Use What Your Mother Gave You??

Hey Girls,

Ever heard a story about a girl who was getting pulled over by the cops for speeding and decided to undo the top two buttons of her shirt, or act extra flirty? Often girls try to use their physical attributes to get them out of situations or sometimes to get them into situations. Is this right or wrong? Should we use our physical bodies to benefit us? What about modesty? How far should we go? Showing some cleavage to wearing a skirt that we can't bend over in to throwing off your shirt in the thrill of the moment. What about with our boyfriends, is it okay to change in front of them?

It's so hard to sometimes know what is okay for a Christian girl and what isn't. Some people totally ban makeup, earings, and practically anything showing skin. Do we really need to dress like an 80 year old woman to please God? And then there are other Christians who believe totally opposite and think it's okay for girls to show off a little skin, put on makeup, flaunt and flirt, wear short skirts. Does that please God? Is this the kind of topic where everybody has to decide for themselves?

I think the most important reason to look at first is why we are dressing or acting a certain way. Is it to gain approval from others (often guys)? Than if so, it's wrong. First of all, because we know our approval comes from God. God is the one who makes us feel beautiful, who validates us from the inside out. Okay, so what if our intentions just have to do with liking a certain style? Dressing that we because we know our significant other likes it too?

Romans 12:1-2 says, "...I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice- the kind he will find acceptable. Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think..." Okay, so that establishes that there should be a visible difference between us and the world. 1 Peter 3:3-4 says "Don't be concerned about the outward beauty of fancy hairstyles, expensive jewelry, or beautiful clothes. You should clothe yourselves instead with the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God."  And we shouldn't place a lot of emphasis on our physical appearance but work on our character more. "...Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honourable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise," Philippians 4:8. So shouldn't our appearance reflect our inner thoughts?  I believe so.

Lastly, our appearance shouldn't cause anyone else to sin and I believe this is one of the most important aspects. Luke 17:1 says it very clearly: "One day Jesus said to his disciples, 'There will always be temptations to sin, but what sorrow awaits the person who does the tempting'." Yikes! Girls, we have a huge responsibility. We can provoke guys to sin so easily in how we dress, for the Bible says that thinking about sin in your mind counts as actually doing it (you just don't involve others in the consquences of your sin). After all, sinful thoughts disobey what God calls us to think about as mentioned above.

There is no way I agree that we should dress plain and ugly. After all, there is lots of mention in the Bible of beautiful women wearing fancy purple cloth (look at the amount of beauty stuff in the book of Esther). But our looks and actions should not cause others to sin. We should not tempt! So ya, don't change in front of your boyfriend because you're just causing him to feel temptation to go where he shouldn't yet. And don't strut around in low cut and showy clothes because you're tempting the guys who look at you. Attracting a guy does not mean trying to suduce one!

So go ahead and wear clothing that you like, that compliment your figure. There is nothing wrong with looking beautiful. Let those wholesome thoughts we're to be thinking be demonstrated on the outside by looking lovely and admirable and honourable. And then act likewise, for many times the effect our appearance has is driven by our actions. Doing this will bring you respect and trust from others.

And with Valentine's Day so close, this is probably pretty relevant for those of you who will dress up a little. Be beautiful and lovely, but watch the 'sexy' aspect. Your boyfriend/fiance does not need to see more skin because it's a special day (that doesn't help him, honestly, it really just hurts him in the end). Course, if you're married, rules change- go wild girl if that's what you want! but ah, topic for another time... So instead, don't think of modesty as another word for ugly but look lovely and dress with purity. You will find that compliments you recieve will mean so much more and your character will grow, producing so many other blessings as a result.