I haven't done a post on modesty in a while... o.k. really I haven't done a POST in a while at least not here, but anyway, here I am. :) I was looking over some of my notes on modesty, and came across a page I titled "Principals of Modesty from the Bible." There are four main principals, you are welcome to go grab your Bible! I'll wait....
You've got time, I'm still waiting.... :)
Ok, ready?
The first principal is Ownership. Nothing that you have belongs to you. All things belong to God, after all, He made it all! This includes your body and your clothing, when you are His child. Take a look at 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (if you don't have your Bible handy, just click on the verse.) Not only are each of us created by God, but, if we are Christians, a high price has been paid for us, the life of Jesus Christ, God's only Son!
Move to the next chapter, 1 Corinthians 7:23, If we are children of God, we are not to be in bondage to what people think we should do. Our first responsibility is to honor God. (This does mean, however, that we are to be respectful of the authorities that God has placed over us. Whatever place you are in life, there is going to be a God given authority, whether it be parents, the head of your dorm, a boss, a husband,... We are to respect these authorities, so long as they do not ask us to do something that is contrary to God's word.) Basically, I see that this verse means that we are not to be trapped into a "worldly" mindset, trying to please men instead of God.
On to the second principal Lordship. When we become Christians, Jesus becomes the head of our lives. He is Lord over all.
Let's move over to the Old Testament: Isaiah 37: 20. God has done many wonderful things for us. The most wonderful, of course, that He sent Jesus to die on the cross for our sins so that we could have an eternal relationship with God. Through His works in our lives, God is proving His Lordship.
Nehemiah 9:6 - God is GOD. He created the whole earth! Not only that, but He keeps the whole thing going! (I'd really hate for gravity to turn loose about now, wouldn't you?) He also has control over ever aspect of our lives. Sometimes we don't exactly like what we are going through, but we can know that God will use everything for His glory (Romans 8:28)
Ok, ready for the next one? Citizenship! As a Christian, you are a child of God and you belong to a different kingdom, one not of this world. The people on this earth can have some pretty mixed up goals! As Heavenly citizens, we should keep our thoughts on our Goal - pleasing God in all we do and making it to Heaven someday.
Luke 12:29-32 - When we seek God's kingdom first, He will provide all of our needs (and even some of our "wants!") This provision is His "good pleasure." He love to provide for us and care for us.
John 18:36 - Jesus is speaking to Pilate during His trial. He is stating that His kingdom is not in the world. (Many of His followers, while He was on earth, thought that He would defeat the Romans and rule over an earthly kingdom.) He makes it clear to Pilate, and to you and me, that He was not of the world.
And on to the last principal, Stewardship. Whatever we have, God has entrusted to us to take care of.
Matthew 25:21 - This is taken from a parable that Jesus told (click here to read the whole thing). Basically, Jesus is telling His followers that when we are faithful to take care of the things that He has given us, we will be given more important things to care for.
Ok, so each of these principals can apply to different areas of our lives. How do they specifically apply to modesty? God has Ownership over us, as Christians, we belong to Him and we should seek to glorify God in the way that we dress. Jesus is Lord over our lives, we aren't our own bosses, but should seek to obey Him in all things, including, get this... how we dress! As Citizens of a heavenly country, we are not bound by this earth's "rules" for how we should look. We go by a different set of rules. And finally, because we are Stewards of all that has been given us, including our clothing and bodies, we should use this in a way that glorify God. We should seek to bring honor to God in all that we do, especially in the way that we dress. When people look at us, our appearance is what they see first and we should point people to God even in what we choose to wear.
Sidenote: I may have read/borrowed this from an article or book, if I find it somewhere else, I will give credit to whom it is due. If you have read this somewhere, please let me know, so I can quote my source! :)
Blessings,
Charity
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2 comments:
Good article, very well written. I come back and re-read it from time to time, as I try to digest it. The world is big on 'freedoms'. But true freedom, is to surrender our all (including ur dress even) and live for God! We must keep our eyes on God, and put on blinders if necessary when we feel our walk being hindered by the world.
Hebrews 12:1-2
1Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with sogreat a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us.
2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
We have recently switched to King James bible, and we are reading through it for the first time, together as a family, and we have found a new church.
I feel God working with me in the area of my dress, and surrrendering that FULLY to God, but I still dont yet fully feel the conviction. It's an area God is working on my heart in.
Thanks for the great comment, Emily, as well as the Scripture! Many of God's truths are revealed to us progressively - not all at one time. The important part, of course, is to continue to allow God to work in our hearts, as you said. He will guide us in His truth, whether in the area of clothing, books, music or anything else.
We are all growing in Him. :)
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