… to your sisters in Christ about modesty, what would it be? I ask that question last year to a class full of men. The responses received were heartfelt and plain. I didn’t ask for names. Simply write a response, fold the paper and hand in. I’ll share a few.
- The way you dress can distract during worship.
- I question whom you’re dressing for; I hope you are not dressing to attract other men. When you expose yourself — showing cleavage or thighs, it’s hard not to look. You make me feel very uncomfortable.
- PLEASE consider your brothers! Don’t wear low-cut blouses. Don’t wear tight slacks or jeans that fit too closely. It’s hard to keep a pure mind in the world, but if you dress like the world at church, you make it hard on us while worshipping as well.
- Don’t let “dressing to be cute” become dressing immodestly.
- Please be aware that how you dress does affect us.
- Dress as if you are about to be in the presence of Jesus. You are.
- Help men by doing all YOU can to prevent a man from lusting.
- Too many Christian women either don’t “get it” or choose to ignore the heart of this matter.
- When considering what to wear, ask your husband. Men know what causes other men to fail.
- Dress with the men in mind — not the women.
- Leave the skin show to your husbands. There is no reason to be wearing spaghetti straps or shoulder-less dresses. If you’re unmarried and doing this, it’s the wrong way to attract the right man.
- I face the temptation every day at work, school functions, and social activities. Church should be a break from the world, but many times I am tempted worse during worship by the short skirts and tight-fitting outfits worn by women.
- This [church services] should be the one place where we are not tempted. It is a struggle.
- One sister wore short-shorts to a potluck. Why are you tempting us?
- It’s more than just clothing. It’s a mindset followed by an attitude that is put into action.
- I respect sisters in Christ that dress modestly. I expect it from my wife and children. All should respect God’s standard.
- Be sure there is no possible way that you are going to show cleavage. Even the threat of it will draw a man’s eyes and when he sees it, it will take him a long time to forget what he saw.
I appreciate these guys speaking their heart and I hope sisters everywhere will listen. I don’t think we have more/less of a problem than other places because, frankly, it’s a problem everywhere. Whether worldliness sneaks in the back door via immodesty, shows itself in our talk, or in our attempts to excuse shameful things because “everyone does them,” the result is the same. We have become like the world and not distinct from it (cp. Romans 12:1-2).
It’s a given that we live in the world. It takes a lot of work, however, to keep the world from living in us. The Bible issues a plain call when it comes to sexual purity (1 Corinthians 6:18; Ephesians 5:3; 1 Thessalonians 4:3-5). God sets a standard for Christian purity and it’s a high standard. Why then, do some insist on seeing how close to the “edge” they can get? You would think that God’s child would take the opposite approach.
Some women have little understanding of the intensity of the male sex drive because they don’t have it. That’s why women fail to understand how a brief visual can trigger a male response. A walk past Victoria Secret’s in the mall, the lingerie ads in the newspaper circular, female joggers, billboards, receptionists with low-cut blouses, beach volleyball, figure skating, etc. can place an image in the male mind that will be there for a long time. That’s the seductive world in which we live and it’s problematic for men who seek to keep themselves pure.
Adapted from Wilson Adams
