Proverbs 11:22
"Like a gold ring in a pig's snout is a beautiful woman who shows no discretion."
Ok, that verse just cracked me up this morning. I love it!
Discretion can and should apply to all areas of our lives, but one area that gets my attention is the way in which women choose to dress.
I happen to live a block away from a university, and the things that young women walk around wearing just shock me sometimes. I don't think I am a huge prude or anything. In fact, I'll admit that there have been some seasons in my own life where I dressed in a less-than-modest manner. But that was nothing compared to what I see parading down the street on a regular basis around here.
In case you think I am remembering my own indiscretion favorably compared to today's college students, let me just tell you. I don't think I ever wore glittery body gel between my boobs. And if I ever had, the whole world wouldn't have known about it! I also didn't take great delight in showing the top of my thong underwear peeking over my low slung shorts while my behind hung out the bottom. I am not making this up! In some cases, if you can't see the actual skin, you might as well, because the fabric covering it is so tight.
Ok, that is enough prudish ranting. I'll be serious for a minute. In the past year or so, God really convicted me about the way I present my body to the world in clothing. Ever since, I have been making a concerted effort to look nice, but modest. It wasn't even that bad to begin with, I would say that I dressed in a way that our society would deem normal-- body skimming clothes, maybe a bit of cleavage here and there, skirts just short enough, etc.
But I started to think that maybe what society calls normal is still too revealing. I'm not going to throw away the clothes that are already in my closet, but I'm only buying clothes that pass the new modesty standards from now on. And even though I haven't thrown them away yet, there are several things in my closet that I have tried on and had to take off again, because they just weren't quite covering enough.
Maybe all of you nice ladies figured this out a long time ago. But I'll let you in on a secret, just in case you haven't. When you see a girl, or a grown woman for that matter, walking around showing more of her physique than she ought, you can pretty much bet that she has body/self worth issues. I know from experience. The wonderful thing is, as I have learned to base my self worth on who I am in the eyes of God, I've spent much less time worrying about who I am in the eyes of every person I pass on the street.
So from now on when I go clothes shopping, which I absolutely love to do, instead of wondering how this or that makes my rear end look, I'm going to think to myself, "Now, does this make me look like a gold ring in a pig's snout?" 'Cause that's a look I want to avoid for sure!
GPS…FINALLY!!!!
9 years ago
8 comments:
I loved your post and I was so encouraged by your post to me!
I will pray for you not to be discouraged either.
Sister, I have been in that "modesty" issue just now. I haven't been dressing not modest (but YES I did in my pit of sin..oh yes). I studied the culture of the women in the time that scripture was recorded about "women dressing modest" because who knows what exactly there modesty was.
You wouldn't believe it! The "Roman Women" during the birth of the church and Paul's ministry throughout the Empire, it totally is the same as now, only different styles.
The "New Roman Woman" as she was called actually started dressing as a prostitute because the prostitutes were after there husbands. So in turn they started wearing tunics that were practically transparent.
They were not only showing themselves off to husbands but to other men as well and adulterous relationships were rampant among the wives. It was unbelievable!
It sounds like now! All of it.
This book I have is from a Christian university professor, but he shows what Paul's Roman contemporaries were saying at the time about the women.
We are not only Babylon, but Rome as well.
Sorry so long, but thank you. Please pray for my niece and I. We had some heartbreaking news and I have cried most of the day, but I can rely on My Father even when things get dark or old memories come back and try to hurt.
Blessings and much encouragement and prayer for you leadership and guidance in all you do at your new church home.
Teri
didn't proof or edit this..oh well, I need to study!
and our churches are full of immodesty to boot! (one of my personal favorite soap boxes)
Thanks for sharing~elaine
What a great post on modesty! You hit it right on the head: those who dress this way really don't know how valuable they are to the Lord.
What a great way to look at this. I have three teenagers under our roof right now and a pre-teen. I hate these fashions!!
In His Graces~Pamela
I agree. I don't do the all skirts/dresses route, but I truly dislike the skin-tight, belly-baring fashion, and have a genuinely difficult time finding jeans that have a normal, "classic" fit. All of the pants and shorts, it seems, are immodest.....designed for thin people like me, but to "show off" your body in a way that is just too much. There seems to be little middle ground, but sometimes I can find things with a little hunting.....Old Navy has those looser pants that you cuff up past your ankles, and Bermuda shorts (which is about as short as I care to go), but again they're designed to be "snug" and low-waisted. I wind up going a size bigger, and cinching in the waist.
I wish I could find modest skirts somewhere! Any retail ideas?
Marie, I've found some nice, below the knee length skirts at Talbots. They are sort of expensive, but the nice thing about Talbots is that they have huge clearance sales several times a year. I'm all over a clearance sale.
I think Talbots in general designs its clothes for an "older" woman. What I mean is that a majority of their clothing is more modest than what you would find at say, Ann Taylor. But they still have nice fresh colors and some mildly trendy styles. My personal taste runs away from trendy and more toward classic, so Talbots works just fine for me (on sale mind you!)
Other than that, my closet is a big hodge-podge. A little bit of everything. I go through phases of only buying things on clearance at Target, and then I loosen up and start ordering things online from higher-end retailers. It seems like I have gotten some decent skirts from Liz Claiborne in the past.
I don't think I'll be buying many skirts this year though. The current trend for skirts (and dresses) is indecently short. I was at TJ Maxx a few weeks ago, and saw what I thought were short-shorts. Imagine my horror to discover that it was a short-short skirt instead. I honestly don't see how you could sit down in the thing without showing all of your business to the whole world!
The current trend for skirts (and dresses) is indecently short.
My point exactly. Thanks for the tip about Talbots on clearance sale....hmmm, hadn't thought of that. They have a Talbots in the next town, and I stopped in there once in '98 because I liked the styles in the window. When I saw the price tag on the pair of slacks I was admiring, $126, I went back to Wal-mart!! But clearance is a great idea.
Unlike you, I don't like to shop at ALL. But, occasionally I need to. Absolutely NOTHING at Wal-mart is either modest or nice-looking (for work, let's say), add to that I'm a size 3-4 and their sizes run big. Shopping for clothes online is risky. But this summer, we're going to visit the family in Bulgaria and I want to have decent clothes - like longish (mid-calf?) comfortable skirts that I can just throw in the wahing machine, but that I can still wear to church.
I also noticed the other day how "snug" the ladies' T-shirts are made!! I went up to a medium - nope, still hangin' on me like wallpaper (granted, I've seen 11-year-old girls who are better endowed than I am, but still...slit halfway to the chest....um, no. Not in this lifetime. I don't wear tank tops either - I like my shoulders covered - but after I left the store it dawned on me....if I could find a regular, normal white T-shirt , I could wear one of those A-line camisole tank tops OVER it and still be modest w/o looking like a Mennonite. (Not that there's anything wrong with Mennonites, but YKWIM). I'm probably the last woman on earth to figure that out!
You need to move up here to New England so you can take me shopping with you!
Marie, I just checked the KOHL's website, and they had 8 pages of skirts on sale. Several of them fit the basic description of what you are looking for.
I know it is risky to order clothes online w/o trying them on. But my strategy has always been to find some brands that I am familiar with, so I can order them feeling pretty sure about how they will fit. I've also returned plenty of things, which does cost money for shipping. But I still think in the long run I have come out way ahead, b/c you can find great sales online.
I probably buy 60%-70% of my clothes at the end of each season and save them for the next year. January and July are the best months for clearance sales. I LOVE nice clothes, but I HATE paying full price for almost anything. (I just bought a $40 sweater for $4 last week!) So I feel like I can have my cake and eat it too by waiting for end of the season sales. I'm sure retailers hate me!
Yes, get some basic white t-shirts, and your options will expand exponentially. Also, get some basic white camisoles to wear underneath those plunging necklines and another whole new frontier will be open to you.
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