Ewe, did you say modesty?

Would you rather be classy and fabulous or modest?

If you are like me, the word modesty has a negative reaction in your mind. Now please understand, I believe in modesty. I practice modesty and I teach modesty. However, I try to stay away from the actual word itself. Why? Because I was raised in a “modesty” atmosphere. I went to private school. I wore dresses and skirts that were past my knee (a lot of times to my ankles), stockings every day and a t-shirt over my one piece bathing suit when swimming with mixed company; never a low-cut shirt or something too tight. In other words, I felt frumpy. As a teen I hated it so badly. I always felt like style was taboo, looking your best meant you wear the best clothing you own. Make-up, What? Never! I was under the understanding that those things made you look promiscuous. I’m here to say that my perception was wrong! My mothers intent was not to make me feel frumpy. Her motives were pure to the core but, it lacked something incredibly important…reason. The correct reason.

First off, now that I am a mother; I can look back and understand my mother much clearly than I did as a teen. Yet, I am striving to teach my girls the meaning of modesty (or as I like to call it classy and fabulous) in a very different light.
I want them to be classy and fabulous because,
1. They respect themselves and their body. Knowing that God made them in His image and knows them personally.
Psalm 139:13
13 For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.

2. They understand that their body is the temple of the Holy Spirit
I Corinthians 6:19
Or know ye not that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit which is in you, which ye have from God? and ye are not your own;

3. They want to guard against the sexual temptation their clothes may have on the men around them especially members of the Body of Christ.
Romans 12:10
10 Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.

4. They dress on the outside as a mirror to what is on the inside
1 Peter 3:3-4
3 Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. 4 Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.

You see, I don’t want my daughters to live believing everything they wear has to look out of style, frumpy or ugly. I want them to view modesty as a positive in their life. To see the benefits of obedience to God, to realize their value in Christ, to love others and respect them with their choice of clothing. All the while looking stylish and beautiful. There is a balance! As parents we need to lead are children to understand that balance and to make it reality in their lives.

I leave you with this 9 minute video that talks about the Evolution of the Swimsuit. In this video you will hear about how the bikini came to be, the emotions that it brought to both men and women and the availability of modesty and style being offered to our girls, teens and even ourselves as mothers. I ask you this question, don’t you want to look and feel classy and fabulous?
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After you finish the video, leave me a reply in the comments. Let me know what you think. I know everyone will not agree with me but, I hope you can see my heart to raise daughters to be confident, beautiful and seekers of God.