It Was Hard For Me To Understand Christian Modesty for Women

[quietthinker]

I love to read about how different Christian women practice and apply modesty. But it got confusing at times.

I see several camps:

Camp 1: Its not about rules and a dress code, its about the heart!!!

Camp 2: There is a biblical dress code and it shows reverence for God.

Camp 3: Modesty is avoiding drawing attention to yourself at all. Wearing plain/drab or formless clothing is what true modesty is.

I believe all three camps have value and would partially agree with all three. There are biblical guidelines. It is a heart issue. It encompasses conduct and actions. It is good to not dress to draw unnecessary attention to yourself and your sensuality.

But I also disagree a bit. Heart reflects in our clothing choices. Dress codes are sometimes man made traditions. And the Proverbs 31 woman wore silk and purple. She was hardly drab.

So what is modesty?

If a someone has a modest bank account, what does that say?

His money does what it needs to do but not too much else.

I think thats closer.

The problem I ran into is that modest, feminine clothing makes me feel really pretty. Ladylike. Confident. Even Attractive. Am I right back to square one? Is that vanity?

No. I think women attract attention regardless of how they dress. Regardless of how unappealing we may feel, yes the men are noticing you. Being female is more than enough.

Modesty and humility isn't about purposely looking bad or even covering as many features as possible.

The modest woman checks the mirror, feels functional, not overly sexualized, and may even feel cute but then goes on about her day.

She isn't consumed with how bad or good she looks or expensive labels. There's good to accomplish and she's dressed to do it.

I am in love with dresses. Some of the cute ones are very modest! Ive never felt restricted by trying various modesty standards even when I stopped wearing pants for a season.

I never even felt less noticed by people. Especially male people. If anything, that sort of attention increased at times, though it was often more respectful. More politeness and doors being opened.

I used to wonder if that made me less modest. But now I just think modesty is attractive and trying to be unattractive is a fools errand for women. You can unnattract some men...but not all of them.

Your intentions do matter there. My husband explained "dressing single" and "dressing married". At first I didn't get that either.

Then he said "think of a Queen's lady in waiting... she's dressing well to honorably reflect her royal family, not to draw all the honor to herself. But she definitely looks good. Dressing married dresses well to honor God and/or husband and/or children. Dressing single is advertising that you want attention for yourself for your own benefit.

ahhhhhh, modesty!
These guys must have figured it.

 

[Wynona]

ahhhhhh, modesty!
These guys must have figured it.

What is that?

 

[quietthinker]

What is that?

Eskimo clothing.

 

[Wynona]

 

[Wynona]

 

[Wynona]

 

[Wynona]

 

[MorningDance13]

I like where you're going with that.

I believe "appropriate for the situation" is a part of modesty. Sometimes a modest outfit stands out but it cant be helped if the crowd is just too immodest.

1 Timothy 2:9
King James Version
9 In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array;

I think 600 dollar jeans counts as costly array.

I agree with your last comment. I have owned cars that cost less than that and yes they worked very well.

Personally I don't care how fancy they are and how expensive they are I feel that jeans are not appropriate for a worship/religious service unless it's all that the person owns. That's why I won't think judgmentally about someone and what they are wearing because I don't know what's in their closet at home but for myself no jeans

 

[Wynona]

I love modest clothing. Truly.

I have never felt restricted by it. It just adds beauty. I've never felt like it took it away. There are so many affordable options and secondhand clothes can look brand new. There are a lot of ways to modify clothes you already own to make them more modest.

 

[quietthinker]

View attachment 50994

I love modest clothing. Truly.

I have never felt restricted by it. It just adds beauty. I've never felt like it took it away. There are so many affordable options and secondhand clothes can look brand new. There are a lot of ways to modify clothes you already own to make them more modest.

Spunnnnky!

 

[Wynona]

 

[Wynona]

Although we ladies shouldn't dress modest and feminine to get attention from strangers, there's a natural draw in it.

It is becoming more rare to dress this way. Women who dress this way tend to stand out in a good way.

 

[Wynona]

 

[Wynona]

Three aspects of modesty: Attitude, Appropriateness, and Appearance

Attitude

The heart of a modest woman wants to draw attention and glory to the Lord rather than herself. She does this by letting her looks take a backseat to the good works she does for God (1 Timothy 2:10).

True beauty for the Christian woman comes from a meek and quiet spirit (1 Peter 3:4).

Appropriateness

The modest woman is not flirtatious with strangers or suggestive in any way outside marriage (Ephesians 5:3) She guards her heart from temptation and refuses to willfully be a temptation to others.

Modest dress is not enough if a woman's actions and way of speaking are immodest.

Modesty acts and dresses in a way that is appropriate for the situation and doesn't seek to show off expensive clothing (1 Timothy 2:9)

Appearance

The reason Christians wear clothes at all is to represent the sacrifice of Christ covering our sin. The first example of this is God replacing the fig leaves Adam and Eve sewed together with animal skins (Genesis 3:21) Animals shed their blood for the skins and their nakedness and shame were covered.

We want our dress to reflect this and not expose our nakedness to the world. There are many modesty standards Christians have convictions on but just sticking with Scripture, we should be sufficiently covered, not seeking to dress like the opposite sex, and practice moderation in how costly the clothes are. Our clothing shouldn't distract from our character or service of others.

This is a joyful way to be set apart for God. It's a beautiful thing to dress like we belong to God's Kingdom and be different from those without Christ.

 

[Wynona]

 

[Wynona]

 

[Behold]

What is "Christian Modesty" for a "women"?

Its a inner spirituality that disciplines the mind to resist any type of "hey fellas look at me... " "do you want this"...

See that?
That is "immodesty"....

Modesty, for the Christian Woman, is to knowingly and willingly purposely never do anything that causes a man or woman to desire them, sexually.

A Christian Woman is to not try to be a physical enticement to others, and it can be also, how they speak. As they have to keep this CLEAN as well, and free from any suggestion that someone will know is more than just "being friendly".

A Christian woman is more then welcome to create herself as a physical attraction, an enticement for her Husband, and should, as a very healthy sex life, between a married couple, is very needful, very important, very bonding.
The bedroom can often be a room for healing, between the husband and wife.

 

[Wynona]

What is "Christian Modesty" for a "women"?

Its a inner spirituality that disciplines the mind to resist any type of "hey fellas look at me... " "do you want this"...

See that?
That is "immodesty"....

Modesty, for the Christian Woman, is to knowingly and willingly purposely never do anything that causes a man or woman to desire them, sexually.

A Christian Woman is to not try to be a physical enticement to others, and it can be also, how they speak. As they have to keep this CLEAN as well, and free from any suggestion that someone will know is more than just "being friendly".

A Christian woman is more then welcome to create herself as a physical attraction, an enticement for her Husband, and should, as a very healthy sex life, between a married couple, is very needful, very important, very bonding.
The bedroom can often be a room for healing, between the husband and wife.

Excellently put

 

[Behold]

Excellently put

Thank you for the Thread.
Great topic.

 

[Wynona]

Loving everything about this photo!