Women: Where Do You Draw The Line On Looks?

[Akiko]

I'm curious to people's thoughts on this-- although it's more of a issue for women than men...

1 Timothy 2:9 says, "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." In most cases, we take this to mean not to dress suggestively (low-riders, strapless tops, et cetera). But I'm wondering... has society numbed our veiw to that verse?

We are made in God's image, so in His eyes, we're already perfect. So how far do you go in "dressing up" until it's a sin? Make-up wise... you don't want to look inappropriate (for lack of a better word). Where do you draw the line? Mascara and blush? Or can you add liner? Or is make-up itself a sin? How low do your low-riders go? What about heels? Shorts? And going to the other extreme, what about plastic surgery?

Personally, I am curious. I don't even like to wear make-up, but I'd like to know for myself and my friends. Does anyone have thoughts on this?

[kari21]

I'm curious to people's thoughts on this-- although it's more of a issue for women than men...

1 Timothy 2:9 says, "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." In most cases, we take this to mean not to dress suggestively (low-riders, strapless tops, et cetera). But I'm wondering... has society numbed our veiw to that verse?

We are made in God's image, so in His eyes, we're already perfect. So how far do you go in "dressing up" until it's a sin? Make-up wise... you don't want to look inappropriate (for lack of a better word). Where do you draw the line? Mascara and blush? Or can you add liner? Or is make-up itself a sin? How low do your low-riders go? What about heels? Shorts? And going to the other extreme, what about plastic surgery?

Personally, I am curious. I don't even like to wear make-up, but I'd like to know for myself and my friends. Does anyone have thoughts on this?

I think make-up is ok as long as you don't overdo it. Christian women can wear what we please, just try not to wear anything too tight or revealing. Men are first aroused by what they see, so we should dress modestly so as not to tempt.

As far as plastic surgery goes...if it's to correct a defect, it's fine. If not, don't mess with what God gave you.

[elkieDannsa' Air An Drochaid]

Well, I enjoy casual dress and dressing nice. However, I don't show a lot of flesh and I don't go overboard on whatever I do. Moderation is easy enough and it is far more caring to our brothers to dress right.

Also, our additude means plenty!

I think though this varies a bit considering if someone is on mainland or an island however in someways.

And prayerfully in all things,

God bless,

elkie

[darski]

I agree that moderation is important.

I once saw a website that pretty much said that if you are not wearing what Mary would have worn and if you don't have your hair in a tight bun, you are on your way to hell for being hard hearted and disobedient. Yeah, sure, right!

Like you I don't wear make-up as it makes my skin crawl. (Iv'e tried all kinds and levels of hypo-allergenic)

This discussion was coming up often in my last congregation - it did need to as some of the younger ones didn't quite see modesty as one would have liked. Actually, some older ones challenged as well.

It was not uncommon for people to go and bow at the front (altar) and one young woman kept having to haul down her top and haul up her pants. It did not seem to be putting much into worship when her clothing was at the top of the list.

But I have to watch what I say as I have been condemned for wearing slacks. I have very bad feet and theshoes I need do not go with any dress/skirt known to humanity...Well I suppose if ugly is considered modest it might go. (I think that going for ugly/unsightly is just as immodest as dressing to the nines for church.

I am interested in seeing what other women (and men) have to say about this issue. It would be good if the men could respond and give us something to work from on their side of this.

[KarenJo5]

I will wear slacks to church on occasion.I only wear make-up when I go to town,church,and I used to wear it most days when I worked outside the home.

My husband laughs about the fact he doesn't have to spend much on clothes for me.My home attire is sweat pants and t-shirts in the winter and those same sweat pants,cut off to be shorts in the summer with t-shirts I get new sweats every winter!!!

I do seriously have other clothes but at home I'm strictly a comfort gal

[Rebmilc]

Hi Girls.

From a man's point of view I agree that Modest is best, my wife does wear makeup but only a small amount and she likes to wear her hair long and not show to much bare flesh.

I was at a communion service a while ago and that morning the church had decided to let the young people take around the bread and wine. So far no problem, however two of the teenage girls were wearing crop-tops and you could see all their tummy. I personally found that offensive and my brother was so incensed about it that he complained to the pastor who told him that he didn't see any harm in it.

It seemed to me at the time that this wasn't appropriate dress for church.

[Adarian]

I like modest clothing on women. Nice clothes and well done hair and jewelry are okay as far as I am concerned, as long as its all done with class and elegance. Basic but modest is good too. Seeing things that arouse lust are nothing but an irritation. Seeing things that arouse lust among believers in the church is seriously irritating. As for slacks vs the skirt or a dress, who cares? Modesty is the thing, style is probably irrelevant.

[cjrose]

I'm just the conservative type. Never needed to exploit myself with clothing that will make people judge you. My upbringing has taught me to be a classy dresser as well as respectfully behaved. Mom always told me, never wear cheap jewelry and always buy good shoes. I see now that in my teens, the bright blue eye make up and the huge dangling earrings can give a certain impression. That didn't last long for me. But I happened to be watching TBN tonight and the preacher was talking about this very same thing. Dress for the Lord. Take that statement in your own personal meaning.

[Kabowd]

We are made in God's image, so in His eyes, we're already perfect. So how far do you go in "dressing up" until it's a sin?

Just a little point of clarification here. Being created in God's image doesn't mean our physical appearance. We bear God's image because, in summary, we are the only part of His creation with the capabilities to use reason, logic, creativity and have souls that long for a relationship with Him. Secondly, though we were created in God's image (and still bear His image to a degree), after the fall His image in us became tainted and marred by sin. Thus, it isn't true that "in His eyes, we're already perfect". This isn't true spiritually (because sin destroyed the original perfect fellowship with God), and it isn't even true physically (because sin affected EVERY part of God's original creation). Once sin entered the world, everything began to die. We do not have perfect bodies, none of us do. Yes we are each unique and are all beautiful expressions of God's creativity and design...but we are not perfect, nor are we anything like what He intended us to be. In fact, the entire point of the cross and sending His Son was to restore us back to what He originally intended.

When it comes to wearing make-up, or frankly, doing anything to or with our bodies, we should always consider carefully whether or not what we are doing is reflecting glory back to the One who created us. We should be mindful that we are part of God's creation and were therefore created to display His splendor (to use a reference from Isaiah 61). Enhancing your appearance isn't sinful in and of itself, the crux of the issue would be your motivation and intentions. Everything that God created should be cherished and taken care of. This is why I'm an advocate for environmental issues. I think that believers should be the first ones to stand up and want to protect our natural resources and our environment...but for different reasons than our tree-hugging, materialistic, evolutionist counterparts. We should be caring for and protecting our environment/world because God created it, it's part of the works of His hands. The same is true for health and fitness issues. There are non-believers who take fitness to such extremes it becomes their god and their bodies are more fit than some of us could ever dream. However, their hearts are far from God and so the reflection of His glory is greatly reduced. Those of us who do have a relationship with God and understand that our bodies are to be used to bring Him glory (Rom. 12), should honestly be the most outspoken health and fitness advocates of all. Not because of competition or reasons of vanity, but because we understand our purpose and we want to care for this part of God's creation.

So when we pull back and look at the broader scope of things, let me ask you a few things: Do you own land or have a lawn? If so, do you mow it? Do you plant flowers or water them? Have you ever just sat in a garden surrounded by trees and flowers and just enjoyed the moment? To me, this is no different than "dressing up" our appearance. It's taking something God created and cultivating it and/or enhancing it so that you can get better enjoyment out of what He created. Of course even doing something "good" can become a sin if you're doing it for prideful reasons or to bring glory to yourself rather than God. But that is an issue of the heart, not whether or not you use maybelline

[Kabowd]

I was at a communion service a while ago and that morning the church had decided to let the young people take around the bread and wine. So far no problem, however two of the teenage girls were wearing crop-tops and you could see all their tummy. I personally found that offensive and my brother was so incensed about it that he complained to the pastor who told him that he didn't see any harm in it.

It seemed to me at the time that this wasn't appropriate dress for church.

Now see, I don't mean to pick on you here, but this is a good place to bring back the idea of being created in God's image. I certainly agree with you that we should dress modestly, and I also agree that what those girls were wearing was inappropriate (not just for "church", for anywhere). BUT, I also think we need to show one another (and especially young people) grace. Yes, we need to educate them and correct them when they are wrong. However, the world is giving them mixed signals. On one hand it's telling them that beauty is everything and that they can be anything they want....but on the other hand it's telling them they were created by chance and there's no point in life whatsoever. It's no wonder most teenagers have identity issues. How does a young person discover who they are, why they are truly special and how beautiful they reallyare if the only one's giving them the message is the world and it's message is contradicting? This is where the church and believers need to step up and teach us (young people) about who we really are. Teenagers need taught that we bear the image of God, and that we were designed with purpose. We need hope and guidance.

So, the next time you see that goth kid or the kid with tattoos and the girl with the skimpy clothes, remember he/she is created in God's image too and it isn't right to look at them in arrogance and judge them. If they know better, yes, they should be corrected and given higher expectations to live up to. But alot of teens today do not know better, or don't have anyone in their life expecting anything out of them except failure. If that's all that's expected, that's all they're going to live up to.