Modesty.

http://www.qideas.org/blog/modesty-i-dont-think-it-means-what-you-think-it-means.aspx

So I was mindlessly scrolling through the newsfeed on my friend's Facebook account and this link caught my eye, so I sent it to myself in a message to read later. 

"Modesty: I don't think it means what you think it means" 

An interesting title. I guess after reading it I should have a better understanding of what modesty is, at least to the author. 

A lot of what she wrote made sense and I did agree with a lot of it, until I got to the last couple of points. 

"Don't dress for men; dress for yourself." 

Yourself. What does that mean? Dress how you want to dress and not worry about how your actions might affect others? I understand that it's not a woman's

"responsibility to please men with either your sex appeal or your modesty",

but should you not always be mindful and aware of how you are presenting yourself? If I decide I want to dress for myself and wear something revealing to church, but I believe I'm prioritizing

"strength, dignity and good deeds",

what does that say about me? Is it still modest to dress for myself in that context?

I really don't think I make any sense right now, but these lines kind of threw me off. Prioritize strength, dignity and good deeds… where does being more Christ-like come into play? If we're talking biblical modesty, that all roots from a Christ-like heart. If you're only concerned with dressing for yourself, you've got it wrong. 

"If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them."

If you know that what you're about to wear might bother others or cause them to stumble, then don't dress for yourself. 

When you get ready to go out, who are you thinking of? The guy you like? The girls you hang out with? The people you want to impress? Your parents? As much as I wish appearance didn't matter so much, the way we present ourselves is a representation of who we are, who our families are, and who/what we worship. If I say that I'm Christian, the first thing to prioritize should be wisdom from God. Strength, dignity and good deeds are great and all, but God doesn't expect us to have all that on our own. It's only by the power of the Holy Spirit that we would receive strength and dignity that is of Christ… otherwise, where else does it come from?

And I guess this goes with anything and everything we ever do, not just how we dress. Our actions - it's not my fault if someone younger than me sees a picture of me drunk and is bothered by it; I drink for myself, therefore they should be able to know that it's wrong, it's their responsibility. It's the exact same thing. Don't do something that you know will cause other's to stumble - it's as simple as that.

"Revel in this body and this world God gave you to enjoy."

What does that even mean?! Maybe it's the choice of words she chose to use here, but… revel? That's defined as enjoy in a lively and noisy way… that doesn't sound very modest to me. And yes, God gave us this world to enjoy but only in the way he intended us to - by fearing God, delighting in him, and trusting in him.

Modesty, as I understand it, is not based on what others might think or what I might think myself. It's about honouring your body in a godly way, ensuring that the way you present yourself honours God, the things you wear and the things you do honour him, and that you respect yourself and others because that's what God has told us to do. Love and live sacrificially and selflessly; love and live for others the way Christ did.