Modesty
Today I went to church. I don't always go cause I'm not very disciplined, but I actually got out of bed. I like my church - good teaching, etc - except for one major issue: the way women dress.
It seems as if many Christians today desire to fit in with culture. To do this, sacrifice of values must be made. One that is a particular frustration of mine is how women dress.
I don't think women - especially Christian women - understand how the male mind works. Men are VERY visual. To use some examples that may seem strange to women:
1. Men lust over mannequins.
2. Men lust over girls of ANY age if they look sexually mature.
3. Men lust over relatives that are sexually attractive.
4. Men lust over pornography, including cartoon pornography, and can be sexually satisfied in this activity.
As an aside, men often find these thoughts and actions simultaneously disgusting, but only because culture has taught us that these are wrongful (rightfully so, I might add). Men may engage in these at different levels/frequencies/intensities (i.e., not all men look at porn), but all are tempted by them in some way.
These reactions exist because the male sexual nature is physical. Men can enjoy a sexual experience with a woman whose name they don't know to the same extent as they can with a woman they know everything about. Some may even prefer it.
This is true of EVERY male. Billy Graham is not free from these thoughts. Yes, a man can learn how to control his actions, and even his thoughts to some extent (which are controlled by actions that prevent those thoughts from occurring, such as avoiding seductively dressed women). But it becomes hard when even going to church means going to a sexual charged environment.
Men are responsible for their actions. But women become guilty of causing other believers to sin when they don't dress modestly. Unfortunately, Christian men and women (I blame both... see my previous post on Responsible Men) have failed to teach that modesty has value, especially to their children.
So to those women who read this (and I know most of you dress conservatively and I really appreciate that), I wish to inform you that your Christian brothers are struggling because some of their sisters are not careful with how they dress. You may already know this. For whatever reason, the value of modesty has been minimized, and it is to the Church's own destruction.
posted by Chris Hill @ 5/21/2006 09:19:00 PM
6 comments
6 Comments:
Shrill Feminist says:
1. If he has trouble because of my body that's his problem not mine!
2. I know some guys who did some things...I'm going to gossip about them now because they're so stupid and I can't believe they did those things! Morons.
3. All I want is a man to hold me. I'm so lonely.
Normal Guy says to Shrill Feminist:
1. Don't worry, you're ugly and you smell rancid. Your body doesn't affect me...it's your friend's....
2. The only thing more unattractive than the way you look is the way you are.
3. You fail to see the contradiction between the attitudes in 1 and 2 and your desire in 3.
Oh... Just so it's clear I'm not attacking women in general, the above hypothetical exchange makes me appreciate some of the good women I know all the more. After living in Boston, especially, I have come to appreciate how rare and special they are.
I remember one time in college when I was still a very young Christian, we went on some sort of mixed-gender retreat in the summer. They had to round all us girls up to tell us that the guys were all bothered because some of the girls were wearing tanks with their bra straps showing.
At the time, that sounded strange to me. I never did that, because I thought it looked tacky. So, I wondered what kind of guys were these, that they were so conscious of fashion that they needed us to have a meeting about it.
So yeah, at that time, I didn't really get it.
PS. I'm really glad I'm a girl and don't have to deal with any of that. I'd rather be a little more clothing conscious than have my thoughts hijacked all day long.
Katie, I am so happy to be marrying you! You are the epitome of a sexy Christian woman. I can say that cause (1) I'm going to be your husband and (2) it's true.
Anyway, the girls in church are mostly in their teens (thus unmarried, I assume, and without kids). I think a lot of it comes from a lower sense of expectations. The church doesn't expect a dress code (as an aside, it bothers me to see guys with hats on in church) - not that it needs to have something written, but an EXPECTATION of proper dress seems important to me - so it's not being taught in church to the best of my knowledge. At least it isn't being taught AND expected.
The bigger issue, though, is most likely the parents. They don't require their girls to dress modestly. Now by modesty I should also add that one can cover up their entire body and still be immodest. Covering up skin doesn't mean modesty. In fact, the female body is sometimes more seductive in tight clothing than if she was completely naked!
Anyway, if we have girls they'll be covered neck to toes with 10 layers of clothes.
I can't stand white people.
That had nothing to do with Katie's comment though. In fact, it has nothing to do with anything on ...BLOG!
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