Distinctive

"I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made!!!" Psalm 139 is one of my favorite passages in the Bible. It describes how much God loves each one of us and how we are all uniquely designed by God. You are wonderfully designed by God. No two people are alike.

Another of my favorite verses is Revelation 2:17, "He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it." Have you ever had a nickname? A person might give you a nickname because she is such a good friend and knows you so well. The names don't always make sense, at least not to other people, but it is something fun between you and the other person. (just for fun, post your favorites in comments.) The last part of this verse says that God wants to give you a special name just between you and Him. It is a way of showing how much He loves you. This name is unique to you, it defines who you are according to the One who made you uniquely you!

God wants to define you... to show you who you truly are and who you are to become as you mature in Him. Are you allowing God to name you, to define who you are becoming? Or are you allowing others to do it. I don't mean just nicknames here - I mean who you are as a person, as a young woman growing in Christ. Are you letting other people put you in a box and label who you are to become, or are you asking God to give you what He has for you? Are you letting God give you the freedom to be all that he made you to be?

"So," you ask, "how does this connect with modesty?" I am soo glad you asked!! :) Who are you allowing to tell you what to wear? Is it the latest fashion magazine? What all your friends/classmates are wearing? Or will you let God make your "fashion statement?" (Through His Word, your conscience, or your parents instructions) When you are more concerned with pleasing God through your dress than fitting in with the crowd, you are free to become truly modest.

One more thought on unique, God made us all different, with different tastes. We each have our own style! For example... my sister likes all things bright and sparkley, we tease her about needing sunglasses to go in her room... crazy daisies, anyone??? I, on the other hand, tend to be more classic in my style in my home and in my wardrobe - although I do have my moments... like those hot pink, patent leather shoes I just bought.... Hey, they were only $5!! :) Ok, back to the point, don't be afraid to enjoy your style... no one else is going to do it for you! "Remember, God made you special and He loves you very much!"
Be Uniquely You!!!

What to wear?

As girls that desire God's best, we should pay attention to what people see when they look at us. Do people see a flashy chick who is trying to draw attention to herself through her clothes, or do we reflect Christ and draw others to Him?

One of my favorite verses regarding "clothing" is found in Proverbs 31:25-26: "Strength and honour are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come.She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness." Go grab your Bible and let's look at Proverbs 31. I'll wait..... OK, the woman described in Proverbs 31 is like the ultimate woman. She works very hard to care for her family and all in her household (v. 15, 21), she is a shrewd business woman (v. 16), she is very strong physically (v. 17), she cares about those in need (v. 20), and she dresses well (v. 22). Wow! I don't know about you, but that is a lot for me to live up to. But the Bible isn't finished yet, in the verses I quoted above, she is clothed in strength and honor. How do you see this woman? I see her as someone of high moral character. She has a strength of character that people recognize this just by looking at her. Whenever she says something, it is wise and kind. (She must think a lot before she speaks... great lesson for all of us!)

So back to the question in my title: What to wear? We need to be attired with strength, honor, wisdom, and kindness. When we go out of our home, and people look at us, shouldn't they see a young lady of great moral strength and character that speaks with wisdom and kindness and truly desires God's will for her life? -and not someone who desires to look like the models in the latest magazine as much her parents will let her?

What Guidlines?

So how do we know what is modest and what isn't? I will get into some more specifics later, but for now the question is, where is our standard coming from? I see a lot of different standards of modesty, and even in churches there is a wide range of ideas of what is modest. So what do we compare ourselves to, or should we? What about "if ____ wears it, then it must be o.k." or "I am more modest than ____ so I must be modest." Is this your standard?

Here is my challenge: read what God's word has to say! Hmmm... profound right? :) We can't use this world as a standard, obviously!! And frankly, we shouldn't use even our Christian friends. God wants to deal with each of us individually. (and by the way, God gave you to your parents for a reason! He hand picked you for them. Talk to them about what is modest and what isn't.)

Basically, don't allow yourself to get all caught up in what is "cool." (anyway, what is cool this week, won't be the next, so why waste money?) My method is to stick with some basic stuff that doesn't go out of style each season, make these things your bigger investments. Then spend just a little on accents that will help you look up to date. NEWS FLASH: being modest doesn't mean dressing weird, or way out of style. It means reflecting Christ in the way you dress!

The Heart

So to summarize, the important thing to remember about modesty is that it starts in the heart. To be truly modest, you should ask God to help you to desire a heart that wants to be modest. So we should focus on having modest desires. How? Well, when we give our desires to God, He will mold them into desires that follow His heart. It means giving up self, or selfish desires, and allow God to lead us. This is a very simple definition of entire sanctification - giving up selfishness and allowing God control of your life.

Maybe you know someone or have seen someone who wears the "right" clothes, but for some reason just doesn't seem to be a modest person? Maybe her actions or words speak of immodesty. Perhaps this person doesn't desire modesty from the heart, but is just dressing a certain way because it is required. Do you think that this person has truly given God her all? Here is a shocker, just because a person wears a certain type of clothing doesn't make them a Christian! The same for what church they go to, books they read, music they listen to... the list goes on! What really matters is what is in the heart!!

Definitions

So what do those words mean? Sobriety refers simply to soberness of mind or temperance, or as we would term it, self control - one of the fruits of the Spirit. Shamefacedness is the Greek work aidos which means a sense of shame or honor, modesty, bashfulness, reverence, regard for others, respect. Think about each of the words in the definition for a minute.

• "sense of shame or honor" God wants us to act with honor, to be honorable, or to have a sense of what is honorable.

• "Modesty" can be defined not only as a way of dressing, but also not being proud or vain. One of the things that God hates, according to Proverbs six, is a proud look.

• "Bashfulness" Someone who is bashful, isn't trying to draw attention to themselves. As Christians, shouldn't our goal be to draw attention to God and not to ourselves?

• "Reverence" We are to have respect for the things of God and what He tells us through His Word

• "Regard for others" This one should be obvious. As a person who desires to honor God, shouldn't we show His love to others and be considerate of others?

• "Respect" This word goes along with reverence and regard for others. We should have respect for God and other people. I can also add having respect for God's creation and being good stewards of the world He has created for us.
  

This is the description of a godly woman given in 1 Timothy. It is a lot to live up to. We can only become this person with God's help.