Summer is in, and quite frankly, modesty is out. If you live in a place where it is warm or hot all year round AND it’s a “city”, modesty probably has long gone with the wind.

Last August, I wrote a substantial article on this issue and said what I want to say again this summer–let’s bring back modesty in the church, all year round. I was humbled that a mother named Gail read my post and was edified by it. And so, I hope you are you.

This time around, I submit to you–especially the ladies reading this–to have your heart checked for modesty. I exhort you to read and do the Modesty Heart Check. Why? Because God has said, “Women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire, but with what is proper for women who profess godliness—with good works.”(1 Timothy 2:9-10). That being said, in our context today the braided hair, gold/pearls does not apply, however, it still speaks the same truth to what we wear today.

Consider these questions from the Modesty Heart Check:

• Does my midriff (or underwear) show when I bend over or lift my
  hands? If so, is it because my skirt or my pants are too low?
• Does my skirt reveal too much when I walk?
• Giving my skirt a sunlight check… Is it seethrough?
• When I am wearing a loose-fitting blouse or scoop-neck, can I see
  anything when I lean over?

Modesty is an issue of contextualization. What is considered modest in some countries or some cities may very well not be in some more conservative places. We all must consider the context, the place, the subculture we find ourselves in. Some men are more easily tempted than others. What is considered immodest and may cause one to stumble, could be relatively modest to another. But may we consider the masses, not just individuals we come across, in our striving to glorify God and edify the body of Christ. That’s why I think The Rebelution’s Modesty Survey is a good tool for Christian girls among us to gauge their modesty.

How we respond to our culture’s push towards immodesty reflects our spiritual maturity. More so for women, this issue is certainly more immediate and necessary to be dealt with daily. While appearances can be deceiving and sometimes shouldn’t really matter, the fact is is that it does matter for the edification of us Christian brothers and the glory of Christ. As you consider our natural tendancy to be tempted through our eyes, my hope is that you will grow in sanctification so that you would not be conformed to the patterns of this world but be conformed to the Cross.