Hey gang, so for those of you who were at Summit this night, you may still be having some nightmares about the examples I used of what was inappropriate for us to be wearing at Summit. For those of you who weren't able to be there, let's just say I modelled for the examples, and a crop top was involved...
The main topic of the evening was "Modesty". Well, what is modesty? My definition is "everything in moderation", "not too much and not too little", "not too flashy and not too skimpy", in terms of what we wear, just the right amount of clothing.
Where did clothes come from, anyway? This may surprise you, but the Bible actually tells us EXACTLY where clothes originally came from! Check out Genesis 2:25, Genesis 3:7, as well as verse 21: "Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame." "Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves." "The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them."
For context, the first verse there described Adam and Eve before they sinned and ate the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. They were naked and unashamed. It didn't bother them or God that they were naked, and they didn't need clothes at all. Take note of this - the human body was not meant to be clothed, originally. HOWEVER, before you go joining a nudist colony, it is important to note the other verses there. These are immediately after Adam and Eve sin. With sin involved, now they are ashamed of being naked, and it bothers them. That's right, sin ruined nakedness. The need for modesty is a direct result of sin - disobedience to God. So, they first tried to clothe themselves, but evidently didn't do a very good job because later God makes proper clothes for them. You heard that correctly, God invented clothes.
But what's the big deal? As long as we are wearing something we should be good, right? Wrong. Check out what Paul says to the church in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 - "Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore, honor God with your bodies."
As Christians, we have the Holy Spirit of God living inside of us. Basically, each one of us is like a living, breathing, moving temple for God. You know how temples are usually considered to be very sacred, holy places? Well, that's our body, now. Our body is a very sacred, holy place, so we should be looking to honor God with how we dress our bodies.
Now, in those verses Paul was warning the church about sexual immorality, and the dangers of it. Jesus gives us a little more to think about: "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery.' But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell." (Matthew 5:27-30) I remember as I was sharing this, one of you asked me if I would actually cut off my hand or gouge out my eye. I answered that if God came down and told me to, yes, I would. However, I should clarify that in this passage Jesus is making a point. He is saying that sin goes deeper than just what we do - it is also about what's in our thoughts and in our hearts. Just looking at someone in a lustful way is really bad and can get us into serious trouble. So, Jesus warns us to take every precaution, to do whatever we must to safeguard ourselves against sinful desires and actions.
Clearly, God takes purity very seriously. If just looking at someone can become a problem, then we have to be careful about where we look. Guys, that means not ogling (staring inappropriately) girls or turning them into objects of desire. Girls, that means not ogling guys (even the cute ones on TV) or treating them as objects of desire. And for both sides, it means doing our best to look presentable and to not wear clothes which reveal more than is necessary.
What this means is that as living temples of God, we have to be careful where we look AND we have to be careful about what we choose to wear.
Let me ask, why do we wear revealing clothing? Sure, in the summer there is the practical side of it being more comfortable in the heat. But if we're honest? We wear revealing clothes because we want people to look at us. We want compliments. We want attention, even it draws people's attention to inappropriate places. And that is not okay. People should be drawn to us by our good deeds, our good character, our love and care for others. They should not be drawn to us because of how much skin we show, or how big our muscles are. People should see our actions, not our skin.
In Romans 12:1-2, Paul calls us "living sacrifices" who should not "conform to the pattern of this world". Some students in the past have argued that our modesty policy just doesn't fit with the fashion trends now (just think about our swimsuit policy for summer camp). I am here to tell you that that's not even the point. We should not be conforming to the pattern of this world - just going with whatever the fashion trend is - but should instead be offering our bodies as living sacrifices to God and living the way He wants us to live. That includes how we dress.
Guys and gals, the need for dressing modestly is a result of sin. As long as sin still exists, we will need to be on guard about this stuff. Rather than trying to draw people's attention with how we look, we should be drawing people's attention with how we act and how we treat people (with love and respect). This is what honors God and is a demonstration of our commitment to Him as disciples of Jesus Christ.
Modesty means not looking where we shouldn't be looking, and it means not dressing in a way that draws people's attention to places where they shouldn't be looking. My prayer for all of you is that you will take on the biblical perspective and begin to treat your bodies with the honor and respect they deserve as temples of God.
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