My Views On Modesty

One topic that everyone seems to have an opinion on is modesty. And it is a topic that I have personal issues with. I hope that by the time I'm done with this post that we all will have a clear biblical perspective of what modesty is and what it is not.
Ever since I was a little girl, my mother instilled in me the importance of modesty. My sisters and I always wore dresses or skirts and blouses. Whenever we wore pants, they were usually worn under our skirts. We were tomboys so there were times my younger sister and I wore pants to play sports, climb tree, or do outside work. Mom did not have any issues with us wearing pants then.
As I grew older, the urge to wear pants grew stronger but I feared my mother's response. Finally the time came when I was in my 20s and a college student. I had a job at a local children's home where I worked with court adjudicated youth. One day after having a somewhat embarrassing moment at work, I decided that it was time to wear pants to work.
Ever since then I have worn pants. I also wear dresses and skirts but there are times when I feel most comfortable in pants. My husband even tells me that I am more modestly dressed in pants. I'm so glad that he encourages me to not only dress comfortably but modestly as well.

Over the years I have had people tell me that women should not wear pants because pants are not modest on women. My response has always been: what is modesty?
So, what is modesty? Merriam Webster defines modest as "not showing too much of a person's body". Merriam Webster also defines modesty as "the quality of behaving and especially dressing in ways that do not attract sexual attention".
One thing I've noticed over the years is how much skin is visible when a woman wears a skirt or a dress. I've also seen websites advertising "modest" skirts that are knee length and depending on the size of the woman, tight-fitting. How are they any different from jeans or capris?
I don't ask that to excuse wearing pants. I don't feel as though I need to! I want to draw awareness to what we wear.
For the past twenty years, I have had serious body issues. They started in my teens when my self-image was at it's lowest. As I grew older and heavier, I literally started loathing my body. These body issues were reflected in what I wore. I lived in baggy, loose-fitting clothes. To this day, that low self-esteem is still hanging over me.
Now that I'm married and a mother of a young son, I know that I am beautiful...my husband tells me often enough. However, there are times that I do not feel so confident in myself. Those times are usually when I am trying to decide which outfit to wear around my in-laws. Granted, I have a great relationship with them but I feel the need to "dress the part" around them. My husband is always reminding me to be myself and lately I have heeded his advice.

Lately I have felt the need to reflect on His Word to see how God feels about modesty. There are several verses that I have chosen to discuss in this post. The first one is 1Cor. 6:19-20. In a letter to the Corinthian people, Paul admonished them by saying that their bodies were a temple of the Holy Ghost and they should glorify God in their body and their spirit. How can we glorify God with our bodies and our spirits?
The second verse I've chosen is 1Tim.2:9-10. In Paul's first epistle to Timothy, Paul discusses women's dress. In verse 9 he says that women should adorn themselves in modest apparel with shamefacedness and sobriety. I believe that Paul is encouraging women not to dress in an extravagant or ostentatious manner but that they can still desire to have a good appearance. Paul also speaks out against dressing immodestly or so as not to exploit our feminine charm or to provoke our Christian sisters to jealousy.
Paul goes on to say in verse 10 that women should dress themselves in a manner that is proper for women who profess reverence for God. The way women dress should conform to their Christian testimony and behavior.
There are more verses I could discuss like 1Pet. 3:3-4 in particular but I will stop. There is one common denominator that I noticed while I was reading through my list of Bible verses. And that is that women should emphasize their inner qualities and not just their outward appearance. But does that mean that we can't wear jewelry or fancy clothes? I don't believe so. I believe that Paul is cautioning us women against merely beautifying the outward appearance while neglecting our souls.
I will close by saying that I believe modesty comes from the heart. As women, we need to believe in ourselves and know that God has special plans for us and our femininity. Just remember, ladies, inner beauty shines through and the clothes are just the frame. So let your inner beauty shine through.