BIBLICAL HOMES – “Proper Dress for Mothers and Daughters”
This morning my friend went to the local doughnut shop, which is a misnomer. More aptly described, “The “Gossip Shop,” a name I gave to it. He goes there to talk with friends he has known for many years, and most of the time the talk is about cattle, ranching, farming, hay and the latest weather reports. Mostly men are there. I have never been, and will never go. I was warned about the place in advance, right after I moved closer to town. A woman has no business being in this shop.
But this morning a very different scene happened. A woman and her two teen aged daughters came into the business looking for a ladies room. Nevertheless, my friend said one of the girls had on white shorts, cut so short her back side was showing, and the front of the shorts had a slit in the front. He told me in all his life, he had never seen anything so vulgar, and for a mom to allow her daughter to wear such, was beyond his comprehension. He then told me she became the conversation of the men in the shop after she left.
Ladies. Men are visual. When you or your daughters dress in a provocative way, not only is it sinful, but it leads men and young men to lust after you. They will not view you in a respectful way, nor a Godly way, just as some of the men my friend spoke about.
Why would a mom buy, much less allow her daughter/daughters to dress in such a manner? And behind this, what exactly is the mindset? Surely when you purchase clothing you know what you are purchasing. Normally women/young ladies will try on clothing to see if the item fits properly. When you look at yourself, whom are you trying to please, God, yourself, or men? When low cut, sheer, too short, too tight clothing is purchased, if you are honest, you are trying to get the attention of men and boys and you know exactly what will capture their attention. Designers in the fashion industry realize only too well what style of clothing women and young women desire. They spend countless dollars studying women and young women’s preferences and why they choose specific clothing. Their business depends upon sales, and they give women what they want in exchange for their money. When you choose provocative clothing, don’t be surprised if you are viewed improperly by men.
Teach your daughters to dress properly and teach by example. Most women don’t want their daughters leered at by men and boys, and for that matter, their fathers don’t want their daughters viewed in this manner either. Don’t give in to your daughter if she is wanting to dress immodestly, but teach her from birth how a Godly woman should present herself.
There are many choices in clothing for women and young ladies to choose which will not only be attractive but pleasing to God as well.
“In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array; But which becometh women professing godliness with good works.”
I Timothy 2:9-1
Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised. Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates.” Proverbs 31:30-31
“You don’t know what kind of effect certain rather skimpy outfits have on the guys who look at you . . . or what it tells the girls about your morality and beliefs. That is why the Bible tells us to dress modestly. . . . . That’s hard to do when you chase after the latest fashion and dress in a way that draws attention to the wrong things.”
“Whether you are 6 or 60, there is no age limit on Modesty.” ~ Adventures in Odyssey
Eileen Light
“In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array; But which becometh women professing godliness with good works.” I Timothy 2:9-10
Many years ago I used to teach Fifth and Sixth-grade children in a small country school in Texas. You read correctly–two grades in one room. The elder sister of one of my students suddenly got married one week-end and then never lived with the boy after that. I asked her why, and she said she just liked the thought of a wedding with the fancy dress, but she did not like the boy.
As I was talking to her, her mother was somewhere else in the shop. The two of them had come in wearing short shorts. The girl sat with her feet up in a chair as she talked, and I could scarcely bear to look her direction because there was nothing left to the imagination. Doubtless, her mother had never told her to cover her crotch.
Everything we wear says something about who we are and what is in our heart. While most women would not verbalize this, or even think about it, they want people to look at them. They want others, particularly men, to think they are beautiful. Today, people spend countless hours at the gym and tons of money to make their bodies look a certain way. Most of the time people say that diet and exercise are for their health, but if their hearts were exposed, it is really about 10% for their health and 90% so they can look good (true of both men and women). They have been told since the time of childhood that princesses are beautiful and wicked stepsisters are ugly. From almost the moment of birth, little girls are taught that so much of their value is found in their looks.
Beauty= good
Ugly = bad