Christian modesty in dressing has been sacrificed today in a head-long rush to emulate youth culture. To me, one of the saddest things to see is a 'Christian' mother between the ages of 20-50 that dresses... just like Brittany Spears....AT CHURCH. The midriff shows, they wear a sleaveless shirt, the skirt is low cut or the top and bottom are so tight you wonder how they can breathe while they sing, 'I surrender all....all to Jesus I surrender..'. How about surrendering the Spears style for some clothes. What is worse is a man who 'naively' allows this kind of sleezy dress in his wife and worse still his daughter(s) allowing what should be private and thereby precious and valuable.....to be public for all which makes them appear cheap. We naturally hide and protect what is most precious and valuable. Apparently, for such a man that encourages, 'if you got it flaunt it' immodestly in his ladies does not believe his own ladies are worth protecting. This kind of man, gets his kicks out of all the other men who lust over and undress his 'sleezy-dressed,' church-going, wife because the lusting men are just like him. And misery enjoys company. For those who have eyes to see and eyes to hear, this sinful cycle is ugly in indeed. From it come all sorts of negative consequences. This sort of man needs, as Mark Driscoll says, another man to give him the right hand of fellowship to the jaw. Wake UP!!!
The recovery of personal modesty is the responsibility of all Christians (men included...see... the Bible)-- and modesty in dress is an inescapable part of that recovery. Pia Catton rightly links modesty with humility as virtues. The only reasoning behind the tight clothing is simple.....' Look at ME....See ME...Hey what do you think of ME...Aren't I so cute. Doesn't this outfit draw more attention to ME'. How does this style encourage christian virtues such as humility and compassion? It doesn't. In fact it shames the christian witness by displaying SELFISHNESS instead of otherness as that persons obvious goal. MORE HERE. Catton says, 'Showing up in court tends to force even the most scantily clad celebrity into modest kit'. How come one may dress modestly in court but not church?
HT MOHLER
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6 comments:
Quite refreshing to hear this from a man's point of view! Bless you for your insight.
I recently posted on this subject myself.
http://tobysthoughts-jtc.blogspot.com/2006/05/touchy-subject.html#links
Can I just say, THANK YOU WES! Took the thoughts I have in my mind, and put them down for literal interpretation. THANK YOU! What a GREAT choice of words and your point is VERY clear. WONDERFUL BROTHER! I sent a link to that post in my blog... GREAT BLOG!
~Janice E.
excellent..tough but...right on. I think most of this is caused by scared church leaders who don't want to confront and then lose their rich members. compromise is ugly indeed.
On the modesty issue ---- you make a great point about women in church, but shouldn't it be anywhere in public if Christ is Lord and we are His? In issues like this as Bill & I have been raising our girls and trying to know Jesus deeper, more than just what is on the outside is at issue here. The heart is the core. A child may disobey his or her parents and if we only deal with the outward behavior, we'll never get to the root that birthed the behavior. As with this dress problem, the heart of the Church is what needs to be probed.
As like Daniel and the other young men taken captive in Babylon, they chose not to eat or "consume" what everyone else was eating and considered the norm. And as a result of their choice to honor the Lord in what they ate or "consumed" or "took in" , they looked different on the outside and excelled in the kingdom. I think there's a great spiritual principal here. The main stream Church is feeding on the same junk food (music, tv, movies, books, etc.) that the world is and as a result they look just like the world. The true change in all our outward behavior that will be pleasing to Jesus is when it comes from a change in the heart first. Just like with my kids, when they are disrespectful, they are definitely in trouble for what has manifested but I have to find out what is fueling that behavior -- where is the rebellion finding root in the heart. Thank Jesus for the Holy Spirit who searches our hearts and produces repentance and hope.
I see what you are seeing and I feel about it like you do, but I think it is an outward symptom of our hearts and what we have allowed to enter them. We haven't above all else guarded our hearts and instead of a wellspring of life our hearts have been poluted and in some cases become a cesspool of corruption. We truly need a message that leads the Church to repentance and opens our eyes to see sin for what it is ---- passionately preached by those willing to live and die for the convictions given them by the Holy Spirit.
I think the purpose of that rant was really just to show the disease of selfishness and how it relates to modesty.
The dangerous dichotomy that would say, ‘I dress modestly over here…..but over here I don’t’, shows how Christians really miss with both head and heart, God’s Lordship. He is either LORD OF ALL or not at all. To say, ‘no’, to your LORD really means he is not your LORD.
The fruit (sleazy, trashy dress) is a result of the root (selfish, self-centered, flat-out ugly, prideful) heart. And that evil heart does not need advice or milk and cookies and a hug….. it needs, death….then by the power of the word and Spirit, resurrection can come, through the gospel. And we get saved all over again, like someone said, ‘I get saved every day’.
wl
good shot, ole boy!
This issue has become a passion for me. In Israel, you can look at someone and tell- are they religious Jewish or a Muslim or Druze or secular? I keep wondering when the Messianic JEWS are going to find a way to identify themselves in this way. So far they have not and there is much the same problem in the body here, but probably not as bad.
I agree it is a root issue, but I also agree there should be some respect for the place of worship and for the witness of the LORD JESUS and that we should be reading the BIBLE to understand how to live, instead of asking Oprah or MTV.
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