“Respect Yourself and Your Brothers”

 She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come.

Proverbs 31:25

 Have you ever been beside a dear sister and you are thinking to yourself, “um your skirt is to short or your top is to low.” Is it just me or does there seem to be a trend on, less is more, when it comes to ladies deciding on what clothes to wear?  I am not talking about worldly ladies; I am talking about Christian ladies, dear sisters in Christ.  I would like to just share my thoughts on the issue of dress, as it relates to Christian women. Please remember anything I write on my blog is my personal opinion and I respect and love every one of you but this is just how I feel about the matter.

            As Christian women we are suppose to be a city on a hill for this dark world (Matthew 5:14). We are not of this world ladies and we are called to do things differently because of that ( John 15:19). We belong to Jesus. We were bought with his blood and our life is His (1 Peter 2: 9). .He gave His life for you dear sister, and died the cruelest and most awful death just to prove to you how much He loved you (Romans 5:8). Your body is not your own, it is a temple with the Holy Spirit living in it and the Lord should be honored in how you dress His body (I Corinthians 6:19-20, Romans 6:13, I Corinthians 12:27). 

            Before I go any further I want to make one thing clear. I am not by any means saying you cannot look pretty, adorable, beautiful, precious, cute ect. I am simply saying that yes, you can look adorable but in the words of a wonderful sister, Beth Moore, “Be adorable Christian women.”  Ladies, if you want to see what a adorable Christian lady dresses like  Google, Beth Moore. You will not find a more adorable dressed, God fearing woman.  Now, what does it mean to be an adorable Christian lady? It simply means that when you dress yourself do you dress yourself and look in the mirror and say,” I look like a beautiful lady of the Lord, or do you look at yourself and say,” I hope that handsome boy will notice me.”  There is a huge difference in how we dress dear sister. If we are dressing to grab the attention of a dear brother by wearing a low top, tight jeans, or a short skirt, then I can tell you right now that your motives are off.  Now, before you throw tomatoes at me please hear me out. I am not saying you cannot wear cute dresses, shirts, shorts, and pants. I am simply saying that when you get dress please be mindful of each garment you are putting on. Is your top to low? Are you showing, what should only be reserved for your husband’s eyes? Is your shirt to thin? Can you see too much? Maybe you should layer the shirt?  Is your dress to tight? Are you making your brothers in Christ stumble as you walk by (Matthew 5:28)? These are things we must be thinking sweet sister as we dress because not only are we to respect our body but we are to respect the eyes of our brothers in Christ.  

            Ladies we should honor our Christian brothers and watch the way we dress so that we do not cause them to stumble ( I Corinthians 10:32). The Lord created men and women very differently. Men are visually stimulated and enjoy looking at a pretty woman. There is nothing wrong with that, that is simply the way God wired men and therefore that means as Christian sisters we have to take caution in how we present our self to them.   That does not mean that you cannot look attractive. Girlfriend, a man wants his woman to be attractive but that does mean we proceed with caution.  Dear sister you do not want to lead a brother into temptation by the way you dress (Matthew 6:13).  We must respect and love our brothers enough to help them with this issues that is thrown in their face every waking hour. Goodness knows they have enough temptation coming at them from the internet, media, billboards, magazines ect. They should have a safe haven when they come and spend time with sisters in Christ. They should not have to worry about putting their blinders on when they enter a church building but sadly enough this is not the case. It breaks my heart to see Christian women dressing just like, or worse then women of the world. Dear sister not only are you suppose to protect and respect the eyes of your single brother in Christ but always the eyes of your dating, engaged and married brothers as well. Ladies, you may not be aware of this, but when you wear a low cut top to get the attention of the handsome boy you have a crush on, you get his attention and you also get the eyes and attention of every man in that building.   Not only are single brothers looking at you  but your dear sister’s husbands, are staring at you and seeing you too.  I pray that as strong men of the Lord they quickly turn away but remember men are visual so this is a temptation for them.  Please keep your body to yourself and reserve it all for the eyes of your sweet future husband or your husband, for my married ladies. By this not only are you respecting your body but you are also respecting your brothers thoughts and you are respecting other sisters in Christ as well, who will gladly thank you for dressing modestly in front of their husbands.

            You are all beautiful and your Lover, King Jesus thinks so too. Please dear one, do not become insecure of your beauty and worth in this world. Cover yourself and respect your body. You are the biggest role model for all the middle school and high school girls who see you each day. They watch you. Please let them see a role model who is honoring the Lord in all she does, and who is respecting her body, guarding her brothers eyes and respecting her sweet sisters in Christ, all while being a adorable woman of the King!