Wearing Clothes

The act of wearing clothing, modest clothing, is many things. It is, of course, a way to honor and assist our brothers in Christ. It is a form of self-respect. It creates feminine mystique, which can be captivating. But tonight the women of Moody Bible Institute were introduced to the concept of clothing as an acknowledgement of our fallen nature. The following is a late-night, rambling reflection on some points made by the speakers at tonight’s all hall meeting.

Adam and Eve were not created to wear clothes. They had complete unity with each other and with God in the Garden before the fall of mankind into sin. After the fall, as well as the corruption of masculinity and femininity and the curses that come along with sin, there was this consequence: shame. They could no longer walk with God there, and they had to be clothed in animal skins.

By wearing clothes and being completely unexposed, we are accepting that we with our sinful nature are not worthy of that original unity. Not with God, and not with each other. (Of course, when Christ covers our sins the gap is bridged between ourselves and the Lord, but you get the idea.) I don’t want to try to make this more deep than it should be, but it made sense to me and I felt it should be shared.

Another very good point that was raised is that there is such a thing as going too far to the “modesty” extreme; that is, mistaking out-of-date and just plain unflattering clothes to be the most modest. There is a fine line to be drawn, and especially with today’s standards we are not to be drawn into the culture. However, the way that people see us is a reflection on God. I read an article by a young, Christian, married woman about how she dresses to please her husband and to be beautiful in his eyes, and yet she is also careful to be seen as classy and lovely to those around them so as to be a good reflection on him. I feel as though the same can be applied to us in relation to our Bridegroom. If we dress the way we do because of our convictions in Christ, we do not want the result to be a negative reflection on God. This does not mean that what is “in” should be important or even necessarily a factor, but that we should dress in a manner that is flattering enough to show that you are a woman and yet is modest enough to show that you are a lady.

Every day that I spend here at Moody is a reminder of just how passionate I am for issues relating to young women and godly femininity. I love it.

I leave you with Anne Shirley, saying severely: “Clothes are very important!” Who knew?