....Soli Deo Gloria....

Alex and Brett Harris, along with their sister and others, recently put together a modesty survey. It's on their blog "The Rebelution" and it's called "The Modesty Survey." They asked Christian guys to take it, and have published the results today. I would encourage you to check it out. I've been reading through some of the responses, and here are some of the ones I find most interesting, or at least, worth repeating. Again, this is not directed at anyone nor said for any particular reason other than that it is on my heart, and needs to be on our radar as Christian women.

1. Shrugs, the short shirts and jackets that just cover the chest, draw too much attention to the bust.
59% of guys agree or strongly agree with this statement. They say the shrugs that don't tie across the chest are ok, but if there is a tie across the chest, it is extremely attention drawing for them.

2. Strapless dresses are immodest.
65.9% of guys agree or strongly agree with this statement. They say it makes you look half naked. Also, you spend half the time pulling at the dress to keep it up, which doesn't help them either.

3. Girls can be modest by layering (e.g. wearing camisoles under v-neck shirts to hide cleavage) even if some of the layers would be immodest by themselves.
78.7% of the guys agree or strongly agree with this statement. They say it is a great way to make immodest clothing modest. But there is overwhelming agreement that lace camisoles are immodest as they look too much like lingerie.

4. Wearing pants with words across the backside is a stumbling block.
84.3% of the guys agree or strongly agree with this statement. They say it is as if they are being baited to lust after you.

5. Any shorts that are shorter than mid-thigh are immodest.
83.8% of the guys agree or strongly agree with this statement. A humorous remark was made that most guys wear boxers that are longer than that. They say that when you are standing, it might be ok, but when you sit down, it's usually not.

6. Gauchos are modest.
60.7% of the guys agree or strongly agree with this statement. They remind girls to be careful that they are loose fitting gauchos and not low riders. Many of the guys said they CAN be modest, but often are immodest when it comes to the way they fit on a girls butt.

7. Seeing a girl's chest bounce when she is walking or running is a stumbling block.
76.5% of the guys agree or strongly agree with this statement. They also say that they realizing when you are working out and running, there may be little you can do to stop this. But they ask that you be aware that it is a huge problem for guys and to do what you can to help them and to just be discreet when possible.

8. Wearing glitter lotion is not a stumbling block.
59.6% of the guys agree or strongly agree with this statement. But seriously, I laughed out loud when I read some of the remarks for this one.
"It looks like something a 12 or 13 year old would do. Plus, it makes a mess, and anytime a girl is wearing it I seem to get it on myself and my clothes. Kind of like a pet shedding hair, except it's you shedding sparkles."

"Not a stumbling block. However, you get them all over the church pews and then they find their way onto my face. It's not funny when I have to explain to other people why there is glitter on my face."

The overwhelming majority of guys say that glitter lotion is unattractive and childish. One guy said it was vain because "...flesh was not meant to glitter." They do say that if the glitter is on the chest and downward it goes from being childish to being immodest.

9. Even modest pajamas are inappropriate for a girl to wear in public.
48.6% of the guys agree or strongly agree with this statement. They say that pajamas are for when you are in bed, and guys obviously know that, and so they start thinking about your bed. Basically, PJ's=bed, which means guys are thinking of women and bed all at the same time.

Then, there were a few open ended questions. One of them was "Guys-if you could say anything to your sisters in Christ about modesty, what would it be?" I sooooo urge you to go read some of the answers to this question. Praise God for men that value biblical femininity and modesty and a woman after God's own heart. Some of my favorite excerpts:

"Please don’t take modesty lightly. As your brother in Christ I value the relationship that I will have with my wife someday. When I am tempted because of you I lose a part of myself that I am trying to save for her." (this was by a 16 year old!)

"Would you rather be the tool by which guys satisfy themselves or the beautiful thing God created you to be, pure for your husband? My flesh prefers the former, but my heart pleads for the latter." (this by a 17 year old!)

"God gave you girls huge power over us men as we are wired to respond to a woman's body when it's revealed or hinted at. It's part of God's perfect plan for marriage and yet it's another thing that Satan has twisted and is using against us to make us think that we are not living up to God's standards, since it is like a re-fall every time one of those thoughts crosses our minds, no matter how small it is or how quickly we dismiss it. We know it's not all your responsibility, but you can help."

"Please, please, please take a higher standard in the ways you dress. True, we men are responsible for our thoughts and actions before the Lord, but it is such a blessing when we know that we can spend time with our sisters in Christ, enjoying their fellowship without having to constantly be on guard against ungodly thoughts brought about by the inappropriate ways they sometimes dress. In 1 Corinthians 12 the apostle Paul presents believers as the members of one body - we have to work together. Every Christian has a special role to play in the body of Christ. That goal is to bring glory to the Savior through an obedient, unified body of believers - please don't hurt that unity by dressing in ways that may tempt your brothers in Christ to stumble."

Anyways, I found the survey results to be an interesting read and would encourage you to use some of your idle time this weekend to look them over. Also, remember to read it with an open mind, and be ready for the Spirit to work as He will-convicting, encouraging, blessing, etc. The goal of this survey is neither legalism, nor condemnation. But instead, a greater zealousness for purity by the blood of Christ.

Posted by Jenn Romanski on Wednesday, February 14, 2007 at 4:46 PM | Permalink