This weekend our family took a much needed weekend get-a-way to an indoor water park… or so I thought.
Friday was relatively uneventful, but as the park filled up on Saturday I was struck by something… a lot of naked people. Now, you might not call them naked. But from what God says, they were naked.
After Adam and Eve sinned by eating the forbidden fruit, notice the exchange that happens between God and his children.
Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.” He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Genesis 3:7-10
Did you notice that? Even after they sewed together some “loincloths” they were still naked. Now I know that part of that was because the sin was still there, but that’s another point for another day. The point for today is that they tried to cover their “loins” and it was still called naked.
So I as I sat in the hot tub with my t-shirt and shorts, I noticed the influx of nakedness and planned the escape for my family. What were they wearing you ask? Loincloths. Or their modern day equivalent- the bikini. Even the more conservatively dressed one-piece wearers showed their share of cleavage and butt cheeks.
Then my old days back to the King James bible popped into my mind. These people lack “shamefacedness.”
In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness… 1 Tim. 2:9
Before sin, Adam and Eve were naked and not ashamed. After sin, shame flooded them and forced the to hide from their Maker. Today, I notice a lot of these women have no shame. They lack shamefacedness. They don’t even know they are naked. They are naked and have no shame.
Which leads me to the picture above… there were a few Muslim families at the park. The women were dressed from full burkas, to calf length pants with longs sleeves and veils, to just below the knee swimwear and no veils. But one thing I can say for all of them is that I could identify those women and their faith by their style of dress.
Now, in that park of 1,500 people I wondered how many of those people would identify themselves as “Christian” but I couldn’t tell by their attire. I couldn’t tell because even though they may claim to where the name of Christ, they look more like the world than a follower of Jesus the Messiah.
That is a shame.
So, ladies here’s the challenge, take your modesty seriously. It will point people to your Savior or it will lead them in the opposite direction. You are called to a holy standard of dress. You are called to glorify God in your body, which is the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 6:19-20).
Gentlemen, speak up for your women. Demand a higher standard than the world expects. Encourage the women in your life to cover their bodies and glorify their God with with their modesty.
