Welcome back to my series on honouring God in this up-coming school/work year. Today we are going to look at modesty. For girls I mean pulling up your top and pulling down your skirt, and for boys I mean pulling up your pants.- Modesty is all the rage this season
"Who has their first day of school outfits on?" asked Laura Cade's mother, as she looked over Laura and her best friend Jenny Lawrence. Jenny and Laura exchanged glances and smiled. When the girls reached the school, they found Brittany and Kellie, the most popular girls at school, waiting by their lockers. Both girls wore tank tops cut too low and pulled up too high. They finished off their revealing outfit by wearing skimpy, way-too-short, shorts. Jenny had just realized that Laura had disappeared. As Jenny made her way to her locker, Laura re-appeared. Jenny couldn't suppress her gasp. Laura looked like a Brittany and Kellie clone, now wearing the same skimpy, revealing outfit. Jenny walked over to where Laura now stood with Brittany and Kellie. Jenny suddenly realized what Miss Walker meant yesterday in Sunday School, when she said that immodesty says something about us. She had showed the girls what God thinks about immodesty in 1 Thessalonians 4:3-5 . When Jenny pulled Laura aside and asked her if she remembered Miss Walker's lesson, Laura shook her head. "Are you kidding, Jen?" she laughed. "That boring hour I usually spend thinking how I will rise to popularity." Jenny offered a silent prayer to God for strength to stand up for what she knew was right, and for Laura, Brittany, and Kellie. "Laura, God thinks you're beautiful and He loves you just as you are," Jenny said softly. Laura groaned. "I'm sick of you and your goody-goody church stuff," Laura whined. "Let me do what I want . You're not my boss." Jenny shook her head. "No, I'm not. But, I pray that God is." Laura sniffed. "Fine, then. If that's the way you feel, then I don't see why this friendship has to continue any longer." Jenny gave Laura a sad smile. "Laura, God loves you and so do I. We don't want to see you get hurt. I will pray for you." With that, Laura flipped her hair and stomped back to her locker. Though she just lost her best friend, for some reason Jenny felt a lot better.
What Jenny did took a lot of courage. She knew that God takes modesty very seriously. She knew that she should too. Immodesty is a big problem in our culture. Girls don't have to wear long-sleeved sweaters and ankle long skirts everywhere, but they don't have to wear outfits that show things that a lot of people don't want to see. We need to honour God this season by
- Loving the unlovable (Luke 6:27)
- Dressing modestly and honouring God with our body (1 Corinthians 6:20)