As the mother/stepmother of 2 pre-teen boys, the issue of modesty or immodesty has become increasingly important in my world. Convictions from my own past coupled with the overwhelming lack of modesty in our society has caused me much concern. After much prayer and much discussion with my husband, we decided that blogging may be a way to voice concern and get feedback to see if others see what I see. Here is what I see:
I'll start with the recent movie release telling the true life story of a young woman surfer who suffered a terrible accident and overcame it through the strength of her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Having heard the young woman's story, my husband and I were extremely excited to hear about the movie. We naturally thought it would be a great film to see with our boys. However, as we began to read reviews, we realized that Hollywood was, of course, dumbing down the Christian message and upping the "sex appeal". The main wardrobe for the young women in the movie seems to be string bikinis. Now, the neutralizing of the message was somewhat expected and could have been a great discussion starter as we talk to our boys about how important it is to not be ashamed of our faith but the over abundance of skin was not something to which we wanted to expose them. The decision was made, we would not see the film.
But here is the bigger issue.....
As a society, we have all but forgotten what true modesty is. I will not sit here and tell you that I have been concerned with modesty all my life. As little as 4 or 5 years ago, when I was in much better shape physically, I was frequently seen in 2 piece swim suits, thinking I had the body, I should show it off. I have since been convicted over that and feel as though I was in the wrong. I believe the human body is a beautiful thing. I believe the beauty of it is to be enjoyed by a husband or wife and should not bring enjoyment to anyone else, be it by seeing or touching.
Now, I realize what some of you may be thinking. You think I'm saying that women should all wear long skirts and loose fitting tops. Nope, that's not it, unless you feel that the Lord has led you and your family to that path, then by all means, follow Him. Women, young and old, can be modest and still be very stylish and attractive. The fact is, skimpy swim suits and skin tight, form fitting, low cut clothing leave little to the male imagination. I happen to believe the more a woman shows in swimsuit while still covering the "important" parts can simply cause a man, young or old, to imagine about those parts specifically. By the way, you can find really cute, stylish swim suits that cover well and still manage to be comfortable to swim in. I just purchased one today. In a world where sex is thrown at all of us everyday by television, and the ever available abundance of pornography via the internet, we should be mindful. Don't get me wrong, I don't mean to say that we women are all to blame for men's struggle with sexual sin. I am saying if you truly understand that men were created by God as visual creatures, we have a certain responsibility to keep ourselves from being a stumbling block to them.
Both of my boys are reaching the age of puberty which simply scares me to death. I'm beginning to anticipate the questions they ask from simply walking through the grocery store. We recently had to make the rule that hugs with young women are off limits. My husband and I are trying to teach them how to look at and treat young women with respect. This is a difficult task when these young women wear low rise jeans and tight tops that expose their tummies. Or shorts that rival swim suit bottoms for length. And, well, you know what I think about swim suits.. What is a mom to do? In an immodest, sex saturated world, how do we raise respectable, honorable, pure young men?
