The Purity of the Family

This Sunday, Jeremy preached on having a biblical view of marriage and family. He talked about how husbands should guard the purity of his wife and family in not asking them to do something against their conscience or convictions. The first thing that came to my mind when thinking of purity was modesty.

I often hear people complain about the way young girls are dressed inappropriately, and they ask, "Where is that girl's father? What in the world were her parents thinking when they let her go out that door!?" Well, let me tell you what I think the problem is. It's not so much that the father is to blame, but the mother. You see, if we as mom's tell our daughters that they can't wear such and such because it shows too much skin, then we are faced with the fact that maybe we wear things that show too much skin. A good rule for women when they are getting dressed, is to look at themselves in the mirror and say, "Would I want my daughter to wear this?"
I can already hear you saying, "Well, guys need to learn how to guard their eyes! If they are thinking sexual thoughts when they look at me then that's their problem, not mine!" I can understand unbelievers having this mindset but not the body of Christ. We have a responsibility to protect the purity of the church and that includes our Christian brothers. When you dress in a manner that causes a man to have to struggle to keep his eyes and flesh under control, then you are not protecting your brother in the Lord.
Men, do not be afraid to say, "Babe, I would love for you to wear that around the house where I can see it, but I'd rather you not wear that where other men can see you." And wives, don't be offended if your husband says something to you about the way you're dressed. Be thankful that he's willing to be obedient to God's Word and protect not only your purity but the purity of the Church.
About the whole "men should just learn to guard their eyes" argument. We know that men respond sexually to visual stimulation while women respond more to touch. So what if we allowed our sons to touch other girls inappropriately - in ways that could cause them to struggle with the lust of the flesh? Would we blame her when she responded to the boy in a sexual way? Would we say, "Well, you should learn to guard your responses. It's not the boy's fault that you were turned on when he touched you"? I think most of us as parents would be highly offended to hear that a boy treated our daughter this way. Why then do we allow our girls to parade in front of young men with more skin showing than covered? And then blame the boy for his natural responses?
This is an area that the church needs to take a stand and say, we are going to be Christlike even in our dress! Please realize that this is something I struggle with as well. I enjoy dressing in a way that draws attention. It makes me feel good about myself. But I need to be careful of crossing that line between being attractive and being immodest. A good way to do this is to ask Jeremy about what happens to my clothing when I lean over to talk to the children. Does my neckline fall open, showing more than needs to be seen? Does my hemline hike up so that you can see my thighs? He's a man. Your husband is the best resource for letting you know when something you are wearing is too revealing.
It's time for the Bride of Christ to resemble Christ more than the world in this area. And it's time for the ladies of the Church to decide that protecting their purity and the purity of the Church is more important than wanting to feel accepted by our culture.