It has been said often but never can be said too often – modesty is important. ‘Smelling Coffee’, another inspirational blog, has some excellent advice in her post “Modesty Is The Best Policy.”
From there, head to a testing site for Secret Keeper Girls and learn about “Truth or Bare”, six simple tests to confirm modest dress. Directed to young teens, these are great tests for any age. I can testify that there have been people in our own church that would fail in a test or two. That means awareness is not just for teens.
I know, I’ve written (harped) on this subject over the years, and just recently posted about dressing modestly. But I was just reminded about another aspect that I need to cover with our Junior High girls.
“Do you look like a girl?”
Appears obvious, doesn’t it? It’s not. There was a time in my life where girls really did look like girls, and boys looked like boys. There would not have been a ‘unisex’ clothing store. Girls were expected to grow up to be ladies; boys were expected to grow up to be gentlemen.
Ladies wore dresses or suits with skirts to their place of employment – even if their employment was housewife – and men wore suits to white-color jobs and khakis or uniforms to blue-color jobs.
When dressing for church on Sunday, the phrase “Sunday best” was coined to indicate people did wear their very best clothing to worship their king. Wednesday night service, since it was work week, didn’t require Sunday best, but it was still church and it was considered proper to dress accordingly.
I miss that.
I miss the self respect shown by dressing properly. Our girls often wear jeans with printed T-shirts on Sunday and Wednesday nights. Some even on Sunday mornings. They look as the boys do. Depending on the hairstyles, from the back they look they same. They should not.
Those twenty-one goal-worthy verses for women in Proverbs 31 teach us to stand apart as women. Only one verse, 22, speaks of her clothing, and we have no description. Since the remainder of the verses extoll her activities, it stands to reason her dress is in accordance with those activities, not detracting from all that is recognized as worthy of praise.
What does she get for that?
Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her. (Proverbs 31:28 KJV)
Her praise continues further than her family:
Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates. (Proverbs 31:31 KJV)
Oh, yes – I did jump over a verse. It includes one item missing in all the activities listed about this lady. A very good one to keep in mind, to keep in front:
Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised. (Proverbs 31:30 KJV)
Remember that “feareth” means to be “morally reverent,” which brings us back to modesty, right?
Amen, yes we need to always look like a lady, no matter what or where we are, there should be no mistake when someone looks at us, if we are male or female, that is one of Satan's tricks in stealing away the feminine ways, the way God made us, (male and female)replacing them with masculine ways. Not right and we as women ought to be happy we are made the way we are, and let it show in how we dress, act, talk, and carry ourself, thanks for this it is good.
ReplyDeleteAlways a much needed post these days. I too miss the ladies and girls all looking like ladies. No one respects the house of God any more to even dress right and they don't respect their self enough to even dress like a lady. I too miss it.
ReplyDeletewish I'd had that site on girls when my girls were growing up and became teenagers sure would have helped back me up, it's a bit hard when the pastors kids dont dress as ladies but dress in things that make the boys go mad.
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