Should I Wear This?

As Christian women sometimes it can be difficult to choose what is and what is not appropriate to wear. The celebrities and fashion icons tell us one thing and we see and hear so many things from others that it can be hard to really know what is or is not pleasing to God. We often want to be “in style” or keep up with what is trending. Those trends are not always something we should be doing. How can we learn to be pleasing to God with our fashion choices?

You heard me right – our fashion choices should definitely be pleasing to God. Hopefully this article will make it a little easier for you to decipher whether something is a good choice for you or not when it comes to clothing. There are several places in the Bible where it talks about clothing, especially what a woman should wear or should not have on her body.

Let’s first dive into what scripture says. In 1 Timothy 2:9 it says, “Likewise also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire,” (ESV).

This verse mentions braided hair and gold and pearls which are also mentioned in 1 Peter 3:3. That does not mean that we cannot do beautiful things with our hair (like braiding it or making it look nice) or wear nice jewelry, like gold and pearls. This is saying that as women, we should not be drawing extra attention to our bodies. Doing something special to your hair and wearing jewelry draws attention to you. I do not believe that those things are displeasing to God. I enjoy wearing jewelry and making my hair look nice. I also believe that our bodies are beautiful and each uniquely made but our bodies were made for our husbands and only our husbands. Adorning your hair and wearing jewelry are totally fine but what us this verse really trying to say?

As women, we do not understand how hard it is for Godly men to see beautiful women and to keep their mind reined in and pure. Their minds are made much different than ours. What we are wearing can easily cause a man to stumble and begin lusting after us. Lust is a sin. We need to be mindful of what we wear and how we wear it to keep men from stumbling down the wrong path. The Bible makes it very clear that we are to help keep them from stumbling.

What does it mean to help keep men from stumbling? It simply means to be mindful and modest in what you wear. If what you are wearing is causing a man to lust after your body (someone other than your husband) part of that is your fault. I know it can be really difficult because not every man is a God-fearing man and some men do not need to see much of anything to let their imaginations run wild. We cannot help them much in that case. Sometimes it can also be hard because our minds are not the same we may think something is okay but it may be just a little too much for men to handle. Remember that they are visual beings. It does not take much for their imagination to run wild.

A good way to think about it is, would you be comfortable wearing it if God was in the room? Or your father, or brother? I can simply ask my husband if he thinks an outfit is appropriate to wear outside the house and he will let me know. If you are married I would encourage you to have an open dialogue about that with him. I think for the majority we do know what is modest clothing and what is not. This does not mean that you have to wear turtle necks and long dresses all the time. But it does mean to stay away from plunging neck lines, super skin-tight dresses and booty shorts (unless it is for your husband of course).

I also want to point out that in 1 Timothy 2:9 it says not to be caught up in costly attire. All too often women can get their identity wrapped up in the clothing that they wear. If it is not designer and did not cost a fortune, some women will not touch it. That is when we have crossed the line and have made fashion our god. There is nothing wrong with wearing nice things, having expensive things or designer things. When we make it a competition and have to one up our best friend with our outfits or we have to continually get the newest, hottest outfits – this is when we are spending a little too much time focusing on things of this earth that will pass away.

As a fashion designer, I love clothing and I love getting new clothes and accessories. But I often have to check myself and make sure that I am not putting these things above God. I should not be spending more time thinking about fashion than I am about God. I should not be spending all my paycheck and credit cards on these things when I could be using my money much more wisely.

God wants to be the only one that we think about and focus on constantly. He is a jealous God. Not only that but he is fully deserving and worthy of our attention and praise. It is funny how clothing and the things we use to adorn our bodies can impact both men and women’s relationship with God. When God formed our ancestors (Adam and Eve) he had us walking around naked. Once they sinned they immediately made clothing to cover themselves up. Since that time Satan has used clothing as a distraction for both men and women to keep our focus off from the one who made us.

Ladies, you are beautiful, but let us make it a little easier for our men counterparts and be mindful in what we wear. Take time to thank God for all the awesome fashion but also remember that he is the only one we should be worshiping with our time, thoughts and money.