No I haven't shifted my focus to external things that don't matter and I'll admit I'm no fashionista.
If it were up to me - I'd wear fitness clothes 365 days a year. I'm a sucker for flip flops or tennis shoes, comfy shorts, and a tank top or t-shirt. It doesn't help that I can't stand shopping and don't have the patience to try things on...and the awful lighting in those dressing rooms...do I really need to go on?
There is more to what you wear than just being able to sport the most current trends in colors that are flattering on you! I'll leave the fashion blogging to someone else. But at the heart of it...what you wear says a lot about well...your heart! I'm referring to that painfully "prudish" word...modesty...there, I said it. I'll just get the next phrase over with right away while we're ripping the band-aid off...modesty matters (I'm cringing with you, but I promise...it's true!).
Now I recognize that there are various levels of expectation associated with this word and there are many who believe women should only wear long sleeves and long dresses etc. Others would criticize me if they knew that my shoulders have shown many a time when I wear tank tops or blouses without sleeves. I don't wish to argue where to draw the line regarding modesty but I do want to talk about increasing awareness.
What does any of this have to do with Katy Perry? Well, it was watching the Super Bowl, that gave me the idea for a blog post on modesty as it relates to beauty. As we sat with our care cell group from church approaching half time, I began to feel dread as I prepared myself for Katy Perry's show. I fully expected her to wear as little clothing as possible and dance as sexually provocatively as possible and not only would I prefer my own husband not see that, I was sitting in a room full of other husbands who didn't need to see that either. After all today's pop culture is all about pushing the bubble and what better an opportunity than on a HUGE stage like the Superbowl? Could Katie Perry have worn MORE, yes, certainly...but I was pleasantly surprised and relieved that both her attire and her dance moves which could have been completely over the top with sexual nature and provocativeness were controlled and entertaining (relatively speaking). The focus was clearly on the staging the characters and props in the performance, the grand entrance and the fascinating exit and while modesty and Katy Perry may not be used in the same sentence often...I was thankful that she didn't take the opportunity to parade around practically naked on TVs all over America.
You see, I was once a girl who sought to fill a void, to heal the deep pain of my husband leaving me, by dressing in a way that was intended to catch a man's eye. I don't know if I would have ever admitted it, but I definitely desired attention from men and thought that would help me feel more confidant and secure in myself. Yet at the same time, I was somehow oblivious to my actions and choices.
Now that I'm older and happily married to a man who is completely devoted me, I better understand what I didn't know back then. I now realize that God made men to desire women at a level I can't fully comprehend. He created men with a drive and heightened sensitivity to all things female...and absolutely men have a responsibility to protect their eyes and be respectful of women, but as I watch our society and the way the media sprawls women in practically nothing ALL over billboards, ads, commercials, and more...I've become painfully aware of how challenging that can be day in and day out for men. The more aware of it I become, the more relentless I realize it is.
Imagine being on a diet and trying to stay away from that which tempts you the MOST (say chocolate, or in my case...donuts) and that's what you are offered for each meal very day. All the donut stores in town are running sales and every time you turn around, someone is offering you another one. That would be MISERABLE!
Let's cut to the chase - shall we?
Married women...your body is your husband's and your lines and curves and all things feminine are for him so share them with only him.
Unmarried women...your body is your FUTURE husband's and your lines and curves and all things feminine are for him so save them for him and only him.
All women, scrutinize your wardrobe for those things that don't need to be there...and if you have any question at all, don't buy it, and don't keep it! :)
As I said above, modesty DOES matter but what's beautiful? Classy is beautiful. A woman with class is a woman who respects her body enough to save it for the right person, who respects men enough to spare them unnecessary temptation, and a woman who is confidant enough that she need not show "too much" to feel good about herself.
Proverbs 11:22 Like a gold ring in a pig's snout is a beautiful woman without discretion.
1 Timothy 2:8-10 I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling; likewise also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire, but with what is proper for women who profess godliness—with good works.
Matthew 5:28 But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
Here's to keeping it classy!
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