THE SINS OF SUMMER
Immodesty
All
of these things are cause for many to say that summer is their favorite
season of the year. And that
is fine. There is
nothing wrong with enjoying “the lazy days of summer”,
BUT just remember that as a
Christian we still need to seek first the kingdom of God (Matt. 6:33).
While each of the above activities mentioned are not wrong within
themselves, each of them pose a spiritual danger and can lead to what we
might describe as “summer sins.”
It is with that in mind that I would like for us to examine some
subjects for us to consider as summertime approaches.
Let
me say that most of the activities that we will examine are not
exclusive to summer. Sin has
no season – it is always wrong!
But during this time of year, the potential to engage in
particular sins are greater because of the opportunities prevalent with
summer time.
With summer time come warmer temperatures.
As a rule, in our society, as the temperatures increase the
clothes seem to decrease.
Shirts come off, skirts and shorts get smaller, and materials become
more transparent. Sadly, it
seems that as time moves on, the boundaries of acceptable clothing in
our society are continually being challenged, and it is almost always
further away from decency and modesty.
More and more we read of communities where both men and women
want to be allowed to walk around with less (or no) clothing in public.
Dress codes have been relaxed. In
addition to this, we are living in a sexually saturated society.
It is seen in our advertisements, movies, television programs and
even in some sporting events where outfits can become very revealing
(swimming, volleyball, cheerleading, biking, running, etc.).
For many of our young, this is portrayed as the norm and they
have never known different.
In fact, the popular fashions and peer pressure often involve what the
Bible would define as immodest.
This is something we need to be aware of as Christians.
And as these things
happen, the tendency for lust increases.
Modesty is a subject Christians need to understand.
In the case of what we are discussing, we are talking about the
type of clothing we wear.
What is too short? What is
immodest? The challenge we face is that the Bible does not define the
length of a shirt or pair of shorts, nor how much cleavage is
acceptable, nor whether or not a man needs to wear a shirt when he is in
public. But
we do have Biblical principles
and examples to consider.
Modesty! 1 Tim. 2:9-10 says,
“in like manner also, that the women adorn themselves in
modest apparel, with
propriety and
moderation, not with braided
hair or gold or pearls or costly clothing, but, which is proper for
women professing godliness, with good works.”
In this text Paul is giving instructions concerning proper attire
and much of it has to do with manifesting a godly attitude and example.
What is interesting about this text is that Paul is actually
dealing with overdressing (to show off).
But there are words used in this text that we need to consider
with everything we wear.
·
The word “modest”
(κόσμιος, kosmios) defined “to be moderate or well-ordered.” (Louw-Nida
88-48) Vine’s defines this word as, “orderly, well-arranged, decent,
modest.” So the idea is that
of dressing (and living) in such a way that you do not draw undue
attention to yourself.
·
The word, “propriety”
(αἰδώς, aidos) is translated “shamefacedness” in the KJV and “modesty”
in the NASU. The word is
associated with blushing and being respectful.
Vine’s defines it as, “a sense of shame, modesty.” It is the same
word translated “reverence” in Heb. 12:28.
The idea is that with one’s clothing they would blush if it
caused others to stare or render undue attention.
·
“Moderation”,
(σωφροσύνη, sophrosynes) translated “sobriety” in the KJV and
“discreetly” in the NASU, means “to behave in a sensible manner.” (Louw-Nida
88-93) It is described by
various resources with words like – decency, moderate, temperate, etc.
Again the idea is one who blends in and they would not wear that
which stands out. Concerning
dress there are many things that would fit in this category – too little
clothing, gaudy jewelry, makeup and hairstyles (both male and female),
etc.
The
word for tunics was a garment that reached to the knees and was common
for working, etc. (DBL, Swanon, ST#H4189).
The same word was used to describe the priestly garments (Ex.
28:4, 39-40, etc.) and Joseph’s tunic of many colors (Gen. 37:3, 23).
Concerning the priesthood we read the following concerning
building altars, “Nor shall you go
up by steps to My altar, that your nakedness may not be exposed on it.”
(Ex. 20:25). In Exodus 28:42
as instructions were given concerning appropriate clothing, “And
you shall make for them linin trousers to cover their nakedness, they
shall reach from the waist to their thighs.”
The point is that under the Old Law there were STANDARDS which
reflected modesty.
There were also standards which reflected IMMODESTY.
For example, in Prov. 7:10 we read, “And
there a woman met him, with the attire of a harlot, and a crafty heart.”
The “attire of a harlot” is attire intended to seduce and provoke
lustful desires in men. In
Gen. 38:12-16 we read of Tamar seducing Judah with the attire that was
seductive.
The
point of such examples is to emphasize that there ARE standards we need
to consider. And we need to
be careful when we let society dictate the standards we follow.
Our standard in determining what to wear ought to be such that
our morality is not called into question.
And by “morality” I mean what God would consider moral.
Is a skimpy bikini moral?
Are “daisy duke” shorts and mini-skirts moral?
Are halter tops that expose the majority of the breast moral?
What about form fitting exercise clothing or “biker shorts”?
One might say, that such are matters of interpretation.
While the Bible may not specifically determine the thigh line,
midriff or cleavage, we KNOW what IS acceptable and what is QUESTIONABLE
at best. (And do not forget
the standard mentioned above concerning priests as a guideline.)
AS Christians I ask, are we going to try and see how close to the
line of modesty/immodesty we can get without crossing over it, or are we
going to set a standard that safely keeps us AWAY from the line?
But
we must also consider the subject of lust as we think about what we
wear. Lust (which means to
strongly desire or covet that which does not belong to you) is at the
foundation of sin. In fact,
1 John 2:15-17 we find the three categories in which every sin could be
listed and they all involve lust (lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes
and pride of life – yes, pride is a form of lust).
Jesus said in Matt. 5:28, “But
I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already
committed adultery with her in his heart.”
The problem was the lusting and we can see the sin in this.
The Christian is called upon to live a pure life which means he
avoids lusting (2 Tim. 2:22, Rom. 6:12, 13:13-14, Gal. 5:16-17, 1 Thess.
4:3-5, Titus 2:12, 1 Pet. 2:11, etc.).
Now
in dealing with lust I ask, is one who intentionally provokes lust
culpable at all? This is not
to excuse the one who is lusting?
BUT, as Christians, should we put a stumbling block in the way of
others? (1 Cor. 8:9, 10:29)
The obvious answer is no.
So when one says, “If someone lusts at what I am wearing they
have the problem”, you ought to reconsider your attitude!
There are perverts that are going to lust no matter what, but
there are also those who are NORMAL with normal desires.
Don’t provoke them!
Consider this? Was Bathsheba
at all responsible for the events that led to her adultery with David?
(cf. 2 Sam. 11) Note that I
am NOT excusing David at all, but is there something to be said about
what you wear and DON’T wear when others can see you?
It
would do all of us well to consider this as we choose our wardrobes.
And I say this not only to women, but men as well.
Men can be just as immodest as women with form fitting shorts,
short shorts, not wearing a shirt, etc.
The principles apply the same.
As
Christians, we ought to live lives professing godliness (cf. 1 Tim.
2:10). That ought to govern
what we wear. So as the
temperatures heat up, dress comfortably, but make sure that modesty
governs our decisions. Think
not just about yourself but about others (Matt. 5:16, Phil. 2:3-4).
Think about it. TATJR