The Fashions of Godliness

The issue of modest dress is a constant battle for Christian women today. This is an issue not only for new Christian ladies but also for ladies that have been saved for many years. Is it because pastors no longer feel that modesty is important? Is it because the feminist movement has woven its way into the lives of Christian women today? It is time that we realize that the way we clothe ourselves is important to God for several reasons.

• Women can cause men to stumble.

The way that ladies adorn themselves has a direct impact on their brothers in Christ. When they wear clothes that accent the shape of their bodies in any way it can cause men to stumble in their own life. Ladies can create a temptation for men to lust, to falter in their relationship with their wife, and to fail in their personal walk with the Lord.

“It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor any thing whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak.” ~Romans 14:21

According to Webster’s 1828 Dictionary of the English Language, the word offend means ‘to transgress the moral or divine law.’ When a man lusts after a woman he has transgressed God’s law. When he lusts after a woman as a result of her lack of dress standards…then ladies, you have helped him to transgress God’s law!

A pair of jeans is designed to accent the shape of our body from the waist down. Shorts barely cover the thigh which leaves little left for a man to imagine about a woman. This is offensive to many Christian men.

I have found myself looking at the way other Christian ladies dress while we are at church or church related activities and have found myself hurting for them. They dress in a way that is unattractive and draws attention to them in such a manner that can only be described as ungodly. As a wife, there are several times while out in public that I have had to ask my husband to look away so that he doesn’t stumble.

Consider the following paragraphs from ‘What in the World Should I Wear?’ by Mrs. Cathy Corle.

"A friend of mine told me that her decision to restrict her wardrobe to dresses and skirts came as a result of a ladies’ class. All the arguments and reasons that could be given were unheeded until the lady who was speaking said, ‘Let me just demonstrate something to you.’ She asked the ladies in the audience to close their eyes momentarily. She held up a large picture of a woman in an attractive, modest feminine skirt and blouse. She asked the ladies to open their eyes. Then she inquired, ‘What is the primary focal point to this picture? Where did your eyes first fall naturally?’ The audience agreed that their eyes were first drawn to the face of the woman in the picture.

"She once again asked the ladies to close their eyes. When they opened their eyes they were looking at a large poster of a woman in a sport shirt and blue jeans. She asked, ‘Now, be honest with yourselves, and tell me where your eyes first fell naturally when you looked at this picture?’ Many of the ladies in the crowd were surprised to find that most people’s eyes first focused upon the hips and crotch area that were so vividly emphasized before they ever noticed the woman’s face.

"If this happened in a crowd of ladies, how much more would it be true of men? For my friend, Joetta, this was all the ‘evidence’ that was needed."