A Return to Modesty

I always know when Spring has arrived. No, not because of the flowers or the days with highs in the 70's. I know by seeing the return of spaghetti straps, bare midriffs, and unbelievably short shorts. This immodest choice of clothing is to be expected among those of the world, but it is disturbing to see it so prominent among self professed Christian women. God's word has not changed and the command is still written, "I want women to adorn themselves with proper clothing, modestly and discreetly...as is proper for women making a claim to godliness" (1 Tim. 2:9-10). It is shocking to see the clothes that teens (and even pre-teens) are wearing these days. It is likely that teens are obsessed with "looking sexy" because their mothers have obsessed over this as well. May we return to the Bible, and may we (to borrow from Shalit's book) "return to modesty." Let me recommend the following reading on this topic for your consideration:

1. Read Margery Eagan's column in the Boston Herald (3/22/07) titled "Oh, Mothers! Just Act Your Age!"

2. Read Wendy Shalit's book A Return to Modesty (available from Amazon.com)

3. Read Wendy Shalit's NEW book Girls Gone Mild (available from Amazon.com)

4. Read Jeff Pollard's little booklet Christian Modesty and the Undressing of America (available from Amazon.com).

Addendum: Webb Williams e-mailed me in response to this article and recommended another great book on this topic. He wrote the following:

I read your article on modesty. Another good book is "Technical Virgin: How Far is Too Far" by Hayley DiMarco. It discusses, from a woman's point of view, how men view clothing (or lack of) on females, and other aspects of interaction between the sexes. I think every parent of a teenage girl along with every teenage girl should read this book.
I left my copy laying on my desk at school and girls would randomly pick it up and read it. Their eyes were truly opened to the things they did that they considered harmless. They didn't realize the affect it would have on the guys. It scared some of them. These weren't Christians. They were just students at our school.