Modesty. Part I

I posted this on facebook and am now posting it here...

Miriam Webster defines Modesty as
1 : freedom from conceit or vanity
2 : propriety in dress, speech, or conduct

I got into a discussion with a friend recently on why girls should be modest. After talking about it for awhile, we came to the conclusion that the reason modsty is necessary for us, revolves around guys. If it's just a bunch of girls together, it doesn't matter what they wear, however as soon as you throw guys into the equation, suddenly modesty comes into play. So, I decided to poll 35 Christian men on what their thoughts were on modesty. The results I got were largely across the board though and made few conclusive statements on whether or not specific items of clothing are modest or not. So, I decided to take a broader approach to modesty, and leave it up to the individual women to figure out what they want to wear. What follows are merely my opinions and thoughts on modesty and know that I do not judge anyone for dressing differently or not according to "my standards". How you dress and present yourself is a personal choice and if I know that you've put thought into your position on the matter, I'll respect that. Please don't judge or attack me for how I feel, I welcome disagreement but please disagree nicely.

It is said that God is all truth beauty and goodness. One way women show Christ to the world is through their beauty. The feminine face and form have been the muse of artists since art began. The feminine form is beautiful. It is good and natural that men are attracted to to it. If they weren't, I might be a bit worried about the future of our race...

Satan was once Lucifer, the archangel. His name means light bearer. Tradition holds that he was once the most beautiful of angels and it was his pride in this that caused his downfall. Satan is intensely jealous of women because they are beautiful and he no longer is. So Satan attacks women's beauty. He perverts it. He is the master of mockery and seeks to distort a woman's beauty so that just as with him, it becomes the source of hers and others' downfall. He has distorted it so badly that often when men see a woman, they can be tempted to take her apart and see her as an object for their pleasure instead of a person, holy and pure in God's sight.
Beauty is good and needed in our world however, some beauty should be reserved only for a woman's husband. A huge facet for a woman's beauty is her mystery. I'm not referring to the fact that men don't understand women or the mysterious way a woman can wear black and be seductive, but the mystery in that she does not give you all of her beauty straight upfront. She covers it to be fully revealed at the proper time. A woman's beauty is a gift to her from God to be shared with the world. It is wrong for her to completely hide and cover her beauty as the muslims do but it's also wrong to show the world what should be reserved for your husband's eyes only.

Many women are afraid that if they cover themselves men won't be able to see that they are "sexy" and have a good body. Trust me, men will be able to tell, it just won't be blaring at them in their faces. for instance, when a guy works out and has a nice body but chooses to wear loose shirts that don't hug his muscles, girls will notice that he has a nice physique, but most will also respect that he doesn't flaunt it. The same goes for women, men will notice how you are shaped but will inevitably respect that you aren't flaunting it. A girl doesn't need to walk up to a guy and say, "Hi my name is Jane. did you notice I have boobs?" He'll notice whether or not she says that.

Femininity is the glory of mankind and women have a powerful gift to give to the world. How women use that gift though, can either be for the betterment or detriment of mankind. A woman who is pure, beautiful, and modest brings out the masculinity in men and brings them closer to God. A woman who blares and flaunts her beauty regardless of her intentions, can lead men to stumble and fall into sin and then to abuse women as objects. I challenge all women to dress and act purely and modestly to inspire men to treat you with the dignity and respect you deserve.