Let's Help a Sister Out

My dear sisters in Christ,

Summer is here and with it comes some fun activities. I live in Houston, Texas and let me tell you...it gets HOT! We regularly see temperatures above 100 and the humidity can make it worse. Our family loves summertime. The kids are home from college and we can enjoy spending time together: traveling, gardening, working in the yard and just playing and laughing together. Summer can also be a difficult time. With the rising temperatures usually come the plunging necklines, extremely short or no sleeves on the shirts and the shorter skirts. Notice, I said skirts. Yes, there is a problem with shorts etc., but today I want to talk to my sisters in the Lord who are somewhat conscious of the issue of modesty, but perhaps drop standards as the temperatures climb. This is seen in churches across the country, but we sure do see a lot of it here in the great state of Texas. Ladies who have talked about modesty and Godly living all Winter, now begin to talk about going to the public pool (we all know their children MUST be able to cool off in the hot summer) and dressing in clothing that they deem "summer clothes" so they can stay cool. I will deal with swimming in a future post, but for today let's talk about Summer dress.

Sisters, I want to ask you to consider something: when you dress for the day, what are you doing to the men around you? Do you care about your marriage? How about your friends marriages, or your parents marriage?



Did you know that the things you choose to wear, or not wear, can affect the men around you and in turn help protect or destroy marriages? That is a heavy responsibility, but it is ours to bear. Consider for a moment a Wednesday night service at your church. Perhaps a man walks into that service worn down by the work of the week. He is looking forward to being refreshed from Gods' Word and needs a spiritual recharge from the Lord. He sits down and looks to his right:

sitting there is a young lady dressed in a shorter skirt; legs crossed and exposing things that this man should not have to look at. His defenses are weakened and his look lingers. Now picture with me that it is time to stand and sing. Let's imagine that we are singing "Nothing Between" (one of my all time favorites.) The older lady in front of him reaches behind her to move her Bible....her blouse is low cut and this poor brother cannot help but be exposed to her cleavage.

Consider these situations that happen on a regular basis in the most conservative churches. Who is at fault ladies? Is the man responsible? Of course he is. Ultimately he is responsible.
Pro 4:23 "Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life." Pro 6:25 "Lust not after her beauty in thine heart; neither let her take thee with her eyelids." However, she DOES hold some responsibility in the matter. I came across this quote by Arthur Pink this week that is very appropriate in this matter:

Again, if lustful looking be so grievous a sin, then those who dress and expose themselves with desires to be looked at and lusted after-as Jezebel, who painted her face, tired her head, and looked out of the window (2 Kings 9:30)-are not less, but even more guilty. In this matter it is only too often the case that men sin, but women tempt them so to do. How great, then, must be the guilt of the great majority of the modern misses who deliberately seek to arouse the sexual passions of our young men? And how much greater still is the guilt of most of their mothers for allowing them to become lascivious temptresses?

I do not believe that there is a woman alive today who does not recognize the power we, as ladies, have over men and the effect that our bodies can have on them. Women's bodies are used to sell everything in our society. Our men are faced with pornography everywhere: billboards, movies, magazines, in the workplace, crowds etc. Ladies, I want you to ask yourself if our dear brothers should also be faced with this from their sisters in Christ. Should we not at least respect them and their families enough to give them a place of quiet peace from the world? Shouldn't they be able to come to church and not be afraid of what they will be exposed to? Of course, if a visitor comes into our assembly that is a different matter, but that isn't our discussion for today.

Setting aside, for a moment, the matter of agreement or disagreement with specific garments....could you not, for those few hours, dress modestly for the sake of your brothers and sisters?

1Co 8:13 "Wherefore, if meat make my brother to offend, I will eat no flesh while the world standeth, lest I make my brother to offend."

Although some good people may disagree about some of the specifics, we cannot disagree on the fact that modesty is necessary and biblical. It started in Genesis 3 when God was not satisfied with the clothing that Adam and Eve had made so He fashioned them new clothes. We see modesty taught all through the Word. 1 Timothy 2:9-10, 1 Peter 3:3-4 and the list goes on.

Ladies,

Let's covenant with one another to help build up one anothers families, not tear them down.

In Him who cannot fail,

Michelle