LemmonsAid - http://www.hcis.net/users/dlemmons
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My Source:
GOOD NEWS FOR YOUTH
Volume 1, #8, June-July 1999
Author: Benjamin Richardson
File Under: Modesty
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THE CHRISTIAN YOUNG PERSON
AND MODESTY
by Benjamin Richardson
Modesty is a topic on which people, even members of the Lord's church,have different ideas. Society's ideas about modesty have changed greatly in the last few decades. Things that our grandparents would never have been allowed to see, do, or wear (much less that they would even think about them) are considered to be very normal in today's society. In this article, we want to look at modesty, noting what it means and who should decide the rules of modesty.Paul wrote to Timothy and told him that even though he was a young person, he was still to let his life be an example of what a Christian should be.
"Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou
an example of the believers, in word, in
conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in
purity" (2 Tim 4:12).
In other words, just because Timothy was a young person did not mean that he was exempt from behaving in a manner that was Christ-like. Paul wanted Timothy to know that he had every responsibility to behave righteously as did an older Christian. Notice that Paul covers just about every area of life in which Timothy is to be an example. Of course, today, Christian young people are given the same encouragement.
When considering this idea of modesty, we need to note the times the word is used in the Bible. The word "modest" appears only once in the American Standard, King James, and New King James versions of the Bible. That instance is 1 Timothy 2:9 where Paul us teaching that women are to adorn themselves in modest apparel.
The word that is translated "modest" in that verse comes from a word that is related to another word translated as "world" in our English versions. They are related in that both carry a connotation of orderliness. The word "world" can refer either to the physical realm or to the people in society. Most societies have an orderly structure to them and God certainly created the physical realm with an order down to the smallest detail.
How does this affect the Christian young person? Well, Paul was basically telling Timothy that women were to dress in an orderly and proper manner. Notice that the same word is translated a little differently just a few verses later in 1 Timothy 3:2 as, "of good behavior." Are you beginning to get the picture? Paul is not so much addressing what we wear on the outside as he is addressing a state of the heart.
Paul says that a woman is not to dress in such a manner that she draws attention to her outer self because that is not the most important part of her. Instead, she is to give attention to her inner self. She is to concentrate on making herself beautiful on the inside. Notice that Peter places that same emphasis on beautifying the inside in 1 Peter 3:3-4.
Paul notes that a woman is to think about what she wears when he says that she should adorn herself in modest apparel, "with shamefacedness and sobriety." The New King James translates this as "with propriety and moderation." Brother Hugo McCord's translation says, "...women adorn themselves with appropriate apparel, in modesty and good sense." That means that a Christian young woman must make sure that she does not go overboard in her dress and that she also wears enough that Christ will be pleased.
We have been dwelling much on the idea of young women dressing modestly, but we also need to see that God does not have different standards of modesty for young men and women. We are told that the Old Testament is given to us so that we can learn from it (Rom 15:4; 1 Cor 10:11). Did you know that we find rules of modesty in the Old Testament and that the rules were not different for men than they were for women?
We find the first instance of clothing in Genesis chapter three. Adam and Eve discovered that they were naked and verse seven tells us that they sewed fig leaves into aprons. The aprons apparently were not enough so God made them coats to wear out of animal skin (v. 21). Notice that God made the same thing for both of them. What a man needed to wear, a woman needed to wear.
We are given an example of clothing requirements in Exodus 28:42. God was instructing Moses as to how the garments of the priesthood were to be made. Everything was for beauty and decoration except for the linen breeches, which were for modesty's sake. The Bible even records for us what they are to cover. We all understand where our thighs are and that God desired that part to be covered on his priests. Should we wear any less as the preiests of the New Covenant (1 Pet 2:5, 9; Rev 1:6)?
God desires modesty among his people. Remember that modesty is primarily a state of the heart. If you have questions about the modesty of some of your clothing, think about the thing to which you are trying to draw attention. Is the attention drawn to your outfit because you are overdessed or wearing something that is designed to grab attention? (If you think this is not a problem, pay attention to what people are wearing the next time Easter arrives). Is the attention drawn to your body because of the lack of clothing or clothing that is designed to accentuate the human form?
Examine your reasons for wearing certain clothing. Our purpose on this earth is to glorify God (Mat 5:16; 1 Cor 6:20). Do you choose clothing to bring attention to yourself or are you interested in bringing glory to God? When a Christian young person truly desires to bring glory to God, he will not have to worry about outward modesty, but it will be a natural product of his proper state of the heart.
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