The other day I was on Facebook and came across a video that struck me. It was a video by CJ Mahaney entitled “What Guys Really Think”(click hyperlink to watch it). As I watched this video, I was humbled by the message. The video was about modesty.
Modesty. What comes to mind when you hear that word?
Do you roll your eyes and think of long dresses and lace? Most of us have heard that Christian women ought to strive to be modest. We have heard that we should not lure our brother in Christ to sin. We have heard that it’s our character that matters more than our clothing; therefore, we ought to spend our time making our character beautiful. We know all these things. We have heard these things in church, in youth group, and in books. However, I have a question for you that maybe you haven’t thought of before. In my life, this question has been something that has affected the way I have thought about modesty. As a sister in Christ, I would like to take a couple minutes and challenge you with it:
How does the Cross affect the way I dress?
At first when I asked myself this question, I honestly was dumbfounded. I did not really know how the Cross affected the way I dress. However, the more I thought about it, the more convicted I was. Here is what I realized: When I choose to dress the way I want to dress, I communicate that I do not submit to Christ’s lordship in my life. When I choose to dress the way I want to dress, I communicate that my desires are more important than anything else.
I show that my desires are….
More important than aligning myself with the Word of God
Which calls me to live a life of purity
Which calls me to practice modesty and self-control
Which calls me to be chiefly concerned with following Christ and pursuing holiness rather than my attire
More important than edifying my brothers in Christ
Who are visually stimulated individuals
Who struggle daily with lust
Who battle with keeping their thoughts pure and honoring to Christ
Who walk across campus seeing immodestly dressed women and feel like it is a minefield
More important than being set apart from the world
Who dress however they want
Who dress in a way to make them feel approved of and accepted
Who dress to call attention to themselves
Who dress to flaunt their beauty and lure men sexually
Who Christ has called me to be set apart from
Girls, I don’t know if you are as challenged by this reality as I am, but I know that when I stop and put that into words, my eyes almost well up with tears. I realize that my “simple” act of disobedience communicates all of these painful truths about what I believe.
I know you are probably thinking, why in the world is Emily Guyer writing a blog post about this? I am emailing you today to challenge each of you in this area. As temperatures get warmer, shorts get shorter, straps get smaller, and necklines of shirts get lower. The reason why I am writing to you today to encourage you as a sister in Christ to glorify Christ in everything you do, including the way you dress.
I encourage you not to grow lazy and stop thinking about the way you dress. I encourage you not to believe the world’s lies about your value and beauty. I encourage you not to seek to gain approval or prove yourself by the way you dress. Christ has made you different from the world. He has defeated your sinful desires. He has written His law on your heart and has given you the Holy Spirit to empower you to live it out.
Therefore, be dead to sin. Do not be conformed to this world. Do not be enslaved to the flesh. Be alive in Christ. Be free to passionately pursue Christ. Be transformed by the gospel.
· I encourage you to obey God’s Word and walk as children of the light.
· I encourage you to be holy as God is holy.
· I encourage you to build up your brothers in Christ. Fight this battle with them.
· I encourage you to recognize your responsibility in the body of Christ to edify one another. Do not be like the adulterous woman in Proverbs 30:20 who “eats and wipes her mouth and says, ‘I have done no wrong.’”
· I encourage you to be different than the world.
I know that this is a lot to take in, and I am sure you think, “Okay, so what does this mean practically?” This does not mean that you have to dress in a masculine way or can’t enjoy fashion. If you struggle in determining whether or not an outfit is glorifying to the Lord, there is a helpful handout called “Modesty Heart Check” that I would encourage you to walk through (click hyperlink to view it). Talk with your mentors at church. Come by my office in Student Life. Chat with the ladies in Women’s Life. There are a lot of resources out there, so I encourage you to take advantage of them.
I love you ladies! Thanks for pursuing Christ. Keep on seeking to please Him.
Emily Guyer works in the Student Life office at Southeastern. She is from Greensboro, North Carolina and graduated from Liberty University in 2009 with a B.A. in Communications. Emily is married to Michael Guyer, a student at SEBTS pursuing an M.Div in Advanced Biblical Studies. She and her husband are members of Open Door Baptist Church in Raleigh, and truly love getting to serve and grow within the local church. She has a passion for discipling young women and seeing the gospel transform lives. Emily hopes that one day that passion will lead her to serve overseas with a Muslim people group alongside her husband.
Hannah | May 3, 2011 at 8:10 AM
Thanks for writing this...I shared it on my blog. (-:
Joy for the Seasons | March 26, 2012 at 12:12 PM
As a mama of four girls, I really appreciate the encouragement and challenge of this post. And it is not just for girls, but it is also for women my age and even women older than me. Thank you for your sweet encouragement!