Friday, October 8, 2010

Encouragement from Your Brothers in Christ

I thought I'd share some of the comments from The Modesty Survey. These quotes are responses to the question " If you could say one thing to your sisters in Christ about modesty, what would it be?"

(note: If you've never heard of the Modesty Survey before, click here to view it--it's the results of a survey taken by just over 1,000 Christian guys. The questions dealt with hot topics in modesty, such as "Are bikinis modest?" and "Do I have to wear a denim jumper all the time to be modest?" It's a fantastic resource).

The quotes are...
There is one that is more in love with you than any man can ever be. You are incredibly valuable to Him, and you never need question His commitment to Him. He thinks you're beautiful in the morning without your makeup, and He'll think you're just as beautiful when you're 80. He is Christ. In you should treat Him with the loyalty and respect of a Husband. There is no need to attract a man to you - Christ will lead the right man to you. And when someone that loves you as much as Christ arranges a marriage, you may rest assured it will be far better than anything you could have done. You are His - be content there.
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Sisters in Christ, we men in society have miserably failed at appreciating true womanhood. On behalf of every man out there who has painted a distorted picture in your life of what a real woman is, especially along the lines of modesty, I apologize deeply. There are many Godly men out there, as I'm sure this survey will prove, that are dying to give you their utmost respect when you choose to follow God's leading in this area of modesty in your life. We back you up all the way and want to do anything we can to help you. And we ask that you do all you can to help us as we struggle through this world of sin together.
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In high school, the place of greatest temptation toward lust was my church. Girls wore things to church that they thought were fashionable and dressy, but they would not have passed the dress code at my public high school. Church should NEVER be a guy's greatest source of temptation, in any way. Please, be especially careful when picking out your dress clothes for church, and make sure they are modest when sitting and kneeling (if you kneel in church), not just standing in front of the mirror.
 ~~~
Please don’t take modesty lightly. As your brother in Christ I value the relationship that I will have with my wife someday. When I am tempted because of you I lose a part of myself that I am trying to save for her. When I’m tempted because of you I become that much more accepting of the perversions in the world. When you remain pure and modest, my life is made so much easier. Instead of watching to ensure that I don’t sin I can focus on you as a person and fellow follower of Christ. I appreciate modesty more than you’ll ever know. Please, show respect of yourself and of me and be modest.
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Dearest sister: God made you a thing of beauty. A thing to be admired and respected. When you dress or act in a way that draws attention to your body, you make it easy for the guys around you to reduce you to the level of a disgusting toy - using you to mentally satisfy their fantasies. They stop thinking about your Godly qualities and immerse themselves in sinful thought. By dressing and acting modestly, you draw attention to your face instead of your body. Your body may be alluring, but your face - those deep, mysterious eyes and smiling mouth - is infinitely more beautiful than any amount of revealing dress. Would you rather be the tool by which guys satisfy themselves or the beautiful thing God created you to be, pure for your husband? My flesh prefers the former, but my heart pleads for the latter.
~~~
A girl's dress proclaims her priorities and values louder than if she got on a chair and screamed them to the world. When critically examining a woman's get-up, I consider the following: Could she get down on the floor and play with a group of toddlers without losing several articles of clothing? Could she get away from a threatening situation without spraining an ankle? Could she prepare and maintain a house and its members easily? Could she be the Proverbs 31 woman dressed like that?
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For those of you trying to be modest, thank you, thank you, thank you! I certainly notice it and am grateful for it.
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Keep persevering! Your efforts are appreciated and noticed, even though you may not be able to see that. It serves us guys tremendously, not only in not being tempted each time we look at you, but also knowing that you care and that your heart attitude is to serve. Thank you for guarding the guys!
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Thank you to all my sisters who seek to please God with modest clothing and behavior. You really show love and care for others when you dress modestly and do not flirt. There are some especially modest, attractive women in my church who realize that their brothers need help in this area. We men don't appreciate and thank you sisters enough for the thoughtfulness and work you put into dressing modestly. Please keep it up. Not only is your modesty helpful in keeping your brothers from sin, but it is also an attractive quality in a future wife (Prov 31:30).
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When a girl dresses modestly, it helps to cut down on temptation drastically. Physical purity for guys is just as hard as emotional purity is for girls. Modesty actually makes a girl more beautiful because it shows where her heart is before God.
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You have no idea how much it means to me as a guy when I see girls who are doing their best to be modest. These are girls that I feel completely comfortable being friends with, and by their actions they demand my respect. Modesty will win you the friendship of guys who will care about you as a person and will see you as a sister in Christ before they see you as anything else, and modesty will protect you from guys who only care about your looks and who see you only as a potential girlfriend.
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Modesty is not about discovering the right rules and following them, although guidelines and standards are very useful. Modesty is about being so satisfied, fulfilled, and secure in your relationship with God that you do not feel the need to display yourself immodestly. That security is where the beauty of the heart comes from, and that security is what will catch the right guy's attention.
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Honestly, a girl that dresses modestly yet attractively will catch my eye far more (or at least in far more of a positive manner) than will a girl that feels the need to expose parts of her just to get attention. When it seems like you're alone, just remember that there are guys out there that care, and that will thank you someday for the stand you have taken. May God bless you as you seek to glorify Him each day
~~~
It's appreciated more than you know. You have no idea how much I appreciate my sisters in Christ who dress modestly, because I can be around them without having to struggle to keep my thoughts pure. And I find girls who dress modestly more attractive than those who dress immodestly. It speaks volumes about the kind of person you are. It might be a cliche, but real beauty IS on the inside.

2 comments:

  1. Wow. Those comments are really interesting. Hadn't really thought about it that way. Good to hear. ;)

    ReplyDelete