Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Modesty is NOT Merely Skin Deep

We have a saying that beauty is only skin deep.
Contrary to popular belief,
Modesty is not only skin deep.

When we hear about modesty in clothing, what first comes into mind is how covered the body should be.
In my quest to discovering how modest God wants us to be, I realized that before you become willing to cover your body for the right reasons, you should have a heart covered by the Holy Spirit.

You can be modest obliviously. You can be modest unintentionally.
But you cannot pursue purity with modesty out of the picture.
Your modesty should be a manifestation of what's in your heart.

"The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."
- 1 Samuel 16:7

God looks at the heart.
So does that mean that we should forget about modesty because it speaks about the outward appearance?
No! We should not forget about modesty. Because godly modesty does not speak only of the outside.
Modesty should speak of what is inside.

It speaks of a heart that seeks purity because of a love for God.
If you truly pursue purity for God, you would carefully look at everything you do and consult God if you are doing something awful. If you ask God to purify your heart, you would evaluate yourself and be willing to change things that are "impure", up to the littlest  of details.
The pursuit of purity does not stop at some point where you would already say that you are already an expert. God purifies our hearts as long as there is a little stain in it that could be destructive.

A heart that seeks purity would overflow that it would be manifested physically.
The kind of modesty that is a fragrant offering to the Lord is one that is done out of your love for God.
Modesty should be a mere outward glow of what is inside your heart.

We always have to have our motives checked. Why do we pursue modesty?
It could actually be pursued for the wrong reasons.
For selfish reasons.
I want to be modest so I will look decent.
I want to be a modest because I am a leader, it will help my reputation to other girls.
I want to be modest so no one in church would have something to say about me.
I want to be modest because the Christian guy I like is impressed with modest women.
I want to be modest because everyone else in church does it.

These reasons could be "acceptable", but these reasons are manifestations that you are not seeing modesty as an offering to our King. 

If this is the case, your modesty is mere vanity.
Empty and meaningless.

The only reason behind your pursuit of modesty should be to encounter God in a deeper way!
Because if you pursue modesty as a way to seek God, as you seek purity, you will find out that modesty does not just transform your wardrobe.
It is also used by God to transform your heart. ;)

Modesty is not only skin deep, is it? :)


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