REFLECTING CHRIST
by Lois Stone
We are the light of the world, we are to reflect Christ. (Matthew 5:14/ 2
Corinthians 3:18)
Its SUMMER!!! You know that means! it means fun in the sun, bbqs, family gatherings,
fishing, swimming!! It also means, the
season we see more men and women baring their bodies to stay cool.
Did you know, that actually, wearing light, loose
clothing, keeps you COOLER than the sun on your bare skin?
Did you know, that actually, wearing light, loose
clothing, keeps the hormonal temperatures cooler too?
Sisters, I am daring to present to you the topic
that is the least covered....
MODESTY.
What's the big deal about how we dress? Modesty is just conservative fashion,
right? It's for old ladies and not the
younger ladies.
Correction:
Modesty is MORE than just conservative fashion, it encompasses both the body AND the heart,
no matter how old you are!
Firstly,
Modesty is an issue of the heart, and its primary purpose is to distinguish
women who profess to worship God, from those who don't. (1 Tim. 2:9,10). (“I
also want the women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety (a
regard for spiritual things)”
Every deed, every thing we do, calls for purity and
holiness when we are seeking to glorify God . That being said, we should be
honoring God with our bodies. As in all other things, we must
honor our King even by the clothes we wear.
As Christian women, our beauty does not find its
source in gold, pearls, braided hair or expensive clothes. Instead, our beauty
comes from the inner self and its outer expression in the form of good works.
First Samuel 16:7 says, “Man looks on the outward appearance, but God looks on
the heart.” Yet, while man is seeing
your outward appearance, he is also seeing what's in your heart. How you dress,
reflects what is in your heart.
Now of course, dressing modestly doesn't mean doesn’t mean that we’re flawless.
It just means that we reflecting the light source. Christ is the ultimate light
source, and in His presence we reflect Him. When we’re following Him, by
reading His Word and seeking His will, we are living in God’s image, and people
will and do, notice that reflection. We need to be
dressing modestly and let our beauty come from the inside because this is what
is proper, right, and fitting for those who are making a claim to godliness. By
simply being Christians, we are saying that we follow God and we want to be
like Him… and the world watches to see what that looks like. It’s like the
saying “your life may be the only Bible someone reads.” When we dress in a
revealing way, when we try so hard to make our externals beautiful that we
forget our inner-self, the world takes notice… and they think that’s how God is
too. If, on the other hand, the world sees someone whose dressing is nice, but
not extravagant, not designed to draw the wrong kind of attention and moderate
in style as well as cost– these things leave room for our good works to speak
of God. When our focus shifts, so does theirs. When our focus is on our dress
reflecting the claim we make to godliness, that claim is what others will see. It doesnt mean we can't make ourselves pretty
and feel good about ourselves-it just means we are showing the world what is
important. Modesty is simply part of the family rules. It’s how we are to
conduct ourselves as part of the family of God.
Secondly, our
modesty, or lack of it, could be a stumbling block for men- it is important to note
that the purpose of clothing is to cover “the parts of the body that should be
treated with special modesty” (1 Corinthians 12:23). Like it or not, men are
wired for the physical woman...and if we women expose our skin, we can cause
our brothers to stumble. The bible says it is a sin to commit adultery in your
heart, and our Christian brothers try hard to avert their eyes, but around Christian
women in or outside of a worship setting, they should not even have to! We should be taking them into consideration
and not giving them the temptations to commit adultery in their hearts, in a
worship setting or out in the world.
Worldly Culture (also known as "Opposite
World") has had much to do with changing our clothes!! We are fighting a
battle toe to toe with culture, it is very difficult to go to the store and find
clothes that are not low cut or too short, and even for little girls!! Opposite
World has even changed our underwear, to outerwear. You know, once upon a time,
the only kind of women who had their underwear (among other things) on display,
were the ones advertising on street corners. What are we advertising? Opposite
World is always changing and rarely for the better. But the thing we need to
remember is, God is unchanging. His
standards are unchanging.
Dressing modestly in opposite world presents many
challenges. It is hard to find tops and
bottoms that are not too low cut, and shorts are too high cut. But don't despair!! Tank tops are available in all colors and
sizes and are fashionable, worn under low cut blouses. If you have a tank top that is too low cut to
work well, try turning it backwards, the back is usually higher than the
front!! Also, the mens tanks come in
different colors now too, and usually are higher necked and longer waisted and can help add coverage
where low rider jeans dont. You can
find Half Tees online at places like Deborah & Company, that are worn under
your less modest blouses and sundresses.
We can all be models--Modeling for Christ! We are made to be mirrors, reflections, of
the image of Christ!
And speaking of mirror images...if you have a full
length mirror, heres how you can check your image before leaving your house---raise
your arms, does your tummy show? if you
are sleeveless, check under and around
your arms , can you see your bra? Trick: Keep 4 fingers together, and place them
at the base of your collar bone. That’s as low as your top can be without
showing cleavage when you bend over. Some women might actually be a little
shorter in this area, you might need to use 3 fingers Bend
over, do you get a view inside your shirt?
Using a hand held mirror to check your backside, bend over...does your shirt
swing up, or pants hang low? Maybe you
need to add that longer tank to cover your lower back where your jeans and
blouse don't. Is it time to replace those too tight jeans
with something a little bigger? If its a
skirt or a dress, you want to make sure when you bend over, you stay covered and when you sit down, you
dont your dress to be so short that it rides up and becomes even shorter. And
Hey, don't forget to smile!! If you wear a smile on your face you will have
a smile in your heart!!
So as sisters in Christ, lets encourage each other to :
•Let good
works outshine your outward appearance. (1 Timothy 2:10
And to be an example for our younger sisters!!
Titus 2:3! Remember everyone of us is an
older woman to someone who is younger.
Opposite world is
saying wear less clothes, and God is saying,
'cover up', lets all accept the
challenge and show the world what Christian women are all about! Instead
of trying to turn heads with clothing that begs for attention, lets turn hearts with a beauty of holiness and
depth of character possessed by the great women in the Bible, and let the
beauty of Jesus be seen in you!Thanks for reading!!
Lois
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