Immodesty: The Not-So-Fashionable Trend

One hot, summer day, Hannah and her friends went to the local department store to buy new outfits for the season. The store had every new, trendy, and fashionable item that you could imagine. One girl picked up a pair of shorts that were way above the knee. Another bought a swimsuit that basically looked like undergarments. Hannah was a Christian and knew that wearing these types of outfits was not what Jesus wanted her to do, but she wasn’t quite sure why. When she really thought about it, she couldn’t come up with an answer to her question, so she thought, “Why don’t I try it out? I mean, it can’t hurt anything, right? All my friends are doing it and it’s really hot outside!” Many people in our world today think this same way. We are often surrounded with immodesty and it even creeps into the church sometimes. This is not how our Lord wants us to be. But, why can’t we dress this way? Hannah couldn’t come up with any reason, which led her to doubt her Lord and ultimately fall into a life of sin. Why is immodesty wrong? As always, the perfect place to go for answers is God’s Word. Let’s look at some examples.

1. It Draws Unnecessary Attention

In 1 Timothy 2:9,10 it reads,

“In like manner also, that the women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with propriety and moderation, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly clothing, but, which is proper for women professing godliness, with good works.”

1 Timothy 2:9,10 NKJV

The word modest here means, orderly or well arranged. In this verse it is referring to one that wears flashy clothing or dresses in such a way that would draw unnecessary attention to herself. This type of dress is not orderly. Flashy clothing or jewelry isn’t the only thing that can do this though. What about clothes that reveal your thighs or show cleavage? Wearing these things can definitely draw unnecessary attention to ourselves and should be avoided. 

2. Our Bodies Are For Our Husbands/Future Husbands

“The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. And likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does.”

1 Corinthians 7:4 NKJV

I have seen so many women dress immodestly on their wedding day when they may not do it any other time. This is not an excuse for immodest dress. Our bodies are to be our husband’s and dressing immodestly is showing off our bodies to the world instead of reserving it for him. Let me also say this, even though you are getting married, you aren’t when you first walk into the room. It would be wrong for your future husband to look at you dressed that way before marriage. There are no excuses. Swimming does not give us an excuse. Summer does not give us an excuse. Sports do not give us an excuse. Someone might argue against this point, but think about this…would we make excuses for a husband to cheat on his wife? We wouldn’t. As Christians, we know it is wrong and we wouldn’t argue that with someone. The same goes with immodesty.

3. We Can Become A Stumbling Block To Others

Take a look at 1 Corinthians 8. Under the Old Law, the children of God were not allowed to eat meat that had been offered to idols. Once the New Law came into effect, that changed. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 8 that idols are nothing and that eating the meat offered to them is not a sin. Just because it was offered to idols doesn’t make the food sinful, but for some people, it bothered their conscience. He goes on to say that we should be careful not to become a stumbling block for those people. It wasn’t commanded that they couldn’t eat the meat, but listen to what Paul says…

”Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never again eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble.”

1 Corinthians 8:13 NKJV

Here’s the thing, we ARE COMMANDED by God to dress modestly (1 Timothy 2:9,10). It is true that dressing immodestly can make a brother or sister in Christ stumble, but we have a COMMAND to dress in modest clothing. 

I recently went to a class on modesty by Cindy Colley and she pointed out something that I thought I would share with you today. We must follow the Golden Rule. Treat others how you want to be treated. Though we don’t often think of the Golden Rule in this way, it certainly applies to the way we dress.  

Our bodies are the temple of God and we should dress in a way that glorifies Him.

“Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.”

1 Corinthians 6:19, 20 NKJV