Modesty—Corrupted by the World

When Adam and Eve sinned, not only were they cursed, but everything else in this world was also placed under the curse.  So it should not surprise us that modesty has been corrupted by the world.

The world tells women that they should show their bodies for pride and self-confidence.  It’s freeing and liberating.  Playboy is for the power of women.  Dressing sexy is to show our confidence in ourselves and how good our bodies look.  We do not need to cover up from the world, but expose ourselves to not be controlled by the world.

But who’s looking?

Beat the men down because they are perverts.  What happens to a man who is muscled with his shirt off?  Are women perverts for ogling him?  Most definitely not.  So what is going on?  Why does everything sound like the most counterintuitive, hypocritical reasoning I have ever heard in my life?!

Corruption of what God created.  Corruption of beauty.  Corruption of worth.  Corruption of focus.  Corruption of sex and love.  Corruption of power and responsibility.  Corruption of modesty.

The world tells us that we must dress for success.  To wear sexy underwear to give us confidence even if no one else sees it.  To show off that figure that we have spent so much energy on sculpting it to be admired by others.  To spends tons of money on make-up and anti-aging products to appear more youthful and perfect.  However, beauty is not the end all be all that the world makes it out to be.

Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.  (Proverbs 31:30)

Christian women must understand the most important thing, the most prized thing about us, is our trust and fear in the Lord!  Looking pretty is nice, but we are truly ugly apart from God.  Those other areas, like beauty, are just a façade to cover the dirt within.  Do not be deceived by the world.  You are the most precious of all when you have a strong faith and walk with God.

The world also tells us that we should want beauty, toned body, and sexual freedom.  We should display ourselves for everyone to see because we are proud of how we look.  Only people who are ashamed of themselves cover themselves.  This is nothing new, even to the writers of the Bible.

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.  (1 John 2:15-17)

Women dress sexy for power.  Men would do anything for a woman who looked exceptionally good.  You dress for success; if you don’t look good, no one will think you are worthy to be in that manager position.  Even a couple a hundred years ago (and even today), women that were wealthy would spend tons of money and energy, and compromise their health to get a man to marry them for their title or wealth.  And I’m sure you’ve heard numerous comments about how “if momma ain’t happy, ain’t no one happy” or “the husband wears the pants but the wife controls where they go.”

“Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.”  (Genesis 3:16b)

Again, this corruption is nothing new.  Actually, it was a result of Eve’s sin against God.  This struggle of women over men was part of the curse that was laid on mankind, and it will continue on.  However, God gives us Christians the power to overcome this.  We can stand up to this corruption.

Along these same lines, women act provocatively to get what they want.  It could be power, money, attention, or a myriad of other things, but acting provocatively is not modest.  The write of Proverbs talks a lot about the adulteress.  A woman who would lure you with looks and speech to do what she wants in order to lure you away from what is good, away from God and wisdom.

He wants to warn his son (and us)  “to preserve you from the evil woman, from the smooth tongue of the adulteress.  Do not desire her beauty in your heart, and do not let her capture you with her eyelashes.”  (Proverbs 6:24-25)

The evil woman has a “smooth tongue” and “captures… with her eyelashes.”  She is definitely using her words and body to entice the young man into sin.  So acting or dressing a certain way to get a man to desire you is another corruption of how and why God made us.

Not only do provocative women cause men to sin, but sexual sin also leads to slavery and death for the women.

Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness.  (Romans 6:12-13)

But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.  (Ephesians 5:3-5)

Let not your heart envy sinners, but continue in the fear of the LORD all the day.  (Proverbs 23:17)

Please do not wish that you could look like others around you or have the freedom to wear whatever you want.  All that is false freedom.  They are really just slaves to the corruption of the world and their own pleasures.  They do not realize that every step they take in that barely there shirt or skin-tight dress is only leading them to their own demise.

“My son, be attentive to my wisdom; incline you ear to my understanding, that you may keep discretion, and your lips may guard knowledge.  For the lips of a forbidden woman drip honey, her speech is smoother than oil, but in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword.  Her feet go down to death; her step s follow the path to Sheol; she does not ponder the path of life, her ways wander, and she does not know it.”  (Proverbs 5:1-6)

through His grace alone!

Sarah