Modesty in dress is a subset of modesty that needs to be addressed. Do our lives proclaim him? Are we willing to be just another wallflower that clings to the Cornerstone, letting our presence here on earth only serve to draw attention to him? True Modesty Jesus was fully modest as he was lifted up, raw and naked, on a cross. The whole world was made by and through him, yet he made himself nothing.
His answers culminate with the declaration, “Before Abraham was, I am” (John 8:58). They asked Jesus, “Who are you?” (John 8:25). He was not the gaudy military leader the Jews expected. And expressed only what his Father instructed (John 12:49). He was submissive as a lamb to the slaughter (Isaiah 53:7). He laid down his life for those less important than him (John 10:11). There was no fuss over his physical appearance (Isaiah 53:2). It’s easy to see our immodesty when we contrast it with the human life of our Lord and Master. Our manner and appearance should be so empty of self that others don’t have to make an effort to forget what we wore, or our particular hairstyle, or what stuff we possess. Modesty Like the MessiahĬonversely, Christians are called to make much of Christ, to make him our identity. Social media is often the megaphone we use to herald our personal identity and covertly brag about our smarts, body, sexuality, culture, politics, sports, relationships, family, insecurities, experiences, and possessions. We’re told to accentuate our best features, get what we want out of life, stand up for and express ourselves. We strive to put our tastes and acquisitions on display so that everyone knows who we are. How do we go about boasting in ourselves today? Rich women in the ancient world arrogantly declared their high status, their value, their identity with expensive finery.
Modesty, or the lack thereof, reveals where we’ve placed our identity. Modesty is behavior that flows out of remembering our true place of service, and does not conceitedly boast about the self, but boasts in God (Philippians 2:3–4 2 Corinthians 10:17). Humility is evaluating ourselves properly, with sober judgment (Romans 12:3). “Modesty is not just a woman’s issue, and our Enemy delights in the fact that we think it is.” Men have every bit of opportunity to be modest or immodest as their sisters, and that should be both a joy and a warning to them. Likewise, our stripped-down definition of the weighty and fearsome virtue of modesty gives our Enemy the opportunity to ply the same tired ploy against our brothers. Consider how he’s expertly used our largely male-focused exhortations on lust to convince many women to fearfully hide their sin from the exposing light of confession, or to delude them into thinking their hungry, wandering eyes can’t be lust simply because they aren’t men. Paul also uses the same word in 1 Timothy 3:2, which outlines the qualities men need to have to be overseers, and there it is translated as “respectable” (some versions say, “of good behavior”).Ĭlearly, modesty is not just a woman’s issue, and the Enemy of our souls would delight to see us reduce it to such. In 1 Timothy 2:9, Paul uses the word kosmios to describe how a woman should present herself, which is translated as “modest” or “respectable.” Kosmios is related to the word cosmos and connotes orderliness and propriety.
#Modest eyes skin#
The idea of modesty has been almost exclusively attached to women’s dress, narrowing in definition to mean “showing less skin and trying to prevent sexual arousal in those looking on.” It has veritably become a subculture in Christendom, spawning a cacophony of bestsellers, brands, seminars, and internet firestorms. “Modesty” must be one of the most abused words in the Christianese dialect.
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