By Esther Rich | This article originally appeared in the Chastity Project
For a lot of people the word ‘modesty’ is automatically associated with clothing and appearance. Most girls think of being told not to wear short skirts or low-cut tops… and our thoughts generally go no further. In stopping on the outside of our bodies, we stop on the outside of the concept. By neglecting the heart, we don’t pierce the reality of what it is to be truly modest. In fact, that’s the essence of the way in which we’ve become too caught up in the physical implications and drifted away from the true meaning of modesty.
Modesty is not synonymous with oppression.
It’s not a concept intended to hold women or hide women away under folds of fabric so they can’t be seen or heard. In fact, it’s entirely the opposite. Modesty is NOT just a matter of the hemline, but a matter of the heart. It’s not restricting, but freeing.
The word itself is defined as ‘the quality or state of being unassuming in one’s own abilities.’Where does that definition mention the body? The point is that the applicability to the body is merely a consequence of the applicability to the heart. Instead of using our femininity to achieve, we should acknowledge the reality that it is not by our own strength, but by God’s, that all things come about – ‘I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me’(Philippians 4:13). THAT is true modesty.
Modesty is not synonymous with oppression.
It’s not a concept intended to hold women or hide women away under folds of fabric so they can’t be seen or heard. In fact, it’s entirely the opposite. Modesty is NOT just a matter of the hemline, but a matter of the heart. It’s not restricting, but freeing.
The word itself is defined as ‘the quality or state of being unassuming in one’s own abilities.’Where does that definition mention the body? The point is that the applicability to the body is merely a consequence of the applicability to the heart. Instead of using our femininity to achieve, we should acknowledge the reality that it is not by our own strength, but by God’s, that all things come about – ‘I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me’(Philippians 4:13). THAT is true modesty.