I sent out a google form a few weeks ago asking what my readers would like to see blog posts about. One response asked for a blog post on modesty.
Modesty is a controversial topic and I don’t think I could give sound advice using only my own words and thoughts. I’m still unsure of what and what not to wear myself. Instead, I’m going to give a brief overview of what I think about modesty and then direct you to some articles that I thought were helpful concerning modesty.
Modesty is ultimately tied to humility. To the recognition that we exist not to glorify ourselves, but our Creator. Our clothes should point to Jesus. If they do draw attention to ourselves, we might need a new wardrobe.
You may want to know which clothes glorify Jesus. I know I do. Specific guidelines on what and what not to wear would make getting dressed easy.
Unfortunately, I can’t give a list of what you should or shouldn’t wear--because it doesn’t exist. There’s no passage in the Bible that says shorts have to be a certain length, leggings aren’t allowed, or anything of the sort.
Something I have heard about modesty that helped me was that we should ask, “What would Jesus do?” WWJD bracelets are easy to spot, but it’s much harder to intentionally consider that question. The place I read this advice (I can’t remember where) told me to think about what Jesus would do if He saw me in the clothes I was wearing. Would He have to turn away because I was dressed immodestly?
Now, on to the articles. I encourage you to exercise discernment while reading these. I didn’t agree with every single thing I read, but the articles were very helpful overall.
5 articles about modesty
This article addresses what parents should think about modesty regarding their daughters, but it was helpful to me too. It listed 5 things we should consider when thinking about modesty.
The point that most stood out to me was that we are called to serve, and our clothes should allow us to do so. If a too-low shirt or a short skirt prevents us from bending down to pick something up or help somebody, we probably shouldn’t wear it.
Our outfits should be as functional as they are pretty.
This article looks at 6 things the Bible says about modesty: women should dress (1) respectably, (2) modestly, (3) with self-control, and (4) not flashily or wastefully. It says we should (5) live and act modestly, and (6) wear good works.
The article stressed that if your outfit draws attention to yourself instead of Jesus, you probably shouldn’t be wearing it. All glory is meant for God, though it’s tempting to seek to glorify ourselves. The article also stresses that modesty isn’t a clothing issue, but a heart issue.
This article talks about how modesty has been associated with clothing by our culture, but it’s really about our heart attitude.
I did not completely agree with the article - I thought it belittled the role of clothing in modesty at one point. Even if your heart attitude is good, you don’t want to dress thoughtlessly.
One impactful thing it said was, “A heart of earnest modesty will bring great joy to God’s heart, yet an immodest heart will bring grief to God’s heart.” I want to bring joy to God’s heart with my clothing choices and by living modestly!
This article addresses how our culture has misunderstood modesty- it’s not only for girls and modesty is often downplayed or overlooked.
It urges readers to contrast our modesty with the life of Jesus, which was the ultimate example. Are we striving for Jesus’ level of modesty? It says, “The whole world was made by and through Him, yet He made himself nothing. Jesus was fully modest as He was lifted up, raw and naked, on a cross.”
This was my favorite article to read because of its focus on Jesus. I loved it and highly recommend it. If you don’t read any of the other articles on this list, read this one!
This article addresses how culture has normalized and is unashamed of immodesty. God created attraction as a good thing, but it, as all good things, can be corrupted.
Exercise discernment while reading this article - it seemed grounded in Scripture but said many things that could be wrongly taken in a legalistic way.
At one point the article said, “Did you know you can commit a sin in your mind that can cause you to lose your soul?” I assume the writer of this article had a good intention when they wrote this, but either they were deceived or they wrote this sentence in a way that miscommunicated their point. No sin can undo your salvation.
I loved that the article said that we don’t want to be the cause of others’ suffering with lust. It tells us to think about the effect we will have on other people when we are purchasing clothing and to have regard for the souls of others because what we wear represents Christ.
I hope these articles were helpful to you!