Friday, January 16, 2009

Modesty, Femininity, and the Bible

As I have watched many blogs I have noticed that many of them encourage Young Ladies to wear modest, and feminine clothing. But they say to do it to be feminine, to feel feminine. They give no Biblical reasoning, though, so what reason should we do it other than to feel good?

Deuteronomy 22:5 (KJV) says,

“The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman’s garment: for all that do so are an abomination unto the LORD thy God.”

I am not sure why they don’t base it on the Bible, but I know I dress modestly because the Bible says to, not just to feel good. It does feel good to dress femininely, but because I know it is what is right, and it is right based on the Bible.

If a man is daring enough now days to wear a dress in public, people grimace and say “What a shame.” Or (this is me!!) “Gross.”(actually this is also getting unpopular to hear) That is getting out of hand today too; the sodomites are becoming more and more open and popular. Well that is another subject that I will try to LORD-willing hit on some other time.

So a man wears a woman’s garment and it is considered an abomination, but women regularly wear men’s clothing (pants are a mans garment!) and it is not considered bad or wrong. Why not? Our society is getting run down and wicked. Noone wants anything to do with God, or what is pure and right.

A woman who wears a long, full, modest skirt is looked upon as a stuck-up religious fanatic, and a man who does is totally gross (this isn’t even what most people think now). But a man who wears pants is normal, and a woman who wears pants is just normal? I don’t think so!

I have been called many things by others, even family members, they think we are legalistic; we take the BIBLE to seriously! Excuse me, but what exactly is the BIBLE for?

The BIBLE says

“For the word of God[The BIBLE] is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of the soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow and is the discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”

Hebrews 4:12(KJV)

It is to lead us in the path that God has for us. To lead us in the way HE wants us to go. If the BIBLE says something, then we need to obey it. It is our guidebook, and we need to follow the whole thing, not just part of it.

I may be called a religious fanatic-I’m not – I only do what I think and believe is right. I may be called a legalist- I’m not- I [try to] do EXACTLY what the BIBLE says.

“And what concord hath CHRIST with Belial? Or what part hath he that believeth with and infidel?

And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them, and they shall be my people.

Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.”

2 Corinthians 6:15-17

We as Christians need to be separated from the world and follow the LORD, not the worldly fashions and styles of the infidels(non Christians in the world today). We need to look different- because we are different. Most “Christians” of today aren’t any different than the world. If you ask the average person if they are a Christian, they will most likely say “Yes, of course.” But you would not be able to tell that by just looking at them!

I have compiled a list of standards I use for dress. If you don’t dress this way- it doesn’t mean you are not a Christian, It only means your standards are different. There are not any set standards in the Bible for dress. We use these standards to veer away from lust, as well as stay feminine. You can be immodest (attracting the eyes/lust of men) in a skirt, just like you can be immodest in pants. But what does the BIBLE say?

“The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, for all that do so are an abomination unto the LORD thy God.” (Deuteronomy 22:5, KJV)

So we don’t wear pants, because that would be an abomination the LORD. But we need to dress modestly as well, as it is an abomination to the LORD to attract lust.

*NOTE: Boys proceed at your own risk with caution!!*

This is the standards I use to know whether something is modest or not. You will not find anywhere in the BIBLE a set of rules or standards, that is something that you will be held accountable for, someday before God.

I will start with skirts, as that seems to be one of the biggest problems.

1. Is it long enough?

It must be long enough to drape 3 inches over your knee when sitting down. If you cross your legs, it is best that it will still drape 3 inches below the knees with your legs crossed

2. Is it to tight?

8inch ease, on one side, at the thighs. To measure this; hold the material in your hand and twist it around your hand- you should be able to turn your hand totally around(without stretching the material) and the material should wrap around your WHOLE hand.

3. Why is it still to tight, even though I have enough ease?

You should be careful to stay away from fabrics that stick to you, I realize sometimes the material will stick because of static, but that is not what I mean. There are sleezy fabrics that no matter how full of a skirt you make out of it, you can still see every line of your body.

Now I shall address shirts.

Button-up “dress shirts”(blouses)

1. Is it long enough? Does the shirt “stay down”(cover your belly) when I lift my arms above my head? If it doesn’t; don’t wear it, or wear a t-shirt under it.

2. Does the neck come high enough? This question is very hard to answer. I normally wear my top button un-buttoned, but if it comes more than an inch below my collar bone, I will wear a t-shirt under it.

3. Are the buttons to far apart? If you stand in front of the mirror, can you see between the buttons to what is underneath? This can be fixed by a t-shirt, but it is probably to small, unless the buttons are really far apart.

4. Can you see the lines of your ahem- “undershirt”? If you can it is probably too tight.

5. Can you see its outline? Especially if you are not wearing white underneath, it is easy to see more. Make sure the color is not visible!

This I think covers most of my standards. If you have any questions, please contact me and I will clarify.

Once again, this is not found in Gods word, these standards are how the Lord has convicted me to dress. I will not be held accountable, before God, for the way you dress, you will, so I ask you to Pray and consult the BIBLE, and the LORD will show you the way to go.

4 comments:

  1. :) Very good post Hannah. I do agree with you - I haven't seen too much written Biblical-basis for these statements, but I imagine it's just because ladies like this have been trained and brought up in an environment where that is what's pleasing to the Lord, iykwim.

    Like me - for instance - I have just begun to realize that the Word of God is the only thing concrete and if I don't have a scripture to backup what I believe than I need to either find one or question my actions, beliefs, and mindset.

    :) HUGS

    ReplyDelete
  2. Great post! Sorry, I don't have much time, so I can't chat about it, but I would like to tell you one thing: you've been awarded on my blog! Go on over to see what for.

    Serenity

    ReplyDelete
  3. Very good post. So many women today wear trousers, even those who go to conservative churches. None take note of Deuteronomy 22:5, it would seem. Personally, I wear skirts 99.9% of the time, the 0.1% being when I go horse riding. And recently I have gone through a period of time when I have just decided that the majority of the skirts I own (which is painfully few anyway) are too short, leaving me with two skirts I feel comfortable wearing. My problem, I know!

    Sorry for rambling!

    Blessings,
    Anna

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hello,

    My name is Megan, I happened to find your blog today and I added you to the list of blogs I am following. I know this is an old post to comment on but I would like to let you know that this is a wonderful post on whether the Christian woman is to wear skirts only because of the Bible or because she just prefers them because she feels feminine in them. I completely agree about Deuteronomy 22:5 and I have been grieved to see the trend of women who wear skirts but do not believe it is Biblical, but just because they want to be feminine. Christian women are to wear their own apparel because the Lord commands it, and yes of course we are to be feminine, thats the whole reason He commands it is because He wants women to be feminine and men to be masculine. Acording to the Bible women wearing skirts only it isn't a preference but obedience or sin.

    Megan

    ReplyDelete

Hello! Thank You for stopping by. Your thoughts are appreciated! Please leave your name when you comment. All anonymous comments will be deleted.

1 Corinthians 15:58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.