I thought that today I would let you look over my shoulder in a letter I wrote to a young Christian lady. Her identity is not important, but the thoughts in this letter need to be considered by everyone.
“Dear ________,
“I am so thankful for the fact that you are my sister and my friend. It is because of this mutual love that I am writing this to you about the way you dress.
“You see, the Bible does have a lot to say about this topic, but so few seem to notice it. Adam and Eve, clothed in fig leaves, sensed that they were still naked! God made them more suitable clothing and then regulated the dress of His people and upheld modest dress throughout the rest of the Bible. Far too many do not see that the presence of skimpy clothing is called nakedness by God. Think about this!
“I am sorry that the way you dress is not determined by what the Bible calls shamefacedness in 1 Timothy 2. When you were little, your parents taught you about covering parts of your body. You were ashamed to let others see you. Now that you are almost grown your body still needs to be covered. Though you might not have been aware of it back then, you covered your body because it was yours and not to be displayed to others. I am so amazed that today people display their body with the intent to encourage people to look at them. There is no sense of shame (the ability to blush) anymore. Please think about this as you decide what to wear.
“The matter I really want you to think carefully about is what the Bible says about lasciviousness. Read Galatians 5 where God says that no one who is lascivious can enter heaven. It is a rarely used word which everyone must understand. It means behavior that is lewd and that which creates lustful thoughts in others. This is why young men and young ladies need to be careful about how they touch each other. It is also why I am writing this letter to you because the way you dress, in my opinion, is lascivious. When undue emphasis and exposure of the sexual parts of our bodies are displayed they do create lustful thoughts.
“_________, I am not your judge. Only God has that right, but as your older brother I want you to be aware that God will judge you about lasciviousness. He is the judge! But, please do not ignore what He says. You cannot go to heaven when you have dressed lasciviously on this earth. Will you pray about this? I want you to know I am praying about it. I love you.
Your older brother, Dan”