LADIES .... what message are you sending?
Let's reflect back to Myth #1 in Chapter 4: How I dress is my business. It shouldn't be a concern for God or guys.
Luke 17:1-2 had some pretty strong words to say about that ....
Jesus said to His disciples: "Things that cause people to sin are bound to come,
but woe to that person through whom they come. It would be better for {her}
to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around {her} neck
than for {her} to cause {another} to sin."
Okay ~ so does the Bible have a list somewhere that says you SHOULD wear X X and X and you DEFINATELY SHOULDN'T wear Y Y and Y?? no.
Okay ~ so how do we know what's okay and what's not??
How about Matthew 22:39 .... "Love your neighbor as yourself."
Yeah ..... I can hear you all saying
Hmmmm .... Ms. Becky I'm not seeing anything in
that verse that addresses the X or Y in my closet.
Take a minute and read back over the scenario at the bottom of page 92 and top of 93. Now we can all read that and clearly see that the girl dangling those Krispy Kremes out in front of her friend who is trying to lose weight is being completely selfish.
{this is not an attack on Krispy Kremes .... you can dangle one in front of me anytime!}
Okay. But now let's apply that principle or standard to the young men around us. We know they are stimulated by what they see. So ~ is it being loving or selfish to them when we dangle body parts and as much skin as possible out in front of them?
As you get dressed each day, look at yourself honestly ~ ask God to give you wisdom. Try to honestly evaluate if what you are wearing is going to cause someone to stumble. {I want to insert a little side note here .... standing stick straight and looking in the mirror is one thing ~ but let's say you are going to Youth .... are you going to stand stick straight the whole time you are there?? Probably not. You are going to be bending, running around, sitting on the floor, etc ~ so you have to honestly evaluate what you are wearing also based on what you are going to do. Bend over in front of the mirror .... reach above your head ~ try to mimic what you are going to be doing and see if your movement causes things to hang out that shouldn't.}
The lists on pages 94, 95 and 96 are an excellent place to start evaluating those X's and Y's in your closet. Still not sure? Ask your Mom & Dad [remember Dad's were young men once too] ~ ask a Godly friend or older woman. Above all PRAY! Remember how much God cares about you?? He also cares about your wardrobe. This isn't about going out and buying a new wardrobe ~ PRAY for creativity to mix and match what you have .... maybe you can layer two shirts ... or maybe you can put a few stitches in that slit. You do your part to try and honor God with your dress and I have NO doubt that He will provide what you need. A few years ago when God started showing me things about the way I was dressing, I started praying ~ He more than provided.
