Modesty & Swimwear

One topic that women can sometimes hate talking about is modesty. Most of the time women avoid the subject not because we do not want to talk about it but because it is SO confusing and difficult to find the balance between celebrating femininity and embracing modesty. I recently asked one of my dear mentors, Staci King, to come and speak with my Sunday night young ladies bible study about modesty.



I love Staci very much and look up to her as a wife, mother, and woman of God and I hope to represent Christ the way that she does. Staci was not able to make it to speak with our girls but she did send me a copy of a letter that she and some other women wrote to the ladies of their church (Comm Church in College Station) regarding the issue. I LOVED the letter because it broke down the different reasons that Christian women should seek to dress modestly. The letter was not harsh or condemning, but it was an encouragement to women to seek God in this issue after being presented with different biblical truths about modesty.

Many times women just do not understand the damage that they could be doing to fellow believers by the way they dress and that is why I wanted to post a small section from the letter written by these ladies that I trust. If you are battling with the issue of modesty, here are some reasons to consider dressing modestly...

~Loving and protecting the men around us by not being a source of temptation
~Body image struggles/comparing ourselves to others
~Love for your sister and her husband (who may struggle with lust)
~Modeling modesty for our young girls
~Protecting our young boys (the draw to lust begins much earlier than you may think)
~Helping the women who struggle with lust for other women

Modesty does not mean that we all have to wear snuggies and potato sacks all year round. Modesty means that before we get dressed, we need to check our motives and see if we are dressing to draw attention to the way we look. Is what we are wearing going to bring glory to Christ, or cause someone to struggle with lust or jealousy? Remember that we are called to love others more than ourselves (Phil 2) and dressing modestly is one HUGE way that we can do this. Staci sent me some websites that have modest swimwear and I have added links to them on the side of my blog. Some have really cute, modest swimsuits and I am going to ask my husband if I can order a couple myself! =)

Here is one verse that we should all try to think about when we are buying clothes or getting ready in the morning...

1 Timothy 2:9-10

And 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.

I don't want anyone to think that I have it all together on this issue. There are times where I still struggle with this issue and I will ask my husband or sisters in Christ to make sure my appearance is honoring to the Lord. I think it is great for us to talk openly about what modesty looks like in our culture so that we can be an encouragement to one another and not a stumbling block.