Why we Need to Start Dressing with Dignity TODAY
Did you know that the way you dress tells a story of your relationship with God?
Did you know that being modest unlocks freedom?
Have you realized that when you start caring about your body, you find purpose and meaning?
What if I were to tell you that how you dress today will impact your marriage one day?
Just think about it.
This is why we must start dressing with dignity TODAY
No girl wakes up every single day feeling beautiful. I get it. I know. But feeling this way, should never give us the excuse to devalue our bodies the way we so often do in our society today.
Your body was never meant to be plastered on billboards and magazine covers wearing nothing but your bra and underwear, like Hollywood depicts us. Your body was never meant to be shown off to everyone at the beach. And your body was not meant to be used by every guy that walks past you.
Your body is valuable, beautiful, but most importantly it is sacred.
My good friend Kathryn Gross wrote this: “Our value and worth never comes from our makeup, clothes or the "sex appeal" this world throws at us each day. Our value comes from God alone.” AND SHE IS SO RIGHT! We must realign ourselves with God's values.
You are made in the image of God. This doesn’t mean you are perfect or the same as God, but it DOES mean that we are to strive for His likeness. Proverbs 31:30-31 says, “Charm is deceptive, and beauty is feeling; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praise. Give her the reward she has earned, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.”
Since we are made in HIS IMAGE, we need our reverence for God be shown in our actions, thoughts, words and in the priorities of what we wear. To fear the Lord means that we are in awe of His goodness. To fear the Lord means we reflect our Creator in all areas of our lives.
You are made in HIS IMAGE. You are made to influence others around you to point them to Christ.
I want to draw our attention to an important woman in the Bible who lived a life of indignity. Rahab was a woman who would once have been called a slut, prostitute or whore. She lived a life of servicing men's desires. Rahab came from a family who did not believe in God, but in many false gods.
Rahab had a secure location; She lived in the prime spot of the city wall, a good spot for visitors passing by to stop in. Rahab was faced with the decisions of her lifetime. When spies whom Joshua had sent to scope out Jericho decided to hide at Rahab's home, Rahab had a decision to make.
Would Rahab risk the potential danger of death for harboring spies or would she risk the loom from the Israelites' God?
It was here Rahab became the holiest hooker in the Bible.
She decided to step out in faith to become dignified in the One true God. While the wall crumbled all around Rahab's family, her home was still intact.
Rahab learned to be clothed with strength and dignity and she learned to laugh without fear of the future (prov. 31:25)
So while this world dictates to us that we must dress a certain way, act a certain way and give into the desires of the world, we have a choice to make.
We can still walk the pathway of dignity in a world that is crumbling all around us.
We need to start to see ourselves through God's eyes. God picked an outcast to take a giant leap of faith. While the world saw a scarlet, God saw His chosen daughter.
You are God's chosen daughter.
Will you start to dress with dignity today?
1. We must guard our heart and mind, because everything flows from it.
If we want to dress with dignity, we can't let into our mind and heart what everyone else around us are letting in. How much of the secular are you going to let in? How much longer are you going to let that TV show or negativity from a friend rule your life?
Filling our minds with holiness, isn't that we are to become perfect or think that we are better than people- It is simply to say I am letting God's truth reign over me, before anything else. With God's truth and promises grounded in our minds, we will be able to discern what to let in our minds and what to send right back out. AND when you have God's truth ringing in your mind, you will start to see yourself the way God does. You will start to THINK of yourself the way God does.
Dive into God’s Word before you dive into your closet.
2. Start CELEBRATING what God has already given you.
It’s so easy to compare ourselves with others. It’s so easy to become envious and jealous over what someone else has, that we don’t have. Dressing with dignity is all about remember that we need to celebrate what God has given us instead of comparing ourselves to others. God will never help us be someone we aren’t. BUT God will continue to mold, craft, shape and design us to who He ultimately wants us to be. Will you let Him?
3. Think about your future husband
When you get dressed in the morning, think about your husband, whether you are already married, waiting or dating. Would you want him looking at all the girls who are dressing provocatively? I really hope your answer is no. Because honey, your body is not meant to be shown off to every guy who walks you by. Remember, your body is sacred. Honour it. Save it. Cherish it. BUT also remember that those guys you do want to show your body off to, they have a future wife. We need to be dressing, keeping our future husbands in mind. You can start preparing for your marriage today with how you dress. Just think about it.
Have respect for
a) yourself
b) your husband…EVEN IF you are not yet married
c) all the other future wives of the men you see today
4. A Smile Changes the World
Your smile can change the world. A smile gives hope, reassurance, love, peace, joy and kindness. It can give light into the darkest of places. What we wear doesn’t just have to do with clothes. It has to do with how we also carry ourselves. I’m not asking you to pretend to be happy and cover up your pain. I’m simply encouraging you to not be afraid of spreading the joy God has ALREADY given you. When you smile, it will not only bring a blessing to those around you, it will also lift your own spirit. Let your smile change your world today.
5. Admire other people’s beauty
Part of dressing with dignity means that we are able to admire other people’s beauty and what God has given them, without letting it defeat ourselves. God has created something special and unique in every single person. We must take our eyes off ourselves and be open to who God has to show us today. Be an encouragement to others. Build each other up.
6. Own your imperfections
One day it finally hit me: what if our imperfections were to remind us that there is only One person who is perfect? God didn’t give us our imperfects to laugh at us our to make our lives harder? I believe we have imperfections to make us humble. I know that every time we look in the mirror we hate at least one thing about ourselves. There is always at least one imperfections that we dwell on.
Instead of dwelling on your imperfections today; desire to ask God to make you humble. And girl, own your imperfections. Embrace them. They are a part of your story.
7. Have FUN and simply be YOU
Dressing with dignity is also so much fun! Who says you have to follow the latest fashion trends or look like the girl on the cover of vogue? YOU DON’T HAVE TO! You can simply be you, which makes it so fun. One of the most exciting adventures I take with my girlfriends is thrift shopping. We love mix-matching and making up our own styles, without breaking the bank. Have fun and simply be you.
8. Have an attitude of gratitude in your steps
Modesty doesn't start or end with what's in our closet. It starts with our minds, how we talk, how we treat others and even how we walk.
If we want to dress with dignity, we must think with dignity. This one is easy. We need to start getting rid of that negative self-talk to instead fill our minds with thanksgiving and having an attitude that reflects our Creator. Keep an eye on the way you take your steps today. Ask God for His confidence and strength to go with you down each step in the road.
9. Throw Away the Scale
What is your relationship with your scale? I know weight matters to a lot of us, but we must remember that God doesn't weigh us by numbers. This world sometimes has no idea that what seems like the "ideal weight" has nothing to do with God's weight of love for you and me.
I'm asking you to throw away the scale and step into God's grace.
Start seeing yourself through the eyes of God.
10. True Freedom is Found
I believe and know from experience that modesty truly does unlock freedom.
PLUS you don’t have to worry about things poking out or slipping out. HA. You don’t have to worry about holding your dress down, pulling your dress up or bending down awkwardly. Seriously.
So what’s in your closet?
TAKE A STAND with me and start dressing with dignity and grace today and start to see yourself through God's eyes.
For YOU are clothed with STRENGTH and DIGNITY and can learn to laugh without fear of the future <3