Altar or Catwalk?

Well, I suppose it is something I can't avoid any longer. This blog was on my heart and I really felt that the Lord was pushing me to write something about it, but I really didn't want to. I told Him that I just wrote about the pants/skirts issue and if I wrote this one everyone would think I was just pushing that again...as if He needed my input, right. Come to find out, He didn't much need my opinion or my excuses...so here I am writing once again about women and the way we dress.

DISCLAIMER: This blog is NOT about the pants versus skirts debate. Everyone who has read my blog knows where I stand and I still back that 100%.

I truly pray that before you continue on, you stop and pray right now that the Lord open your eyes and heart to this issue, because it is truly an issue in today's churches. Ask Him to reveal to you anything that He wants you to see. If you sincerely pray that prayer, I think you may be surprised what God can do in you and through you.

Ok, I titled this "Altar or Catwalk?" because sometimes I get confused. I am not trying to be harsh, but sometimes the lines are skewed. When God laid this issue heavy on my heart and I had that conversation about not wanting to do it and such, that very next Sunday I was in the restroom at church, and as I was washing my hands, there was a young lady next to me at another sink. She stood there in front of the mirror fluffing and fixing her hair, turning from one side to the other checking herself out in the mirror, checked the lipstick, the eyeliner, her behind, fluffed some more hair. Then I noticed her clothes, a short skirt, very high heels, and a see-through blouse over a tank top type shirt. Is she going to a runway show or is she going worship the One True and Living God who is Perfectly Holy? That is where the lines have blurred.

Are we waking up on Sunday and choosing our clothes to go stand in the presence of man or our girlfriends or a Perfect, Just, and Holy God? Would you be ashamed to stand before Jesus Himself with some of the things we wear to church? Then why own those clothes at all. Who are we truly trying to impress. We, women, have a responsibility to dress modestly, to cover our bodies up.

1 Sameal 16:7 says, "for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart." This verse holds so much merit, because neither side can ignored. Yes, God looks at the heart and He sees the very motives of what you are doing and this includes dress. He sees why you are dressing the way are, who you are trying to impress, and your neglect of His standards. Then, also importantly, man looks on the outward appearance. Let me say that again man looks on the outward appearance, man looks on the outward appearance, man looks on the outward appearance. It cannot be neglected. We see how each other look. What are your clothes saying about you?

This goes for single woman too, but married woman, do you really want other men to be attracted to your bodies because of the way you dress. Not only is it disrespectful to God, but to your husband. Your body is for His eyes as ordained and given by God, not for all of public's eyes. How much more can you show respect for your husband then by covering yourself up? This also goes for how tight your clothes are, just because it is covering everything doesn't mean you're leaving anything to the imagination. You will be so much more beautiful in his eyes when he knows you are just for his eyes. My husband is an usher and greets at the door. He tells me that he and the other ushers have to look down at the ground sometimes for what some of the women come dressed in. Are you one of them? That breaks my heart that these Christian men have to look away from greeting people due to a lack of obedience. Modest means modest by God's standards, not by man's. We can't choose to be modest off the fashions of this world, for they will pass away, but what we have done here will go on. Do you really want to get to Heaven and see how many men you made stumble?

I do not know why the Lord has laid this burden of women and modesty on my heart so heavy, but I can't ignore it. We need to wake up and stop letting the world mandate how we dress. Search the Scriptures, listen to God, and act in obedience.

I will leave you with some questions we can ask ourselves when we get dressed each and every morning:

1. Will this outfit bring glory to God?
2. Would I want to meet Jesus in this outfit?
3. Will this outfit set me apart from the world?
4. Will this outfit draw attention to certain body parts that can cause others to stumble?
5. Will this outfit show respect to my husband?