Would Jesus go on a slutwalk?
If you haven’t heard the backstory on the new “social movement” that will no doubt be coming to your community soon, I urge you to read the backstory here. In a nutshell, when a police officer was giving a talk about how women could avoid being sexually assaulted, he made the comment that women should avoid “dressing like sluts”. The nerve! This set off a firestorm of controversy followed by a demonstration called a “slutwalk” where the message was that women should be able to dress however they want and not have to fear being sexually assaulted for it. Before I go much farther in this article I need to make sure that everyone knows that I agree with this idea, women should be able to live their lives free of the danger of being raped and men should be protectors and lovers of women, not abusers, attackers, or rapists. Unfortunately we don’t live in a perfect world and while I agree that men should be told not to abuse or rape women, there is nothing wrong with also educating women about things they can do to lessen their chances of being raped. I’m sure in that officer’s speech there were other things women could do like; park under a streetlamp, walk to their car with their keys in their hand, always check t-he backseat before getting in the car, etc. but none of these caused this reaction. Is it wrong to ask women to dress modestly?
In Paul’s first letter to Timothy, Paul instructs him to tell the women to dress modestly (1Tim 1:9-10) and to adorn themselves with good works rather than fancy jewelry or hairstyles. (No doubt if Paul gave these instructions today, he would get his own slutwalk dedicated to him!) Why would modesty be an important enough issue for Paul to stress in this letter? Here are three reasons.
To protect women
The command for women to dress modestly is not to repress or hold back women, but to protect and honor them. Women were not created by God to be merely creatures for men to lust over. They were created for us to befriend, to learn from, to grow together with them in the knowledge and wisdom of Christ. And when it comes time for us to pursue one romantically, we make that decision not on the basis of fading beauty but the unfading glory of a life filled with and saturated by the glory of Christ. Modesty helps women be seen for who they really are, their character and good deeds instead of just their bra size.
To protect men
Anyone that says that scantily clad women do not incite a man to lust has clearly never been a man. The fight to live a pure life before God is a fight that never ends this side of glory and for most men, the one thing that is the biggest struggle is the fight with lust. Having women who dress modestly helps us to not see you as objects of lust in our mind but as the sister in Christ that you are supposed to be. It helps free us from the bondage of a twisted imagination to be the men of God we need to be for women. Men are called to draw near to God and lead others into His presence by the way we live our life, to constantly have to fight the urge to look down a woman’s cleavage that is on display short-circuits that process and causes us to either give in to lust or avoid being around women altogether. God’s command for women to dress modestly helps men be the men He has called them to be.
To glorify God
The way we dress is a way we can show the world that our hope is not in our looks but in God. Modesty allows women to attract the attention of people, not on the basis of beauty but by the attractiveness of a life lived for the glory of God. This allows a women to then redirect people’s focus off of her and on to Christ where it belongs.
In a world where it seems that the woman that is valued the most is the one with the most statuesque body with the least amount of clothing, the modest women stands out like a diamond among coal. A woman that is kind, generous, loving, and modest will be honored by God and esteemed by the people around her.
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While I agree that women do not asked to be raped by their clothing, I do agree that women should take pride in their relationship with Jesus and be appropriately clothed. Modesty is a lifestyle and a choice made for the glory that it gives Christ.