Why shouldn't we 'flaunt what we got', and let the men turn their eyes away? Is it our fault if, when we show a little cleavage, a guy is staring? Shouldn't they be responsible for looking away and let us dress how we please?
Every female wants to look cute, attractive, and wear clothes that flatter her body. But what is too much skin, and where do you draw the line for "modest" clothing? Is there even a need to be "modest"?
10 But (which becometh women professing godliness) with good works.
This verse clearly states that we are to have some form of modesty. And by the context of the rest of the verse, it is easy to see that here Paul is talking about outward modesty. The only problem is... there is nothing in the Bible that says "Don't wear leggings that show off your figure." or "3 inches above the knee is okay." It isn't that easy to tell what's modest!
We do have a good reference on how much skin is okay and not okay from Genesis 3:21. It says: 21 Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them. This verse here says the LORD Himself clothed Adam and Eve, right? So by implication, obviously, these coats He made for them were modest, because He is the LORD. The Hebrew word here for coats is KUTTONETH which means 'meaning to cover; a shirt, coat, garment or robe' this Hebrew word is also translated as KATHEPH which means to clothe; the shoulder (proper, that is, upper end of the arm; as being the spot where the garments hang); figuratively side piece or lateral projection or anything: - arm, corner, shoulder (-piece), side, undersetter. From this passage I would say it is safe to assume that we should be wearing something that will cover our bodies as much as up to our shoulder.
It is not made perfectly clear in the scriptures how long our shorts and skirts are to be but if we look at the word "shamefacedness" in 1 Timothy 2:9 is also translated as 'bashfulness'. If you were to replace the word shamefacedness with bashfulness in that scripture it would make it more understandable as saying "Don't be so bold when you dress" in other words, keep yourself hidden. How much are we to keep hidden? In Exodus 28:42 Aaron and his sons were to cover their thighs to be pleasing to the LORD. While there is nothing said about women covering their thighs, I believe the passage here is a good reference point. Why should we show off the parts of our legs that are the most appealing to men? The idea here is that we shouldn't look for what the minimum amount of clothing is that we need to wear, it's that we need to make sure that we are always dressing in bashfulness when we get dressed, and pick out our wardrobes.
Hebrews 13:4 says "Marriage is honorable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge." We should never lead anyone to think sexually inappropriate thoughts by the way we dress. We should never assume it is the mans "job" to turn his eyes away, or control his thoughts and actions. We should WANT to help them not have that trouble. "And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these." Mark 12:31. We should always act in love by dressing in a manner that will not cause our brothers to stumble.
When the Bible says that the Devil is a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour, do we automatically think of ways that we can get as close to that lion as possible, without being devoured? In other words, do we push the envelope? We must make sure that we are always clothing ourselves with Christ (Romans 13:13-14) and showing that we care about our bodies and are acting with love towards our brethren.
Our adorable wardrobe isn't going to matter on judgement day, but it will matter how we dressed ourselves with that wardrobe.
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