Modesty is the Best Policy!

Oftentimes, in this world, God’s commands have become man’s self-proclaimed “taboo” and unnecessary duties (even in the eyes of the believer). The cost of fitting in and drawing the attention of others has spilled from the hearts of mankind and been plastered on the appearance of humanity. Fashion trends in the eyes of some have become yet another form of receiving perceived acceptance from man, even at the cost of not displaying God’s holiness. Today, on our journey I wanted to discuss an interesting and fashionable topic with you – modesty! Although this word is another one of the world’s self-proclaimed “taboos”, I wanted to discuss this topic on our journey today.

Modesty does not start as an outward display, as some may believe. Modesty starts as an inward work, fueled by the commitment to God that we have in our heart and, as a result, is expressed in the way we present ourselves to the world through our behavior and character, which includes, but is not limited to just our clothes! Modesty is a blessing, and it doesn’t have to be boring or “boyish” as deception may have whispered in your ear. Modesty is how we display the inward beauty God has placed inside of us and I wanted to express how modesty shines our inner light, our outward beauty, and draws the attention of the godly human interaction that God has destined for us to receive. Now, let’s go ahead on our journey…

As I already mentioned, Modesty starts as an inward work, fueled by our commitment to God in our hearts that is subsequently expressed in the way we present ourselves to the world outwardly (through our fashion, interaction with others, behavior, etc.). Being noticed by people for our outward beauty does not mean that our lives are admirable. God sees our hearts, and He wants to see the beauty He has placed inside of us (through believing in His Son, Jesus) come through us and into the world as we renew our minds to think like Him. God wants to show off His glory and He wants us to express His image just like His only begotten Son, Jesus, does. Jesus “…radiates God’s own glory and expresses the very character of God, and he sustains everything by the mighty power of his command.” (Hebrews 1:3, NLT). Because we are like God, is important that we radiate God’s glory and express His character through choosing to obey HUS Word and follow the Holy Spirit. We obey the Holy Spirit when we follow God’s written word (the Bible) or by receiving and walking in His Word that He speaks specifically to us audibly, in our hearts, through people, commercials, posts, or whichever method He chooses! I’m here to tell you, that modesty is glorious (and can still be classy and cute!). God desires for you and I have to have a personal relationship with Him and for our light to shine before all mankind to see (See Matthew 5:16). So, let’s discuss some very important points as it related to modesty that I feel the Lord is leading me to discuss with you on our journey today.

#1. God does not like immodesty! God does not like immodesty because it does not mirror His image. God is not immodest! God is actually humble, and we are called to be humble, too! God is proven to be humble when He came in the form of man to die and rise again to save us from our sins. The Bible says that, even though Jesus is, “…God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges;  he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.” (Philippians 6-8, NLT). How humble does God have to be all pure and still love, protect, forgive, encourage, save, bless, and rescue, etc. sinful human beings? Truly, His grace is sufficient (See 2 Corinthians 12:9)! With His humility, God is still confident and He believes in Himself. The Bible says, “By faith we understand that the entire universe was formed at God’s command, that what we now see did not come from anything that can be seen.” (Hebrews 11:3, NLT). Since God created everything through faith, it is obvious that He believes in His command (Himself) because He is His Word. God also is not afraid to embrace who He is. When Moses asks God to tell him who he should say sent him when he goes before Pharoah, God simply replies, “I Am That I Am.” (Exodus 3:14, KJV). Look how confident and secure God is in who He is and since we are made in His image, we are called to be the same way.

But even though God is confident, God is never proud, evil, or seductive. The Bible says, “God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:.”  (James 1:13, KJV). When we are immodest, we model satan. Satan is also know as the tempter (See Matthew 4:3, KJV) and when we are immodest we are trying to pull others into sin while we are walking in sin ourselves. Satan has been deceptive and seductive from the beginning. He does all he can to lure people into sin, because in truth, he is insecure. Satan fell because he didn’t think he was good enough.  Before his catastrophic fall, the book of Isaiah recounts him saying, “I will ascend to heaven and set my throne above God’s stars. I will preside on the mountain of the gods far away in the north. I will climb to the highest heavens and be like the Most High.’ (v.13-14, NLT). Note: because of God we are not God, but, we are like God. God has made us mini gods; little versions of himself. To those who believe in Him, Jesus says, “…I say, you are gods!” (John 10:34, NLT), So, maybe (just maybe) satan not only wanted to be over God, but, he could have also wanted to be like mankind out of his jealousy as well and take our rightful position of dominion and power that God gave us over this earth!

Unlike satan, we must stop trying to be something or someone we are not to try to feel superior or have “likes” or attention. After satan’s fall, he does all he can to lure others into sin. He deceived (seduced) Eve through temptation and his false promises of pleasure out of his own insecurity, promising her, “You won’t die!...God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it [the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil], and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.” (Genesis 3:4, NLT). For more on this story check out Genesis three. Satan’s only win was to get someone else to fall prey to sin. He feels as though making others step outside of righteousness and to engage in his sin makes him seem better. We are not to use our bodies as a weapon to tear others down or to build up our self-perception (only God’s Word can build us up!).

This is how God felt about the immodest women among His own chosen people (those who new about God), ““Beautiful Zion is haughty: craning her elegant neck, flirting with her eyes, walking with dainty steps, tinkling her ankle bracelets. So the Lord will send scabs on her head; the Lord will make beautiful Zion bald.” On that day of judgment the Lord will strip away everything that makes her beautiful: ornaments, headbands, crescent necklaces, earrings, bracelets, and veils; scarves, ankle bracelets, sashes, perfumes, and charms; rings, jewels, party clothes, gowns, capes, and purses; mirrors, fine linen garments, head ornaments, and shawls.” (Isaiah 3:16-23, NLT). God wants us to model His Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the Helper ( See John 15:16) and women are helpmeets (See John 2:18) just like the Spirit. The Holy Spirit is not pretentious and showy and nor does He want us to be. The Holy Spirit is Holy, powerful, committed to the Father and His mission, and loyal and wants us to be the same! The Holy Spirit walks out His own Word and we are must also walk in God’s Word if we want to see His power in our lives. God stripped the daughters of Jerusalem in punishment, but, He could strip you to prune you for a better life if you chose to submit to His Word.

#2 Immodesty Is Pride. Whenever we are walking in immodesty, we are walking in pride. Like, satan, we are trying to get people to look at us and not look at God. And did you know that pride and insecurity are connected? When satan decided to try and exalt himself above God, he only did that because he did not accept God’s love for him and felt that he wasn’t good enough as he was. Wherever we find pride, we know that we have an area in our life where we are not putting our trust in God’s love for us. Humility is surrender! We must humble ourselves in surrender to God, knowing that He is faithful to finish what He started and that he doesn’t need us to do anything extreme to get what He has for us. But, do what want what He has for us? Do you want what He has for you? If you are trying to take matters into your hands, then you are fighting for your will and not God’s. Since satan wanted his own will, he tried (and still tries, to no end) to work inn his own sin and self-effort to get it. Humble yourself under the love of God. He will never fail or abandon you! You must decide to allow God to take the will! Have faith in Him and He will lead you to the right places, people, and relationships that you need while also developing your character the whole way! You don’t have to dress a certain way to “lure” what you want. As you walk in the Spirit, God will place His desires in your heart, so that you will get what He wants. God says, “For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” (Jeremiah 29:11, NLT). “So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor.” (1 Peter 5:6, NLT). Immodesty tries to give us the glory for what we had nothing to do with (our look, figure, skill, etc.). But, modesty puts the spotlight on God’s glory as it radiates through us for all to see! How beautiful is that! At the end of the day, God loves us all, He made us all, so we dont have to obsessed by how we look or jealous of how others look. And we certainly can’t take credit for how we look. The Creator (God) gets all the credit for that! God made you beautiful and special. God wants that beauty to shine through you! Give the glory to God today!

#3. God’s justice will not be mocked (See Galatians 6:6-7)! We cannot sow ungodliness, lasciviousness, unfaithfulness, disloyalty, and expect those around us and even our own family or future family to see us as holy and virtuous!  If you are not being treated as virtuous, you could be asking the wrong people who don’t see your value to affirm you. But, on the contrary, you could also be living a lifestyle that is not virtuous at all. Meanness is not virtue. Being angry, rude, or hard, is not strength. We must adorn ourselves,“…with the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God.” (1 Peter 3:4, NLT). Everything that happens is not someone else’s fault. No one made satan sin, no one made Eve sin, and no one made Adam sin even though they all tried to pass the blame to others (See Genesis 3:11-13 & Revelation 12:10)!  Satan is the accuser, and we are not called to be like him (See Revelation 12:10)! We must not be quick to blame. We must always examine our behavior not against others (See 2 Corinthians 10:12), but against God’s Word to see where we must grow, change, and improve. “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.” (1 Timothy 3:16, NLT). Satan tried to be someone and something he wasn’t called to be! Satan is the father of lies (See John 8:44). He loves to keep up a false pretence of power and status instead of actually submitting to God. He loves to lie to himself and others about who he is and he loves to lie you and I. Because he didn’t believe he was who God said he was, he doesn’t want us to believe it either! Satan is insecure and he wants to spread his insecurity and so do people! Satan spread his insecurity to Eve who in turn spread it to Adam. Like satan and Eve, self-deceived/deceived people always want to spread their deception, but, because of Christ, you don’t have to live this way! But, even though satan is the father of lies, God is the Father of lights (See James 1:17) and those lights are us (See Matthew 5:16)! Will you chose to walk in satan’s lies or to shine God’s light?

But, sending the wrong message through immodesty could potentially harm others, but, most of all, it definitely harms you! You could say that your fashion doesn’t matter or that you deserve someone who will treat you “like a queen”, but, you will never be perceived as a queen if your spirit, behavior, and (even) clothing do not represent that. You and I cannot dress like a pauper and expect to receive a prince no more than you or I can dress like a gazelle in the African Savannah and not think we could be pursued by lions! However, this job of modesty isn’t just about changing our clothes and lightening up our makeup. This job of modesty is about renewing our minds! And once again this job of modesty is not about dressing like “a grandma” or “a guy”. When we obey the Holy Spirit’s voice, tell our secrets, fears, and confess our sins to God, confess Scripture over our lives, meditate on God’s word day and night, and cast our cares on Christ (deciding to be different) our desires will change! It is time for you to believe you are special to God. God cares about you and He loves you! YOUR BODY IS NOT YOUR MOST VALUABLE ASSET! YOU DO NOT HAVE TO FIT IN BECAUSE JESUS DIDN’T AND YOU ARE LIKE HIM IF YOU BELIEVE IN HIM! God loves you and cares about you! It’s ironic that we often wish we had a prince who’s willing to die for us and who could save us and lead us to a fairytale ending, but, we actually do! Jesus is the Prince of Peace (See Isaiah 9:6) who died for you and will lead you to paradise when He returns so you can have eternal life in His “fairytale ending”! Now, that’s true Love (See John 3:16)!

#4 Modesty shines our light! God is looking at our hearts and He wants others to see our purity (uh, oh, another one of those “taboo” words again; purity.) just like He does. But, this is done through our behavior not our appearance. It is true that we can gain the carnal attention of others through how wide our hips are, how good our hair looks, and the shoes adorning our feet, but that is not what makes us special! God told us, “The LORD doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7, NLT). God has already given us the secret to shining His light and drawing what and who is for us to us. Do you want to know that secret? It’s found in the book of First Peter which says, “In the same way, you wives must accept the authority of your husbands. Then, even if some refuse to obey the Good News, your godly lives will speak to them without any words. They will be won over by observing your pure and reverent lives. Don’t be concerned about the outward beauty of fancy hairstyles, expensive jewelry, or beautiful clothes. You should clothe yourselves instead with the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God. This is how the holy women of old made themselves beautiful. They put their trust in God and accepted the authority of their husbands.”  (1 Peter 3:1-5, NLT). It is our spirits that draw and attract our husbands. By observing our pure and reverent lives to God, people will be led to Jesus and the right people will be led into our lives because we chose to shine our light! Our decision to trust in God’s love and receive His holiness will make a clear delineation between God’s chosen people and the world!

We must also remember that our lives are bigger than us! There are people watching our behavior everyday no matter if they are family, friends, classmates, coworkers, teachers, children, teens, etc. Will your life point them to Jesus or will your life point them to yourself and satan? Stop just looking for inspiration and learn how to be someone’s inspiration! First Peter also says, “Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbors. Then even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior, and they will give honor to God when he judges the world.” (1 Peter 2:12, NLT). It would be very hard to witness to someone (who may even be more successful in their career than you are even with their sin) if you were just like them! How effective could someone be if they were to tell an unbeliever to stop drinking while they sat down at the barstool in their church clothes (hat, gloves, oversized purse, and all!) and ordered a couple of rounds themself. Then, compound that analogy if they were poor, but, the unbeliever was a successful popstar who made ungodly music. They have the success that the bar-attending church lady, doesn’t! Both go to the same place, have the same struggles, and their is nothing really that seperates their behavior. They share the same sin and the unbeliever is even more successful! Both of their lives are not effective by Jesus so what is the popstar’s motivation to change, seeing that Jesus doesn’t make the church lady any less miserable, depressed, and addicted as they are. Are you or I preaching a Jesus that we don’t even follow ourselves? Where is the motivation to convert to Christ and live for God in that?!  How can the blind lead the blind (See Luke 6:39)? Shouldn’t you and I remove the beam in our eye before we try to removes someone else’s speck (See Matthew 7:3-5)? It’s time for us to make a hard decision to follow Jesus, by placing our faith in His love for us which never changes. We can’t change in our strength, but, if you and I choose to believe in what Jesus has already done, we will see a lasting change. I know I have in my life and I will continue to and I pray that you’re saying the same. It’s time to shine our light!

#5 Modesty is not limited to clothes! Like we already discussed, modesty is about our mindset! I wanted to expound on this principle a little deeper. Modesty includes the way we think, which in turn influences our behavior. This behavior includes how we think, act, speak, behave, our sexual lifestyles and maintaining our God-designed sexual orientation (male and female). Paul directly addresses the issue of modesty when he explains, “..I want women to be modest in their appearance.[They should wear decent and appropriate clothing and not draw attention to themselves by the way they fix their hair or by wearing gold or pearls or expensive clothes. For women who claim to be devoted to God should make themselves attractive by the good things they do.” (1 Timothy 2:9-10, NLT). First of all, God doesn’t mind us having things, He just doesn’t want things to have us. There are some fashion choices that should be out of the question, but, God is not against fashion. God never said you couldn’t wear your haur a certain way, or have pearls of expensive clothes. It is the spirit behind you wearing those clothes that He cares about. Why are you wearing what you are wearing? Who are you wearing it for? Do you get your value from what people think about what you wear? Do you wan to fit in with what you wear? Do you get a since of pride from thinking you look better than others? These are questions to take into consideration whenever we correlate our mindset towards modesty with fashion.

Modesty is not just about not wearing something, it is about not believing something that isn’t true about God and yourself. God is not boring or irrelevant and you are not ugly, unimportant, or unlovable! God wants people to see what He has already placed and seen inside of your spirit — beauty! Likewise, just as modesty is not about what we don’t wear, it is also not about what we do wear! You and I can wear skirts to floor, but, that still doesn’t mean we can’t be boy-crazy, mean, ungodly, jealous, lukewarm, unmerciful, insecure, irresponsible, etc. Modesty is meant to come from our hearts. This means we must believe God is who He says He is and we are who He says we are enough to walk in it and shine our light to others. “How do I believe?” You may be wondering. Well, “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” (Romans 10:17, KJV). Reading Scriptures that apply to your situation and meditating on them and confessing them will change your life! Hearing and believing the Word is what renews our mind. Remember, hearing is not external, it is also internal. Hearing the Word does not have to be just from sermons, or tiktoks, or wisdom from someone you trust. Hearing the Word includes confessing it aloud for yourself.

#6 Watch your influences! Hearing the Word is important and it also important to watch your influences. What do you watch on TV? What music do you listen to? What woman is your role model? What kind of boys do you find yourself attracted to? Who do you get your advice from? What do you watchion YouTube or TikTok? Who do you follow on social media? All of these sources can either further your faith or lead you into sin and/or discouragement. It is obvious that we live in a world, where many claim to be “influencers”. The question is: Influence to what? Influence for what? Are you, me, or them leading people down a path that God doesn’t want us to follow? If we want to shine God’s light, we probably don’t need to spend all day watching videos of how to get people to notice us through our makeup or flashy clothes!

Unlike people, God cannot steer us down the wrong track; their is no evil in Him at all! Like we discussed earlier on our journey, “Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:” (James 1:13, KJV). God leads us; He can and will never deceive us (See Psalms 23:2)! The Bible directly addresses this issue of “influencers” in the book of Ephesians as Paul writes to the Ephesian believers: “Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.” (4:14-16, NLT, Italics added).  

Just like God wants to use people, the enemy also wants to use people. Satan will use anyone who may (or may not) be “cool”, good-looking, charismatic, or anything else to get the job done in deceiving us. Does that mean that we shouldn’t love people who are confused? Of course not! God has called us to love everyone, but, He does not want us to be led into sin. Satan wants us to desire the approval of people. He will use anyone he can to tell us that saving our virginity for marriage is stupid and a waste of time, that no one will ever love us, that we aren’t pretty, skinny, or curvy enough, that we can’t succeed living a lifestyle of holiness, that no man wants a “godly girl”, that no woman wants a “godly man”, that no godly people are left, that “men are dogs and women should replace them”, that women are promicous and trashy and men should avoid them, that people of the same gender should lust after each other, etc. But, these are all lies to keep you from believing God is Who He says He is and you are who He says you are. Satan wants to distract us just like he did with Eve with something “shiny and new”. “She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it.” (Genesis 3:6, NLT). I decree and declare that won’t be us, in Jesus’ name!

Being obsessed with watching makeup tutorials, fashion hacks, nail designs, and new work outs means nothing, because our bodies are not the biggest parts of us – our spirits are! “For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.” (1 Timothy 4:8, KJV). And in the NLT, ““Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come.” But, negative influence doesn’t always come from obvious places like those who may be more clearly unaligned with the will of God, but, also for those who claim to follow Jesus! Not everyone who is a Christian is a good example of how to follow Christ! We must take a step back and ask the Holy Spirit to help us to discern when something isn’t right, even when it comes from a person who claims to love God. “But I am not surprised! Even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.” (2 Corinthians 11:14, NLT). Even satan pretended to be helping Eve in the garden: “You won’t die!...God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.” (Genesis 3:4, NLT). Even church leaders may not be ministering in line with God’s Word, so we must pick up the Bible ourselves! This is why it is so important to choose to live a life sanctified and set apart. When we become numb to sin, it is harder to distinguish between the real and fake. Living a lifestyle of Holiness and learning God’s Word for ourselves helps us to see when things are and are not like God in ourselves and in others!

#7 Modesty doesn’t repel who/what God has for us, modesty actually draws who/what God has for us! The most attractive thing about a man or woman should be the attractive radiance of their spirit as they live a lifestyle that pleases God. We already read how we should attract people and even our husband by the good things we do (1 Timothy 2:11, 1 Peter 3:3). When we decide to walk in immodesty we are drawing the very friends or man we don’t want in our lives and the godly man God has for us is less inclined to approach someone that doesn’t seem to be in line with his values and lifestyle. When we have a trashy mindset and/or dress “trashily”, we receive trashy and filthy mindsets trying to approach us. When we live like Jesus and adorn ourselves with a gentle and quiet spirit which is so precious to God (See 1 Peter 3:4) we attract treasure which is a part of God’s plan and reward for us. So, would you rather draw your problem and repel your promise, or would you rather repel your problem and draw God’s promise? The choice is yours. God does not want you to be in disguise. He doesn’t want you to attract the man you don't want to be with and wind up repelling the godly, masculine, supportive, loyal man He has assigned to you! Visuals matter. It takes courage to stand out, but you will receive God’s full promsie on this earth if you do! Would you rather camouflage yourself as just “one of the crowd” or have your spirit illuminate a feminine, virtuous radiance that points people to God and draws the right people (i.e. friends, business partners, and even your husband) into your life! The choice is yours to make. The answer lies in whether you choose to renew your mind (or not). Renewing the mind happens continually over the course our lives (it’s a never-ending proces on earth, because we wont be perfect until we get to heaven) by taking practical steps towards change. These steps include, reading the Bible, meditating on Scriptures, confessing Scriptures over you and your life, dressing modestly and embracing who God says you are! This is why believing God is who He says He is and you are who He says you are is so important, because it is only when you believe these truths that you or I can change. Have the faith to live in such a way were you allow The Holy Spirit to lead you into all the promises He has for you on earth and in heaven. Break out of your disguise!

#8 Modesty is not limited to age! Another myth to debunk is that modesty is limited to age. Modesty is not an age or marital status issue. A married person should not feel the freedom to now dress in a way that is not wholesome nor should a young child or teenager feel emboldened to “flaunt their stuff”. Likewise, modesty should not be viewed as something solely for the “old folks” or the “the younger generation”. The prophet Jeremiah protested to God about him serving Him because of his young age, saying, “O Sovereign Lord,” he said, “I can’t speak for you! I’m too young!” and “,The Lord replied, “Don’t say, ‘I’m too young,’ for you must go wherever I send you and say whatever I tell you. And don’t be afraid of the people, for I will be with you and will protect you. I, the Lord, have spoken!”  (Jeremiah 1:6-8, NLT). As believers we are called to represent God and there is no age limit or age minimum for this truth.  God called Samuel at twelve-years-old (See 1 Samuel 3) and he called Abaraham when he was seventy-five (See Genesis 12). Choose to serve Him now, no matter your age, stage, or relational status. We are never too old or too young to serve Jesus! Jesus has loved, is loving, and will love you eternally no matter what! Choose to serve Him through His will for your life!

#9. (Outer) Beauty will not last: The spirit of modesty. Once again, modesty is more than just about changing clothes. I’ve had to speak the Word to correct pride in my life even when my clothes didn’t seem to warrant my correction. I had to make sure my heart was in the right place. Jesus is not calling you or I to change our clothes; He is calling us to have the spirit of modesty. We must renew our minds where humility overflows through us and our ours are not proud and immodest. This is ture modesty that only comes when we change the way think and see the world. We must renew our mind through the Word of God as we previously discussed. It is true that all of us can fall (an have fallen) into pride. But, you don’t have to feel bad about those things. Ask God to give you a humble spirit in the name of His Son, Jesus. After David had comitted murder against one of his innocent soldier (See 2 Samuel 11, Psalms 51), he confesses his sin to God. He humbles himself in his moment of weakness, knowing that God’s love is enought to saturate his soul with forgivness and rebuild his crushed spirit. David says,”Have mercy on me, O God,  because of your unfailing love. Because of your great compassion, blot out the stain of my sins. Against you, and you alone, have I sinned; I have done what is evil in your sight…. Purify me from my sins,and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me.” (Psalms 51:1, 4, 7, 10, NLT) (Note: ironically 1, 4, 7, and 10 are all three numbers from each other. Three is the number of new life in the Bible. This goes to show God will make your life new as you choose to trust in Him! See #4 in the bibliography)! And later, in the same chapter, David says in the King James Version of the Bible, “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.” (Psalms 51:17) (Note: this verse 17. 1 + 7 = 8. 8 is the number of new beginnings in the Bible. God wants to give you a fresh start! See #5 in the bibliography). God will not forsake you! God will not turn you away when you have fallen into temptation, instead, He always desires to lift you up! If you sincerely come to Him, He will cleanse your heart and make it white as snow (See Psalms 51:7)! The Hebrew word for contrite in this verse means to collapse, to crush, and to break sore, among other meanings (See #6 in the bibliography). When you or I humble ourselves and pray (collapse) before God, confess our sins to Him and pray, God is faithful to restore us everytime. God has already forgiven you, it’s time that you receive it!

Certainly, I have had to do this and am still working on having a humble heart before God in every area of my life (including in how I present myself to the world by attitude and attire, as I seek to maintain the right heart posture in every area of my life). I must remember, it’s not just my clothes God is looking at, it is my heart behind it, and so do you. This journey is not meant promote sin, but, to promote the love and forgiveness of God. If you have been overwhelmed/overcome by feelings of pride and insecurity that may or may have caused your outfit choices to show it, pray to God asking Him to cleanse your heart and renew your mind (as we all should!) If we sincerely pray and have a dessire to change, God will lead us and do the purifying. God desires to wash you inside and out if you would accept His love and forgiveness towards you. God is always there to pick you up when you needed it most. What a Great God!

It is also important for us to remember that outer beauty will not last, but, inner beauty will.The book of Proverbs notes that a virtous and capable wife, “…dresses in fine linen and purple gowns.” (Proverbs 31:22, NLT). These items denoted prestige in the Bible days (See #3 in Bibliography), but, the woman still has a heart posture of submission to God. The virtous woman is not self-consumed, instead, she helps others. “She extends a helping hand to the poor and opens her arms to the needy” (Proverbs 31:20, NLT) She is not carried away by how she looks, rather she chooses to be a blessing to those God leads her to serve. she serve her husband and children, and carries out God’s mission for her life in every area (See Proverbs 31:10-31). Beauty will not last, but, what we do for God will." “Charm is deceptive, and beauty does not last; but a woman who fears the LORD will be greatly praised. Reward her for all she has done. Let her deeds publicly declare her praise.” (Proverbs 31:30-31, NLT). Serving God allows His beauty to radiate through us, no matter the physical changes we go through or what we wear. Aging shouldn't scare us. Someone looking better or younger than us shouldn't scare us!When we trust in how much GOD loves us no matter what stage or age we're in or whatever we have going on, then we will have peace; our inner beauty will shine always!

#10. Modesty can be classy and cute! As we just discussed the virtous woman is clothed in “…fine linen and purple gowns” (Proverbs 31:22, NLT) God wants us to enjoy our lives. God doesn’t mind us having fashion, He just doesn’t want fashion to have us! He wants us to be honorable in the way we are perceived and that stems from us changing the way we think to be in line with what He says about us. The Bible says that women should, “…not draw attention to themselves by the way they fix their hair or by wearing gold or pearls or expensive clothes.” (1 Timothy 2:9, NLT, italics added). The Bible says that we should not to point people to ourselves by the way we dress, but, to Jesus. Once, again, God never said we couldn’t look good. It is the motive behind why we dress the way we do that God cares about. God never said that we couldn’t look good, but these good looks must have godly parameters. Even our looks should stem from who God says we are, as we are dressing to please God, to embrace our personality and who He has made us, and should not be used to draw the lust, attention, or envy of others. This is how we walk in modesty: believing God is who He says He is, we are who we says we are, and living (which leads to us dressing) according! You are “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalms 139:14, KJV). Say this out loud: “I am fearfully and wonderfully made!” Yes you are! Don’t let anything or anyone tell you differently! God loves you!

The truth is, God cares about your body (See 1 Corinthians 6:13) and also He cares about His reputation and us representing His holiness. God always has someone who will represent Him with their whole heart, even if we decide that it will not be me or you! God’s show will go on, but, He has written you in the script and wants you to accept your role and follow His directions (for a lack of a better analogy). You don’t have to worry about anything. “…don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs.” (Matthew 6:31, NLT). “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7, NLT). We must choose to renew our mind by fixing our, “…thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable…” and to “…Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.” (Phillipians 4:8, NLT). You don’t have to worry about what you will eat, drink, or wear; all you have to do is “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.” (Matthew 6:33, NLT). God is here to help you. You are not alone! God says, “…I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” (Hebrews 13:5, KJV, also see Deuteronomy 31:6). God has told you, “For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” (Jeremiah 29:11, NLT). Even when people forsake you, you can rest assured, knowing that God can never and will never forsake you! We are called to be like Jesus. Right before Jesus went to the cross, He said, “But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when you will be scattered, each one going his own way, leaving me alone. Yet I am not alone because the Father is with me.” (John 16:32, NLT). We must have the same mindset as Jesus, knowing that Go is with us no matter what. We must share in His suffering so we can share in His glory (See Romans 8:17). The Father never left Jesus, and for all who have accepted Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior, we must believe that the same is true for us Jesus’ brothers and sisters (See Roman 8:29).

I want to conclude our journey today, with this revelation I received while I was sitting in the car with my brother, picking up groceries for our family. I began to ask God in my heart, “Lord, what’s the problem with fitting in?” I knew that God didn’t want us to follow the world and walk in insecurity and low self-esteem and not follow who we are in Christ, but I couldn’t understand why. What was the big deal with not trying to be like someone else.? And all of sudden God revealed in my heart this phrase “I am God and there is no other.” (Paraphrase of Isaiah 46:9). And then it dawned on me! Since we are made in the image of God and God is one of kind with no equal, that means that we are called to be unique, too! We must embrace our God-given identities to fulfill God’s will for us and be used in our role for His ultimate plan of Him reuniting with man once and for all time through the return of His Son, Jesus! No one can be you and you can’t be anyone else. Embrace your God-given identity. God loves you and you are special! Shine your light knowing that modesty is the best policy!

Identity Work:

1.      Find 1-3 Scriptures on your identity in Christ and confess them over yourself. Meditate on these Scriptures even if you start doing it for only 1 min. a day. Pray to God to ask Him to help you see Himself like He does and thanking Him for how beautiful He has made you inside and out.

2.   Wardrobe change! You can either get some new clothes or find ways to make your outfits more modest by adding leggings, t-shirts, jackets, or undergarments.  Shine your light!

Want some modest outfit inspiration? Check out the photos below!

Classy & Cute!

Who said modesty had to be boring? Be Classy & Cute!

Fancy and Faithful!

You can embrace Jesus through fashion. Be Fancy & Faithful!

Covered and Casual!

Glam can be glorious. You can be covered and casual!

 Bibliography

1. Holy Bible, King James Version. Public Domain.https://www.biblegateway.com/versions/King-James-Version-KJV-Bible/

2. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. https://www.biblegateway.com/versions/New-Living-Translation-NLT-Bible/#copy

3. https://biblehub.com/commentaries/proverbs/31-22.htm.

4. https://www.biblestudy.org/bibleref/meaning-of-numbers-in-bible/3.html

5. https://www.biblestudy.org/bibleref/meaning-of-numbers-in-bible/8.html

6. https://biblehub.com/hebrew/1794.htm