus wearing clothing that upon first glance reveals arrogance, pride, and sensuality.  To which category does your closet fall into? It is important to understand that a woman's body is an automatic 'weakness' to males. When a man sees a woman's carelessly exposed body, he is inclined to drift off to 'wishful' thinking and lustful imaginations. The bible gives us an example of this of King David who committed adultery with a married woman because he 'saw' her exposed body - her body weakened him and as a result he did not think twice about his preceding action and its consequences (2 Samuel 11)! Of course men can have strength over this weakness! Power is made available at the feet of Jesus Christ to conqueror this weakness. As a man you must daily strive to redirect your mind from sensual thoughts to more edifying godly thoughts-(Philippians 4:8)! Had King David exercised this power and redirected his thoughts, perhaps the deadly end result of his lustful desire would have been prevented! I pray men will take advantage of such great privilege of purity of mind through Christ Jesus.

Now that we have established that a woman's body is a weakness to men, let us look at some verses of scripture to support our revelation: "And through thy knowledge shall the weak brother perish, for whom Christ died-1 Cor 8:11?" Knowing that your body is an automatic weakness to a man, will you continue to wear those low-cut blouses, mini skirts, short-shorts and leggings as a woman professing godliness? "...that no man put a stumbling block or an occasion to fall in his brother's way"- Romans 14:13. "It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor any thing whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak" -v21.  "But take heed lest by any means this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to them that are weak"-1 Cor 8:9-13. The liberty that we have in Christ should not make us arrogant in dressing in a manner that causes our 'weak' brothers to stumble. But when ye sin so against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, ye sin against Christ-1 Cor 8:12. Think about that, not only are you sinning against a brother by your ungodly attire, you are really sining against Christ which action has a greater repercussion.

"Wherefore, if meat make my brother to offend, I will eat no flesh while the world standeth, lest I make my brother to offend"-1 Cor 8:13. In other words, I prioritize my brother, and if my dressing carelessly will cause him to offend Christ via his thought, I will do that no more! As Christ selflessly laid down His life so that we can have eternal life, so also should we followers of Christ, lay down our will especially via our dress to encourage the people around us unto godliness. Our dress should be an encouragement and not a hindrance to others in their service to the Lord. As women, we have power over our body. Further more, we can exercise this power through Christ reigning in us to crucify the selfish desire to show off our bodies and allow His beauty to shine in and through us, or we can use our 'woman' (unregenerate hearts) power to rule and insist on showing the world what we've got! How will you use your power as a woman? Will you use it to cause the men around you to stumble, or will you use it to serve them by dressing modestly in obedience to the Word of God, knowing that your body is their weakness if carelessly exposed? I pray that we will not 'punish' men by inducing their weakness in purposely or ignorantly exposing our bodies in Jesus' name.

As for me, I am resolute that by the grace and wisdom of God, I will not permit my body to be seen by men; neither will I accentuate the contours of my body through clothing. I will wear skirts and dresses that gracefully grace my body and cover it so as to promote godliness between my interaction with brothers in the household of faith, and those that are out there in the world. I will exercise the power of my body by crucifying my will to reveal the delicateness and preciousness of my body, and give chance for Christ's Will to permeate and reign in my life and in my attire. Practically, I have found that 'A-Line' skirts does not sensually highlight the profile of my body, and it is an awesome silhouette and workable for all body types! I encourage every woman to have A-Line skirts and dresses in her closet - whether your body is designed to be full on the top or on the bottom or in between, an A-Line silhouette dress or skirt will work for you! A-line silhouettes also promote a godly feminine appeal as it accent the natural waist line of a woman, and flares at the bottom; thus encourages modesty. Christian ladies should have a feminine appeal; but in a less pronounced way as the world advertises. I pray that the Lord will give us the wisdom and courage to dress in a godly feminine fashion in Jesus' name. Here is a great picture of an example of an A-line skirt. 

I pray you are blessed!
-Charity