Style Speaks

And our unpresentable parts have greater modesty.

2 Corinthians 12:23b

It's one of those things that women are supposed to look forward to. We make the plans, call up the girlfriends, and map the route with an engineer's level of precision. Shopping and the American woman are more than necessary acquaintances. It's the ultimate female bonding experience, right? But beyond the rush of the must-have mini and the oh-so-cute flip-flops, there's more going on. Not to rain on the shopping parade, but what we buy, how we select it, and how we wear it doesn't just reflect our style and how we use what's in our wallets. Our bodies, how we care for them, and the way in which we clothe them do more than make a fashion statement. They communicate what we really love and what we most desire.

Our appearance demonstrates what we worship. Anyone who has ever felt the tug of war between the perfect top that is a little too low-cut or tight and the voice of conscience telling us that we shouldn't buy it knows what I mean. The world says, "If you've got it, flaunt it." But God prizes discretion and modesty, and what we wear is a reflection on His reputation. Does our appearance proclaim to the world that God is holy, pure, and set apart from sin? Or does it defame His reputation, declare our independence from Him, and show that our decisions are controlled by the spirit of Victoria’s Secret rather than the Spirit of God?

Clothing communicates our desires like few other things. Rarely do we buy something too short, too tight, or just too... little by accident. In our sex-saturated society, skin sells. Flesh is power, and yes, exposed surface area attracts attention. Why wear something too tight, if not to draw attention to the shape of the body? Why expose cleavage if not to draw stares from the men around us, men who aren't our husband and whose attention is not ours to claim? There's no godly reason, and there's no middle ground. Do our clothes show the world that we crave this attention?

We are judged by our dress, for good or for bad. If our clothing communicates impurity, all of the purity pledges in the world won't make a difference. If our clothing defames God's reputation, our words to contrary are a hollow contradiction.