Disclaimer on Modesty

In lieu of my last post, I wouldn't want anybody reading this to misunderstand where I firmly stand as far as modesty goes. I am NOT an "anything goes/follow your own heart" person when it comes to modesty. I do believe there IS a line that should not be crossed in our choice of clothing. I believe God does have a very distinct opinion about it, too.

To the woman who believes in her heart after seeking the Lord for what He would have her do (that's the KEY here), that modesty is wearing dresses down to her ankles and sleeves to her elbows, then in her eyes, I AM dressing immodestly. To the girl who after seeking the Lord for what He would have her do believes that pants are immodest, then to her, because I wear pants, I am immodest. To lots of people, I AM an immodest dresser.

With this philosophy of "relative," we could take this as far as we want, until we are in a sense condoning bikini's and cleavage-busting tops. Like I said before though, I do believe there is a line in the sand where immodest IS truly immodest. No matter who the person and what they believe, immodestly becomes just immodesty.

The trick is not necessarily FINDING that place...but being honest with yourself about REALLY seeking God to find where HE draws the line and exercising self-discipline in staying within those boundaries. That is alot harder than one might think. The woman or girl who will totally surrender her entire wardrobe (and indeed, image and reputation) to God with no-holds-barred and allow the Lord to speak to her heart is a RARE woman. Most women will go by their feelings, what they were raised with, or a stubborn determination in what they allow to be modest...without really surrendering their entire control over it. To determine God's line in the sand on modesty, a woman has to love the Lord enough to be willing to wear even the most frumpy of modest outfits if that's what God called her to. I don't see Him doing that with most people...but full surrender is being surrendered to the what-if. It's in our total surrender of our style, our looks, our image, our reputation...that we will find the line in the sand.

So, yes, I believe in the line in the sand. I believe that there's a point that immodestly really becomes immodesty, no matter who's wearing it with what beliefs. To unveil what I believe that to be would be a post for another day, probably another life-time, as I still wrestle with and honestly have NOT attained that level of surrender in my wardrobe, thus not giving me the credentials to write something of that magnitude. It's probably just not for me to write, period.

But that line IS there before the Lord. And I think that a woman with a fully surrendered open heart that views modesty from ALL angles (God's view, men's eyes, our own desire to gain attention, etc), we will find that it's very, very true.

"Father, I see that You are drawing a line in the sand,

and I want to be standing by Your side, holding Your hand."

- Let the Worshippers Arise,

by artists Phillips, Craig, & Dean