"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercy of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, pleasing unto God, your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world; but be reformed in the newness of your mind, that you may prove what is the good, and the acceptable, and the perfect will of God."
- Romans 12;1-2
Growing up in a staunch Catholic family, the issue of modest dress has always been hammered into my head. Up until my 16th birthday, my dad laid down the law when it came to buying clothes, which meant (to my utter embarrassment) that t-shirts, skirts, and very loose jeans were acceptable and anything else was out of the question. Once I got “old enough” to “make my own decisions”, as my mother so nicely put it, I started to shop more according to trend and less according to my good ol’ Christian morals. Not that I dressed immodestly, but I let even the thought of it fly out the door and really didn’t care what my clothing choices reflected. That is, until I started to pay closer attention to what a sexually driven culture was doing to my brothers.
I have three younger brothers, each of them is very dear to my heart, and I would never want anything to happen to them. As they started to get older, I noticed myself becoming more protective of them. In today’s world, it is very easy for a young, hormonal, teenage guy to fall into the trap of impurity and learn to look at a girl as an object. I began to witness this slippery slope in my own home, and started to search for answers to the problem, coming back full circle to the issue of modesty.
With a little bit of research, and a lot of real life experiences, I was able to come to the conclusion that as Christian women, it is our God-given duty (for lack of a better word) to dress and act in a way that helps our Christian brothers grow closer to Christ. Women have no idea how much a little cleavage or skin can effect a guy, and not that I know either, but through a lot of poking around and asking, I’ve learned that it is so true. Not only should we choose to guard our dress out of respect for our brothers, but also because it has been proven time and time again that men will respect a woman who dresses and acts modestly a lot more than one who doesn’t.
This is my compilation of research and real life experiences. I hope to aid Christian men and women both in helping each other defeat the vicious circle that has enveloped our culture by providing encouragement in this area. Girls, remember that you are a beautiful woman of God, and men...treat us like we are. You won’t regret it!
