Casandra Martin

Modesty. Just mention the word and blood pressures spike, battle lines are drawn, and frustration starts to spill over. Some people get defensive. Others go on the attack. But after a lot of listening, what I hear is a great number of women who are struggling to find a Christ-centered answer to a difficult question.

We live in a culture that idolizes beauty and is obsessed with sex. From the time our girls are very, very young, they are bombarded with messages that teach them that their worth, power, and ability to be successful is tied to their appearance. It is a powerful, pervasive mindset. As a result, we often define modesty using the world’s terms. We take the world’s standards and try to modify them in an attempt to find some balance.

What if the answer lies in letting God, rather than the world, define modesty? Our English word modesty finds its roots in a word that means “freedom from exaggeration, self-control.” Modesty is not nearly as much about hem lines as it is the heart. Modesty is an outgrowth of the fruit of the Spirit being cultivated in our lives. It doesn’t begin with an external list of “wear this, but don’t wear that.” It begins with a heart that is obedient to Christ and radiates outward. The world tells us that what we wear is a matter of personal freedom and choice. I can wear whatever I want because I dress to please myself. For a child of God, everything about my life must be surrendered to a Savior who died to make me His own. Even my clothes.

My Jesus Resolution today is to approach modesty differently. When I go into a dressing room at the store, I am going to take an extra mirror with me. When I try on a new outfit, I am going to see how my reflection looks not only in the three-way, but also in the mirror of Philippians 4:8. If you will allow me to paraphrase – ‘Finally, sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, wear these things.’