“Jordan Harrington is a 24 year old graduate of Liberty University with a dual major in Elementary and Special Education. She is married to Matthew Morran and is currently a Special Education Teacher for children with Autism”

Before I introduce Jordan’s post, I want to mention that this post goes for men as well. While her post applies to women first and foremost, men need to be aware they can lead women to stumble by wearing inappropriate things as well. But I will let Jordan explain everything:

“During the week of Halloween, as one logs on to Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, you may expect to find cute pictures of young children dressing up to go trick-or-treating or to their school party, but it has been my experience, over the last few years that Halloween also gives an opportunity for costumes of a different kind. Young women tend to take this as a chance to not only display their creativity, but their bodies. Depending on your convictions about costume parties, trick-or-treating, and the like, you may need to come to a decision about what type of costume is appropriate. As Christian women, how do we approach this- do we shrug it off and dismiss it as only one day of the year or do we make an effort to search the scripture for how God feels about modesty and how we can glorify him in everything- including how we dress.

Let’s take a moment to check society’s view on the subject. The objectification of women is nothing new. We live in a world where Katy Perry and Lady Gaga are popular teen idols. TV shows like “Secret Life of the American Teenager” and “16 and Pregnant” send mixed messages to young women about purity and priorities.  The movie Mean Girls, produced in 2004 has a scene where they explain what type of costume to wear for a Halloween party. One of the characters states, “[i]n girl world, Halloween is the one night a year where a girl can dress like a total slut and no other girls can say anything about it. The hard-core girls just wear lingerie and some form of animal ears.” You may say this is extreme, girls do not actually dress like that for Halloween, and the media has no effect on how young women dress. I challenge you to ask the teenagers and twenty-something’s in your life what their friends dress up as for Halloween. Would they say that their friend’s outfits are modest? The days of precious princess costumes are quickly coming to an end, how will you respond to the removal of modesty from the way women dress? 

So, what is modesty? A general definition of this type of modesty can be explained as one who observes the proprieties of dress and behavior: decent. Christians typically view modesty as the act of dressing conservatively, without drawing attention to any specific area of the body. I remember my dad, who is a minister, using music to define modesty. He compared it to an orchestra, each instrument playing its own part, all together beautiful. But, if one section of instruments decides to play louder, bolder, higher than the rest- it draws our attention, and not in a good way. When women dress in an immodest fashion, it is like that section of instruments- playing loudly and drawing our attention, taking away from the overall beautiful song.

As women of God, to fully grasp the concept of modesty, we must first internalize what the Bible says about beauty. 1 Peter 3:3-4 tells us that, “Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.” This tells us that our confidence and beauty shouldn’t come from how hott we can look in an outfit, rather it should come from the inner being, who God has created us to be. I see in Psalm 139:14 that, “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” God has made each and every one of us with unique characteristics- intricately designed to bring glory to him. Remember, that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have received from God. You are not your own, you were bought at a price and you have a calling to honor God with your body (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). This command includes your words, actions, and appearance. One of my absolute favorite verses about biblical womanhood is Proverbs 31:23. Here it states that the wife of noble character is, “clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come.” What better way to be clothed then with strength and dignity- sending other’s attention away from us and our physical appearance and toward Him, a creator more beautiful than we could ever imagine.

When choosing what to wear each day, and what to wear to that costume party this weekend, I ask that you will remember what constitutes as real beauty- a gentle spirit, strength, dignity, and modesty. Remember what you were created for, to bring glory to God. If this doesn’t make you stop and think about how you are presenting yourself, then finally, I ask you this, what about your brothers in Christ? Romans 14:13b states, “Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister.” A stumbling block is something that will cause your fellow Christian to sin. When you dress immodestly, you are placing the stumbling block of lust right in front of your brother’s feet, imploring him to fall. I remember the first time I really thought about this. About what it mean to cause another Christian to dishonor God and sin. I thought about the men in my life: my father, brothers, and husband. I would do anything to help them in their journey towards obedience. The men that we see each day are someone else’s father, brother, or husband. Shouldn’t we want to do all that we can to help them in their quest for godliness?

Young women, God has called you to live a life worthy of the cause of Christ. Strive to be obedient in each area of your life. Make modesty a priority each and every day. Men, encourage the women in your life to dress as if they were part of a beautiful symphony- designed to bring praise to our God.”