Modesty ... Through the Eyes of a 19-Year-Old Guy
Posted by Lynn Wehner in Faith on Thursday, November 11, 2010 12:39 PM
Unless we’re sleepwalking through life, we can’t miss the dire situation our world is in with regards to women’s modesty.
I’ll never forget my husband’s face and demeanor when he returned from dropping off our daughter at high school one day several years ago. He was pale. And he was almost speechless.
“It wasn’t only the half-dressed girls that shocked me. What on earth is going on in the heads of the dads dropping them off?! So many of them gave their daughters warm, fatherly smiles and pecks on the cheek to say good-bye for the day. But then they watched their precious princesses get out of the car and walk up the ramp — shirts down to here and skirts up to here — with every young man in close proximity ogling their every move!”
Yes, there are some important, constructive discussions going on today about how we need to stand strong and battle this. About how this is actually tearing women down rather than “empowering” them. About how this is a battle for purity and dignity. About how the choice to dress immodestly tears at the very fabric of male-female relationships.
But rarely do we see it through the eyes of the young men who are also subjected to the sad sideshow. So I thought today’s Women of Grace post was especially powerful, as a 19-year-old guy hits the subject head-on. Part of his plea and encouragement:
“So this is why I ask you women out there to be aware of the power and responsibility you have — simply by the way you dress — to make our world a more pure and holy place. By the daily decision of how you dress, a girl or woman can really decide to show she belongs to God not only by not tempting those of the opposite sex, but also because God has already made her beautiful in her own right and there is no need to go further by revealing that which God doesn’t want revealed.”
This battle is not going to end because one young man speaks his mind. But just think of what could happen if more did … and more women listened … and more parents realized that this goes way beyond fashion and took a stand with their wallets … and more retailers realized they couldn’t make gobs of money selling handkerchiefs for shirts and underwear for shorts … and …
Okay, so I’m getting ahead of myself. But maybe you’re simply tired of being the only voice in this battle with your daughters or your nieces or your sisters or your friends. And just maybe the words from this young man can plant a seed in their hearts today.
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