In today's American church culture, I find there to be an interesting tension in the way that we view women. So many men say that women need to be more mindful of "the visual nature of men" and in doing so change the way in which they dress in order to protect the hearts of men.
At the same time, many women feel as if far too much of the burden is being placed upon them. They feel such strong pressure from society to look and behave a certain way in order to be considered beautiful, and at the same time hear their brothers in Christ plead with them to be sure to dress modestly. Yet even in spite of these requests, many guys still show preference in ascribing beauty to those who dress in the very way that they ask Christian women not to dress.
As I was doing a typical browse through my Facebook newsfeed, I came across an article/video that was posted on Buzzfeed that highlighted the way that beauty standards have evolved over time entitled "Women's Ideal Body Types Throughout History."
The article can be found at http://www.buzzfeed.com/eugeneyang/womens-ideal-body-types-throughout-history#.rkzjvE6g6.
In watching this video, I find it interesting that throughout the course of history, just about every type of body shape and size was once considered ideal. So what causes this to change? Who makes the decisions about what is attractive and what is not? The ideal woman in ancient Greece would likely be scorned by the majority of American men today.
I feel as if so many men have attempted to place the entirety of the blame upon women and the way that they dress, but men are the primary determiners of what is and is not considered beautiful. So if we as men are reinforcing a certain body type and style of dress as more attractive than others, why do we then turn around and complain about how women present themselves?
In his book Respectable Sins, Jerry Bridges says, "Even though our hearts have been renewed...this principle of sin still lurks within us and wages war against our souls." Although Christ is working sanctification within us, our hearts must still battle our sinful flesh.
1 Timothy 2:9-10 says, "Likewise, I want women to adorn themselves with proper clothing, modestly and discreetly...by means of good works, as is proper for women making a claim for godliness." Now, I am not saying that women need to cover every inch of skin, but I do believe that modesty is seen as excellent before God. But at the same time, God is a God of beauty, and there is nothing wrong with seeking to make oneself beautiful.
Now guys, regardless of what women wear, whether deemed modest or immodest, we must resolve in our hearts to remain pure in thought and deed. We are responsible for our own behavior. Can we say as Job did in Job 31:1, "I have made a covenant with my eyes; how then could I gaze at a virgin?" Job had already purposed in his heart that no matter how good a woman looked, that he was going to remain pure. My prayer is that as Christian men today, we would take the stand to be pure and blameless in our walk with Christ, including the way that we treat the women in our lives. Regardless of our view of how they dress or what our standard of beauty is, we must be able to present ourselves pure to God, and treat women with the respect that they deserve as creations of the Almighty King.
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