1 Timothy 2:9-10

"Likewise, I want women to adorn themselves modestly and appropriately and discreetly in proper clothing, not with elaborately braided hair and gold pearls or expensive clothes, but instead adorned by good deeds (helping others), as is proper for women who profess to worship God."

I grew up on a poultry farm. Now, you may read that first statement and wonder what living on a chicken farm could possibly have to do with modesty, but I’ll get there. The summer before going into third grade, we had “clean out” in one of our chicken houses. About every 10–11 months we would get a new flock of chickens, and in between flocks we would have to clean the chicken houses out to prepare for the new flock. We would have to lift the slats on each side of the chicken house and clean all of the poop out from underneath them. When I was 8, I thought clean out was fun, but looking back now I’m not so sure why I thought that.

Anyway, one day while cleaning out the chicken houses, I crawled my little 8-year-old self up onto the slats. I was having a nice leisurely walk down them while Mom and Dad were slaving away on the other end of the chicken house, trying to clear out chicken manure. As I was walking, I noticed that there were a few slats missing that had already been pulled up. I stood there on the edge, getting my little Nike tennis shoes as close to the edge as I could without falling in, and I stared out into a sea of chicken manure that stood before me. At first I thought I was just going to have to get off of the slats and walk down in the middle of the chicken house floor to get to the next set of slats, but as I was standing there, staring wide-eyed at the chicken poop, I thought, “Hmmm, this poop has probably been here for a really long time, and it looks like it is packed in hard enough for me to just walk on it and over to the next slat.” Being proud that I came up with such a brilliant plan, and recognizing that I wouldn’t have to get off and walk around it, I took a brave step off of the edge only to find myself laying face-down in a smelly situation. I was at an all-time low. I was literally covered in poop.

Once Mom found me in this terrible mess, she rushed me up to the house and headed straight to the back yard to find the water hose. As I stood there on the porch feeling oh so filthy, with Mom aiming the water hose at me as if she were a policeman and I was the criminal, I said, “Mom, here, this will be better,” as I began taking off my clothes down to my underwear.

“No, no, no!” Mom yelled as she quickly began helping me put my poopy shirt and shorts back on. She said, “Kyndall, it is not appropriate to just wear your bra and panties. What if someone were to see you?”

I quickly responded, “But Mom, it is the exact same thing as wearing a bikini. I mean, if that is OK, then this should be OK.”

It was in that moment when my mom realized that her little 8-year-old girl had just said something that was so true, and made her think about modesty in a way she never had before.

Think about it, people. We are supposed to dress in a way that is pleasing to God. Does swimming make it acceptable to wear practically “underwear” in a public setting? Personally, I don’t feel like it does.

And women, did you ever stop to think how dressing inappropriately affects our brothers in Christ? The Bible says, in Romans 14:13, “Do not put an obstacle or a stumbling block or a source of temptation in another believer’s way.” While men are very responsible for their thoughts and actions, I believe that God will hold us accountable when we knowingly dress immodestly. I once heard the example of putting a piece of cake in front of a child, but telling them not to look, touch or eat it. It is almost irresistibly tempting for the child to do just that. Ladies, it is the same way when we dress in a way to draw men's attention to our bodies. I remember a man from church saying one time that he couldn’t even walk through Walmart without seeing a young girl dressed inappropriately every direction he turned. He said that he had to walk with his head down, staring at the floor to keep from seeing something he felt he shouldn’t be looking at.

Maybe you’re reading this and thinking, “OK, Kyndall, I get it. We shouldn’t dress immodestly, but where do we draw the line? How does God expect us to dress?” I believe that the answer to this comes from prayer and seeking God. I used to think nothing was wrong with some skinny jeans, but lately I have felt God convicting me. I’m not saying it's a sin to wear pants, but I have felt the need to wear a longer shirt over skinny jeans. I also feel like God doesn’t want me to wear leggings as pants, a low cut shirt, a dress or skirt that comes above my knees or a bikini. I don’t even feel comfortable wearing a one-piece swimsuit, and Nike shorts feel too short so I wear longer compression shorts underneath them.

Sweet girls, our bodies are considered the temples of God. How amazing is it that we possess such a sweet relationship with the Lord and that we can be in his presence at any time? While this is such an amazing gift, we have to be aware that the Lord wants to meet us in a place that is pure and holy. If we clothe ourselves in an impure, inappropriate and seductive way, do you think God will be pleased with meeting you there?

I am not saying you have to think the exact same way as I do about what is appropriate to wear and what is not. All I’m asking you to do is think hard about what you consider is modest, and what do you think God considers modest in His eyes. Are you dressing to get the attention of men, or are you clothing yourself with righteousness, pureness, grace, strength, respect and obedience?

Girls, dressing in an inappropriate way will definitely get you attention from the guys, but it will most definitely not be attracting the kind of man you want to be with. Have respect for yourself and have respect for God.

1 Peter 3:3-4

Your adornment must not be merely external — with interweaving and elaborate knotting of the hair, and wearing gold jewelry, or being superficially preoccupied with dressing in expensive clothes; but let it be the inner beauty of the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality and unfading charm of a gentle and peaceful spirit, one that is calm and self-controlled, not overanxious but serene and spiritually mature which is very precious in the sight of God.