Modesty. It’s a much-spoken of thing in today’s culture, especially among Christians. It may be because today’s culture has kind of forsaken modesty, or the simple fact that in today’s forgetful culture, we know we need to be the voice of Christ in the wilderness. But I feel that there is one thing that is often overlooked, and that the word ‘modesty’ needs a different definition than most people think. Now, although I won’t say that modesty has only one definition, or that it can only be applied the way that I am going to talk about, but I think that what I am going to talk about today is a big part of it that people often miss.
Modesty is often summarized as the type of clothes that we wear, or the length of the shorts on our legs, but really, I think that that’s only a small part of it. There is something that is bigger than that. Just because you wear nice clothes that go all the way down to your ankles, does that mean that you are modest? Just because your neck-line is higher than most people’s, does that make you more modest than they are? I don’t think so.
In fact, I think that attitude has a lot more to do with it. I think that you can look modest by wearing appropriate clothes, and while it is good to practice wearing appropriate clothes in today’s culture, I think that modesty has much more to do with your disposition. How can you be modest in attitude? There are a lot of ways to do that.
I think modesty ties into the main values of Christianity. I think it ties into joy, love, graciousness, and much more. I also think it ties into being more and more like Christ. If modesty were a disposition, an attitude as well as a physical appearance, I think that modesty could be redefined. I think it might begin to look like less than a pattern of appearance and more of a pattern of thought, a pattern of action resembling Jesus, resembling the God of Love that the world needs to see. Modesty could be a light, shining into the dark areas of today’s culture. It could become a revolutionary practice, one of Love rather than appearance or outward pride (not to say that modesty in clothes produces outward pride, but that sometimes it can become that).
It is more than clothes. It’s more than looking a certain way. It’s about hospitality, love, honor, respect. It’s about reverence for our temples, and about love for the people of the Kingdom of God. But most of all, it’s about being a light shining in the world, one that is a reflection of Jesus Himself and of His Spirit.
So-I want to hear your thoughts. What is your take on modesty? Do you think it’s more about clothes or about attitude? I have my opinions on the matter, but I want you to feel free to express yours, even if you think clothes are the most important part. If so, why? I’d love to hear your responses, so feel free to comment in all honesty.
theonewhocalls 