Modesty Is The Best Policy

I Timothy 2:8-15
From October 5, 2005

When people can’t agree on a subject, it is commonly designated as a national historical “gray area.” It may be theological or cultural in nature but is usually the latter. (This is because most people don’t know enough theology to have a position on any of it.) Gray areas include, but may not be limited to, music and fashion. Because the passage today makes no mention of music, let’s look between the lines--the neckline and the hemline.

Verse nine is one of the keys in the quest for modest attire: “in like manner also, let the women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with propriety and moderation, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly clothing,”

Hmmm… The Ever Precocious daughter is going to be bummed if she can no longer braid her hair. Should ladies liquidate their jewelry collections? Will a sweeping spiritual revival put Nordstrom’s out of business and ascribe boutique status to The Salvation Army?

Modest is a word often used to define clothing which reveals nothing between the collarbone and the ankle bone. I am all for modesty, but there is a great gulf fixed between frumpy and floozy. If you think I am for dressing God’s most beautiful creation in burlap bags, you’re burka-ing up the wrong tree.

To me, a woman should look like a woman, especially to her husband. One woman concerned about modesty expressed to me last summer, “A woman’s clothes should be just tight enough to show she’s a woman but loose enough to prove she’s a lady.” I wonder if that means that the tighter the clothes, the looser the woman. I'll have to ponder that for awhile.

Modest also can be used as an antonym of prideful self-aggrandizing, describing the one who does not try to draw attention to one’s self. That is where I think the “propriety and moderation” come in. What is the intent of the one wearing the clothes--looking good or getting plenty of good looks? While there is no biblical benchmark listed for a skirt’s length or a neckline’s depth, a little good judgment and pure motives should eliminate most concerns.

As I have often said, “If it’s not available, don’t advertise it.” The corollary would be, "If you're not married, it's not available."