Modest Apparel

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EXACTLY IS MODEST APPAREL IN THE BIBLICAL SENSE?</U></B></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <I><B>" In like manner, also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with godly fear and sobriety, not with braided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array, But (which becometh women professing godliness) with good works."</B></I></div> <div> <I><B>I Timothy 2: 9-10</B></I></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>Modesty is not a subject that is lacking in Christian circles today. Unfortunately, when the subject is addressed, it seems that the hearts of many have grown so cold, that the issue immediately becomes suspect. Thoughts such as "Where are you going with this? Are you going to give a dresses only sermon?" begin to overtake the senses and oftentimes, the words that follow are only partially heard. </B></div> <div> <B>The first question I oftenti</B><B>mes will ask myself is, "Why did the author mention what he did?" when I come to a hard point in scripture, or in this case, an unpopular one. Why did Paul mention the subject to Timothy when he was addressing men praying, and instruction on prayer? Could it be that improper attire can hinder the meeting of the church? Could it be that the necessity of modest apparel is just as vital to proper functioning of the meeting as men praying without doubting and wrath? It is obvious why men need to pray without doubting for doubting can lead to double mindedness and inst</B><B>ability. Wrath in this passage means without anger, indignation, heated emotions- it means that the men are not to go into an emotional demonstration while praying. Then Paul uses these very important words, "in like manner." When we see these three words in scripture, we are supposed to re-read what we just read previously. We cannot understand what the following verses mean until we read what the previous words mean. To understand why women are to dress modestly, we have to understand why men are to pray without doubting and wrath. When we understand this, we are to apply the premiss in the same manner, but now for a different group of people, in this passage, the women. We can see, from proper hermeneutics, that the emphasis is great on the issue of modesty.</B></div> <div> <B>H.A.Ironside beautifully describes Paul's emphasis on right prayer:</B></div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>" Prayer, in order to be effectual, must come from those who are seeking</B></div> <div> <B>to walk in holiness before God. All men are entitled to approach God,</B></div> <div> <B>but they must be careful that they are living such lives as will commend</B></div> <div> <B>their prayers to God." </B><B>1</B></div> <div> <B>"We can pray with confidence only when prayer is backed up by a godly</B></div> <div> <B>life." </B><B>2</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Paul is describing a value system here. What do we trust, who is most important in our life, what flows out of our lives is surely what is within our hearts.</B></div> <div> <B>In Jamison, Fausset, Brown's teachings on I Timothy, we find a very powerful statement. It is something I have always known, but coming from the integrity of these men, it bears much consideration.</B></div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>" Women love fine dress: at Ephesus riches led some to dress luxuriously." </B><B>3</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Women express themselves and are oftentimes judged by their dress. It is a sad but true fact. We need to take care to not instill such emphasis in our daughters hearts. It can happen innocently, but it happens. To our boys we emphasize their strength, their power, their brawn. To our girls we emphasize their looks, their dress, their cuteness. Oh, that we would emphasize their spirits; their meekness, their patience and temperance above these things! We do such a disservice to our children on wrong emphasis. Paul states that rather than a woman showing her value system by her dress, by flaunting herself and her body, she should much rather emphasize her values by good works, the things that become, adorn, uphold her profession of godliness. Women who dress to attract, dress to flaunt, dress to appeal to the senses of men are not professing that their value system is in the things of God. We ought to dress for the table of our LORD and not for a date with our husband, sisters. This does not mean I think we can dress immodestly on a date with our husband's either, but when we gather with the saints, take into consideration what your dress speaks.</B></div> <div> <B>It is a known fact that men can be more readily tempted by sight than most of their other senses. Some men are more tempted by the sense of smell, as in passing a bakery or an Italian restaurant, but bless their hearts, they know when to eat and when not to eat. The ability to be aroused by the sight of a beautiful woman quickly is shown in David's fall with Bathsheba. The power of dress to persuade is seen as Esther puts on her royal apparel before approaching the king. God bless the brothers that turn away when their sisters thigh is showing in the meeting of the church. In Matthew, we are told by our LORD Himself that to look on a woman and to lust after her is to commit the same sin as laying with her. I wonder if the sisters realize the temptation they bring before men with their immodest dress. Some will dismiss the issue with stating that men need to learn to control their eyes and their thoughts. This may be true, but as is the case of putting a plate of canolis before a man along with a bowl full of fettucini alfredo, his senses are acting involuntarily when within a split second he feels hungry. Sisters, do you realize that you will answer to our LORD one day for your brother's temptation? Such disorder ought not to take place in the meeting of the church.</B></div> <div> <B>Many will wrestle the issue with arguments of God being more interested in our hearts that He is in our dress. That is like saying that God understands our hearts when we rob a bank! It is obvious that an innocent heart is not behind an immorally dressed sister. Certainly many sisters have never been taught, nor have they ever asked their LORD what He thinks about their dress. Surely some dress ignorantly and according to their own desires without thought for the implications or ramifications that their dress may bring about. But it bears repeating that consideration for our dress, our hearts and our motives needs to be taken when we come together as God's people.</B></div> <div> <B>I think a real problem exists when we go about our business all day, we rush to the meeting of the church on Wednesday night, or we stay up late on Saturday night for our own pleasures and we just barely make it to the LORD's table on Sunday morning and we think we can switch gears and be God's holy people in thought and deed in a few seconds. The ridiculousness of this can be shown in the relationship between husband and wife. If a man is working 70+ hours a week and he and his wife hardly ever talk all week, I doubt that there will be very much closeness when they do finally get together. Sometimes these situations cannot be helped, but when we consider this example, we can see that a woman could not immediately switch gears into deep fellowship with her man after running around hastily all week ignoring him. It might be faked, it might be falsely performed, but the real, genuine fellowship and intimacy will not exist. </B></div> <div> <B>If you take the time to study the relationship between men and women in the Jewish culture, you will find that the contempt for women existed much like it does in the Muslim culture today. There is an old Jewish saying that stated, "I would rather be born a dog than a woman." I am sure when Christian women were given liberty and equality in their position in Christ, they could have easily been tempted in their freedom. Now while I do not have solid biblical examples for the following thoughts, it does seem that they could be logically concluded. Women show their value system by their dress. What is the first thing that the early feminists did? They burned their undergarments. What is the attire that the flashy, sensual women of the 20's wore? Glitter, fringe, tight-fitting clothing was their way of expressing their independence, their spirit, their gaity. I am curious to find out how the dress of women changed or was challenged when this newfound liberty existed. </B></div> <div> <B>Donald Norbie in his book on I Timothy: Timeless Truths for Today's Church states:</B></div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>"Paul is here especially concerned with the appearance of women in the public</B></div> <div> <B>meetings of the church. Their dress is a statement of their values. Women </B></div> <div> <B>are to 'adorn' themselves, to dress attractively and neatly. Their dress should be</B></div> <div> <B>worn with propriety, a sense of what is right and what is wrong. They should</B></div> <div> <B>shrink from wearing what would be considered immodest or seductive.</B></div> <div> <B>They should reveal "moderation" or good sense in dress." </B><B>4</B></div> <div> <B>Many women when confronted with the issue of modest apparel will immediately ask you what you think is modest. One begins to wonder the heart behind such questions. Is it not proper that each women know herself what is right? I doubt it a common practice though for women to stand before their wardrobes and ask Jesus what is right and what is not. I wonder if Jesus Christ were sitting in our meetings, if women would be so concerned with what is "cute" and what "matches" and what "looks good on" their bodies. I wonder if a woman could without any conscious knowledge of her sin cross her legs, reveal ½ of her thigh and and just smile at Jesus across the room as though nothing were the matter. Yet they do it every Sunday to their dear brothers in Christ. Brothers who literally have the Holy Spirit dwelling in them. I wonder if the Holy Spirit being 'templed' in our bodies is pleased with our attire.</B></div> <div> <B>What is modesty in the biblical sense? What are the actual words being used in I Timothy and again in I Peter? A good thing to remember is if it is mentioned more than once in the Bible than the Holy Spirit felt it needed to be repeated. Have you ever noticed that modest apparel is even mentioned more often than the headcovering? Not to dismiss the importance of the covering and it's significance, but modesty and covering of the head would seem to go hand in hand, wouldn't it? Just like the swine with the ring in it's nose, in comparison to the woman that lacks discretion, Proverbs 11: 22, so is a woman with her head covered and her thigh being revealed!</B></div> <div> <B>Modesty is according to Webster's 1828 dictionary:</B></div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>"That lowly temper which accompanies a moderate estimate of one's own worth and importance. Moderation; decency. In females, modesty has the like character as in males; but the word is used also as synonymous with chastity, or purity of manners. In this sense, modesty results from purity of mind, or from the fear of disgrace and ignominy fortified by education and principle. " </B><B>5</B></div> <div> <B>Modesty is synonymous with purity. Modesty, Webster states, is a result of purity of mind. I guess we could use the phrase, "Where your heart is , your dress will be also." </B></div> <div> <B>Paul uses the word, "shamefacedness" when he describes what a woman's dress should reflect. A healthy level of shame. A reverence for her LORD and the men of the assembly so as not to cause any stumbling or distraction. Webster once again adds clear definition in saying that shamefacedness is literally excess of modesty, bashfulness. It is obvious that most women are not bashful in today's society. It is obvious that many women are more concerned with what people think of them rather than what their dress says to others. You are making a statement sisters every time you dress. What are you saying?</B></div> <div> <B>"Sobriety" is another way Paul uses to describe what a woman should be manifesting in her apparel choices. Paul uses this word to mean she should have right thinking. Webster describes this as:</B></div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>" Habitual freedom from enthusiasm, inordinate passion or overheated imagination; calmness; coolness; as the sobriety of riper years; the sobriety of age. Seriousness; gravity without sadness or melancholy." </B><B>6</B></div> <div> <B>I find that the extreme attempt at modesty some women in certain groups manifest are actually quite unsober. I have met women who are so overly attempting to be modest, they look as though they are on their way to a funeral when on their way to the market. Their facial expressions match their dress and their look as though they are a prisoner to an extreme standard. This sort of dress in my opinion is just as immodest as the attire of Jezebel. It can literally cause men to lust just as much as a women showing her thigh. If a poor man has to look at a woman that looks as though she has had a near death experience and never really came back from it , he may be tempted anytime he sees color in a woman's dress!</B></div> <div> <B>Paul is concerned about distractions in the meeting. Satan works hard to distract, to cause disorder and doubt. Paul emphasizes in I Timothy 2: 9-10, in I Peter 3: 3-4, and in Titus 2: 5 the necessity of chastity and purity in a woman's life, which by his teachings, would include consideration to dress. It bears repeating, it bears consideration, but more importantly, it bears living!</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>(C) Sandi M. Krakowski, 1999 </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>1</B><B> H.A.Ironside, </B><B>TIMOTHY, TITUS,PHILEMON</B><B>, Loizaux Brothers, pg. 61.</B></div> <div> <B>2</B><B> pg. 62, ibid.</B></div> <div> <B>3</B><B> Jamieson, Fauseet, Brown, </B><B>BIBLE COMMENTARY Volume 3</B><B>, Hendrickson </B></div> <div> <B>Publishers, pg. 485.</B></div> <div> <B>4</B><B> Donald L. Norbie, </B><B>I Timothy: Timeless Truths for Today's Church, </B><B>Walterick </B></div> <div> <B>Publishers, pg. 45. </B></div> <div> <B>5 </B><B>Websters's Dictionary 1828- CTI computer programs</B></div> <div> <B>6 </B><B>ibid</B></div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="0d44d0c0.gif" border=0 width="589" height="12" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000099" FACE="Papyrus" ><B>Back to Article Home Page-</B></FONT><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#0099FF" FACE="Papyrus" ><B> </B></FONT><A HREF="articles.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Offensive Articles"><U><B>Offensive Articles</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000066" FACE="Papyrus" ><B>Comments?- </B></FONT><A HREF="id98.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="OffensiveBuletin Board"><U><B>OffensiveBuletin Board</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <B>     </B><A HREF="comments.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Contact Us"><U><B>Contact Us</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="0d44d0c0.gif" border=0 width="589" height="12" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>