Thursday, August 4, 2016

Modest Women Have Beautiful Spirits


Modesty is not a popular word in our culture; neither is submission, keeper at home, and chaste come to think of it. I asked women in the chat room what modesty meant to them and received some great responses! 

Modesty is clothing yourself in a way that does not attract undue attention, and serves to bring interest to your face, your character, and what you have to say instead of your body.

Modesty is clothing that is not drawing attention to yourself in any way...including showing off or showing too much of your body, highlighting your income/status/position, and even drawing attention by being sloppy/not put together. I personally include the wearing of bright colors or patterns. I just try to not have attention on ME. I would rather others not remember my outfit, and instead remember the smile I wear or the tone of my voice when speaking in love to them

I try to apply the opposite of the saying, "If you've got it, flaunt it." Maybe we have a nice income that is abundant. This doesn’t mean I need to dress and live to show off my income bracket. Thinking eternally is what matters. Our clothes will burn in the end and our money, too. Our faith, hope, love, good works, character, etc. are those that will remain. These are worthy of showing off!!

Modesty to me is how we present ourselves to others. It goes beyond how we dress. It includes our attitude, how we speak, how we think, our manners, and how we treat others. It's a form of ministering to others. From my husband's perspective, a modest woman is someone with a beautiful spirit, but also a woman who takes good care of herself, doesn't overeat, is pleasant, joyful, positive, dresses stylishly but not provocatively, is discreet but lovely in appearance, wears natural looking makeup, shaves her legs and wears deodorant and a feminine perfume. I mentioned that because we once met a Christian lady who believed God wanted her to keep her body as natural and as modest as possible, so she didn't use deodorant, nor shaved. It bothered both of us, but it was extremely difficult for my husband to even speak to her.

Just asked my husband what his definition of modesty is and he answered, "Someone who is not self-centered."

"I define modesty as covering yourself up and not presenting yourself in a sexual way."
My husband made me giggle when he answered "How the Bates and Duggars dress and act. Modest is humble." Those families have been a blessing to us. 

As you can see from these responses, everyone knows when they see a modest woman. They stand out in the crowd today because they are different. People are attracted to a gracious woman of integrity who doesn't demand attention by the way she talks, dresses, or acts. Let's commit to being modest women in all areas of our life. This mean consciously thinking before speaking and acting. After doing this for a while, it will become a habit that comes naturally. God commands that we be separate from the world. Let's be separate in everything since the world today is ugly and the Lord is a God of beauty and order. May we all reflect this beauty and order by having beautiful spirits.

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