“And I want women to be modest in their appearance.They should wear decent and appropriate clothing and not draw attention to themselves…. For women who claim to be devoted to God should make themselves attractive by the good things they do.” – 1 Timothy 2:9–10 NLT
Mackenzie came out of the dressing room to show her BFF one of her choices for Estelle’s party. “Isn’t it way cool?” she said. “I saw it in Teens & Things Magazine. It’s a little short, but it’s half-price. What do you think, Tanya?”
“I think you’d better go with the red one. This one looks like a Band-Aid,” Tanya replied. “It’s not a little short …it’s way short. You’ll be pulling it down all night … that’s if your mom even lets you out of the house.”
Our clothes can’t talk outright, but they can speak volumes about us just the same. They tell our whole story at a glance and can give people either a good or bad impression of the kind of person we are. And it’s not just our BFFs
who will judge us. It’s other girls, guys, parents, teachers, youth ministers, even perfect strangers.
Yup, what we wear can let everyone know whether we’re living for Christ by dressing modestly to get his attention—or living for ourselves by dressing provocatively to get the world’s attention.
For sure, many girls do dress to be the center of attraction. They wear tight-fitting clothes, short shorts or lowcut tops, and other “boy magnet” clothes.
And, yeah, they get noticed—but for all the wrong reasons. Believe it, guys aren’t riveted on these girls thinking, Oh, wow, she really looks beautiful, or She must be such a nice girl; look how well she dresses. They’re thinking far more improper stuff that may stay with them all day.
So girls who wear revealing clothes are not only hurting themselves, they’re also risking damaging others as well.
And Jesus warns us about this: “Temptations are inevitable,”he says, “but what sorrow awaits the person who does the tempting” (Matthew 18:7 NLT).
The flip side of this is that girls who dress modestly (and look pretty at the same time) can make a statement, too. They can let their clothes tell everyone—loud and clear—that they respect and love God, themselves, and their neighbors enough to forgo the “fashionista” look for a look that shouts “Christianista.”
Food for Thought
If Jesus returned suddenly, like, tomorrow, would he find you dressed appropriately?
Second Thoughts
God gave Adam and Eve animal skins to replace their skimpy fig leaves. Read about it in Genesis 3:9-21.
Divine Thoughts
Jesus, help me to remember I should grab attention with what I am inside not what I wear outside. Amen.
