Baseline Modesty

The Basics of Christian Modesty Explained

In his book, “Christian Modesty, the Public Undressing of America”, Jeff Pollard explains how America has slipped away from the Biblical standard of modesty. Women oftentimes follow the world’s standard of modesty rather than that which God has put forth in His word. As Christian women, we should be covering ourselves not out of shame, but out of respect for our Lord, our Brothers in Christ, and our husbands.

Who are you representing to this world?

The words we speak, the choices we make and even the clothes we wear say a lot about who we are. If we dress like the women of the world, others will think we’re one of them, even if, in truth, we’re not.

“Your whole being--body and soul--is the purchased property of Jesus Christ: and the price paid for your body was the breaking of His. We must consider how we adorn His blood-bought property.”

You’re not your own. You were bought with a price. Part of honoring Jesus’ sacrifice is remembering He is our King, and dressing accordingly. Christian modesty doesn’t mean wearing only dresses and skirts, nor does it mean wearing heavy fabrics that aren’t flattering and have no style. It simply means that we should think through our motives for what we choose to wear. We shouldn’t strive to be the center of attention, neither should we dishonor the Lord in what we wear. There are indeed such things as too high, too short, too tight, or too low cut.

Is your way of dress causing others to sin?

When women wear revealing clothing, it can create a stumbling block for men to sin. When women wear expensive, flashy clothing and jewelry, it can cause other women to sin through envy or despair. Others are responsible for their own thoughts and actions, but each of us will answer for the stumbling blocks we knowingly hinder our Brothers and Sisters with.

This includes swimwear. Just because there’s a body of water around, doesn’t mean the standards of modesty are to be disregarded. Just as you wouldn’t go to the grocery store in your undergarments, you shouldn’t be wearing bikinis in public. Even most one piece swimsuits aren’t modest unless they’re paired with swim shorts or a swim skirt.

“While we must not be ashamed of the body itself as if it were an evil thing, we must properly cover it to preserve chastity of mind and spirit, especially in the corporate worship of our holy God.”

When dressing for church on the Lord’s Day, people tend to dress a little nicer than their daily wear. The point of this isn’t to show off or display any particular holiness, it’s to show reverence for the Lord. Church isn’t a social club. We should not be trying to impress our friends with a new tan or fancy dress. The rules of modesty actually apply more at church because when we worship, we’re spiritually going before the throne of God to give Him praise. Really think about it, if you were asked to appear before the throne of some royal person here on earth you would not wear a tube top and shorts with a 3 inch inseam. How much more conscientious and reverent should we clothe ourselves when going before the throne of God with our Brothers and Sisters?

Your husband has the final say

When picking an outfit, consider whether or not your husband would want you to wear it in public (assuming your husband is a godly man who understands feminine modesty). If your husband says something is too tight or low cut and for you to change, submit to that and change your outfit. It’s better to buy a whole new wardrobe than to cause men to stumble and lust after you, not to mention bring dishonor to yourself and your husband.

A practical application

There are general standards of modesty that can apply to everyone, crop tops and “booty shorts” being an example of immodesty. One part of dressing modestly is recognizing what outfit works best for your body type. For example, my sister is around 5’ 4” and can get away with wearing a skater skirt since it falls 3” above her knees. I’m a taller woman and if I were to wear the same style of skirt, it would fall less than halfway down my thighs. Considering I also have a fairly muscular build, a skirt of that length would be too short to wear out in public.

The same can apply to dress styles. A woman with a smaller bust can wear an empire-style dress with ease whereas a woman like me (who has had almost 3 babies in less than 4 years) would struggle not only with the fit, but also modesty in the sense of the dress highlighting the bust in a not-so appropriate way.

Ever since having babies, I’ve had to be a little more mindful of the way clothing fits. Not only because of remaining weight postpartum, but also because of how my figure has changed over the years. Even though the some of the clothes I wore before having babies still fit, I’ve had to donate them because they were no longer appropriate for my new figure postpartum.

In conclusion

Dressing modestly can come at a price. We may have to discard items of clothing that held memories. Some may call us strict, legalistic, or other unsavory names. It can, at times, even be hard to relate to other women at church. Our daughters may not be all too popular with their peers. As hard as it may be, we must remember that we’re dressing modestly in order to obey the Lord and be honorable representations of Him.

The quotes in this article are from Jeff Pollard’s book “Christian Modesty, the Public Undressing of America” pages 40 & 41, respectively.