Marriage and Modesty

Click on the newsletter tab to sign up for our free monthly newsletter.  Our first newsletter will be sent to your inbox May 1st!

Today I want to cover the topic of modesty.  Now you may be wondering how modesty pertains to marriage.  First, when we are married, our bodies are not our own but also belong to our husband and secondly we represent our husband. 

When a woman seeks to attract attention to herself or to her body, then she is looking to glorify herself, not God.   A woman of God should never desire to draw attention to her body or even to herself, but to God.  If a man is standing in church trying to worship but is distracted by a woman in a low cut shirt or short skirt, then she is causing him to take his eyes off God and toward her body.  If a woman is wearing a skimpy bathing suit and has men looking at her, she is drawing attraction to her body, not to God.  As women of God we should desire for people to see Christ in us, not how our body looks.

“I also want women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God.”  I Timothy 2:8-10

Let’s look at that verse closely.  We are to dress modestly.  By dressing modestly we are not to direct the attention downward to our chest or even waist.  We are to keep our bodies covered.  We are to show “good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God.”  When people look at us, they should see the good things we do by our positive attitude, joy, and service to others.

We are now into spring time which means the clothing becomes less.  We are not wearing pants and big sweaters now.  So how can we stay modest but dress for the warmer weather?  Here are a few tips:

• Keep your chest covered.  If you like a lower neckline, wear a cami underneath your shirt.  You can get great cotton camis inexpensively at places like Walmart and Old Navy.  The goal is to see no cleavage.  If a cami is still showing some, safety pin it to your bra to keep it up.  When you dress in the morning bend over, if your shirt falls open and reveals your chest, cover it up!  When we bend over to pick up our little ones, we do not want to flash anyone.  Scarves are another great way to keep your chest covered up.
• Watch your straps!  Gals, the bra straps are not to be seen.  Keep the straps tight and under your shirt.
• Camis are meant for underneath!  I mentioned above that camis are great, but they are better for under a shirt, not to be a shirt.  And just to clarify, a cami (camisole) are thin spaghetti strap shirts. 
• Hide your thighs!  When wearing shorts or a skirt/dress, try this: place your arms straight down at your side.  If your shorts or skirt/dress go above your middle finger, then it is probably too short.
• No belly button please!  Keep your waist covered.  To be modest, do not show anything in between your shirt or your bottoms.  Another test, when you dress in the morning, raise your arms all the way above your head, if you can see any skin, try a longer shirt or even a long cami underneath.  When we are at church worshipping with hands raised high, we do not want to distract a man with our bare waist.
• Peek-a-boo buttons!  When you wear a button shirt, sometimes the buttons pull open.  Be careful that your buttons stay closed so skin and bust cannot be seen under the shirt.  If the buttons are misbehaving, put a cami underneath!

These are a few ways to stay modest.  Always remember that we represent God and our husband and that we want to draw attention to God, not our body. 

Sweet Blessings~