Modesty is not about abiding the perfect rules and regulations; in fact it has nothing to deal with ‘you’ at all. It’s about giving Jesus the glory by taking the attention off of ourselves; our bodies.

The truth about modesty is that the Bible teaches it to be about much more than the clothes we wear. It’s about the body and the heart of Christ we are representing

1 Timothy 2:9–10 “I also want the women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, adorning themselves, not with elaborate hairstyles or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God.”

• This verse is the exact core issue about our choice to dress modestly. This is unnatural to humans which is why it’s not so common. We want to be noticed, seen, complimented and approached for the most part. Modesty is practically the complete opposite of this; it says “I stand differently because I am a child of God, don’t pay attention to me, pay attention to him’.

Our focus is based on spreading the gospel, not attracting gazing eyes. It’s about dressing in moderation. This does NOT mean dress like you’re from the 1700s or in a hazmat suit. Modesty is about turning our hearts towards Jesus as we care for our appearance.

Pep talk: For Men & Women

Before I get any further I need to address the women who are having trouble seeing the truth behind this. Those who say ‘I am confident and I love my body’ so why not show my body? Confidence is not having the need to have to show others your ‘confidence’, you’d be confident in who you are no matter what one thinks.

For those who say ‘no man can tell me what to wear, it’s my body’. Is it though? Or is it a borrowed body from the Lord since your body is his temple? A temple that you should provide care for in the way that he told you to, not your own sinful selfish ways? That’s not confidence that’s wearing your insecurities.

Think about that again. No it’s not based on the man himself, but it sure is based on Your lord. For those who say ‘I dress how I want because I want to, I dress like this for me’. I hope you realize that you shouldn’t even be doing that either, you should be dressing for the lord, not even for yourself. I can go on and on but that is my main point. This might be uncomfortable to hear, but the truth is the only way

Men, you’re not off the hook. It is unacceptable to give attention to those who do not bring attention to the lord, you are provoking those sinful acts as well. First off you should be guarding your eyes from sexual desires and lust.

Second of all, you giving attention to these women who just simply don’t know the truth of the lord does not make them see any truth; it lets them know that what they are doing is acceptable and this is the way they are going to get attention and love. You can’t shun women for how they dress but in the same way choose to lust after them with your eyes…if not approaching them and taking further actions. Job 31:1

Q & A

• Why should I be modest? —

1 peter 3:3–4 modest actually empower women by allowing us to root our confidence in Christ instead of our appearance (our bodies and/or clothes). This allows us to turn our focus on the more eternal qualities instead of obsessing and drawing the focus on ourselves.

• How is modesty defined —

The English dictionary definition for modesty is: the quality or state of being unassuming or moderate in the estimation of one’s abilities. The biblical definition is: less of self and more of Christ. Humility, purity, and generosity, but not to be noticed or practiced as a religious requirement. We are fearfully and wonderfully made, not to be ashamed of who we are in Christ. We exist to honor God, with our physical bodies and our behavior.

• Why is it important for women to tend to modesty? —

A modest person dresses, speaks, and acts in a manner that supports and encourages purity and chastity, and not in as manner that would tempt or encourage sinful sexual behavior. Modesty protects the mystery of the person in order to avoid exploiting the other. This attitude instills in us the patience and reserve we need for avoiding unbecoming behavior.

Modest relationships reflect the connection between the marital state and sexual behavior. Modest behavior respects the boundaries of intimacy that are imbedded in our natures by the natural law and the principles of sexual behavior laid out in Divine Revelation. Modesty ensures and supports purity of heart, a gift that enables us to see God’s plan for personal relationships, sexuality, and marriage.

• Why men should strive towards modest women —

A woman who is not interested in modesty whatsoever- although it is a struggle for most- are not interested in what the Lord says. And her first priority should be God. This will also be a special characteristic in a wife; one that puts God’s needs before her own. Along with not eyeballing women who are immodest, giving them the wrong impression of where their beauty lies, or anything else other than what the bible says about women.

• Is modesty just a women’s issue? —

Absolutely not! Men as well have to be modest; again it is not by how we dress, but how we act, talk, walk, it is our personal being. So men as well have to follow along with these rules of modesty. Yet for women, the focus is on how they dress specifically because men are visual creatures and WE are the ones with curves. Timothy 2:9–10, Paul specifically encourages the women (not the men) to adorn themselves in modest apparel.

• What does the bible say about modesty —

Biblical modesty is NOT about controlling women and oppressing them, as most of them think it is because it goes against their preferences. Your preference does not matter when it comes to the biblical truth. It’s about changing women and freeing them from society’s definition of beauty and placing them in a category of showing the beauty God gave us inside and out.

Colossians 3:2

1 timothy 2:9–10

• Why modesty is not as important to people as it should be —

We tend to think of ‘self’ and look for self fulfillment verses towards our God. Of course our hearts are sinful, so once we start to focus on just ourselves and we don’t tend to the truth of what God told us to do, we walk away to our own desires. We want to be noticed, accepted, etc., and sadly one of those ways (especially for women from men) is by the way we look. We tend to take pride in how we look and feel the need to ‘play the part’ and show off ourselves instead of focusing our attention and pointing others attention to God.

Books of Modesty:

• Dressing For the Lord: David Cloud
• Radiant Modesty: Yours Truly
• Secret Keeper- the delicate power of modesty: Dannah Gresh