by Keith Greer<\/p>\n
In a few weeks, summer will arrive. The cold days of winter and the rainy days of spring will be behind us, and we’ll be enjoying warm sunny days. Seasonal change is a wonderful part of God’s creation (Genesis 8:22). Unfortunately, summer brings with it the problem of immodest apparel.<\/p>\n
Let’s first define our subject. Immodest is defined as “lacking modesty; offending sexual mores in conduct or appearance; indecent; not properly restrained.” Apparel is “clothing, especially outer garments; attire.” Putting these definitions together, we could define immodest apparel as “outer garments that lack modesty; indecent or unrestrained.” What apparel is immodest? I suppose it depends on who you ask and the standards used to determine what belongs in the category. Shouldn’t we let God set the standard?<\/p>\n
Our example and influence. “Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity<\/em>” (I Timothy 4:12).<\/p>\n In Las Vegas, where I preached for many years, the weather was quite warm for approximately ten months of the year. Immodest dress was a constant problem. Sadly, when the temperature goes up, the clothes come off or get shorter. Whenever some of the brethren and I discussed the clothes they were wearing (or not wearing), they would reply, “If you have a problem with the way I dress, that’s your problem.” The teaching in the above passage never crossed their minds. Are we responsible for how we dress and how it affects others who see us? Absolutely! We can present stumbling blocks before our brethren (Romans 14:13). If a person’s clothing causes a member of the opposite sex to lust, both (the person who lusts and the one who dresses immodestly) sin.<\/p>\n Brethren, how can anyone say that wearing a tight-fitting, revealing bathing suit at a public pool or water park and showing our bodies to others (men or women), perhaps causing them to lust, makes it the other person’s problem? Are we showing proper love for our brethren and fellow men when we cause their minds to stray into sin? This type of “brother keepers” is not what God had in mind.<\/p>\n Christians need to remember who they are and for what they stand. We are to let our lights shine before men, to glorify God (Matthew 5:13-16). God’s people think, act, and dress differently. Paul warned of the dangers of conforming to the world (Romans 12:1-2).<\/p>\n Let me speak plainly. God’s people have no business wearing anything that could even give the appearance of generating lust in another (I Thessalonians 5:21-22). Yes, we have to use some of our own personal judgment in our clothing selections. Still, we must avoid tight-fitting, revealing clothing that causes others to look at us in a sinful way. Where’s our common sense?<\/p>\n Let me assure you that this problem exists, not only in Las Vegas, but also in Beavercreek, Ohio. Should we dress to please God or the world (Galatians 1:10-11)? God’s people dress according to a standard that differs from the world’s. Which standard will you follow?<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Keith Greer In a few weeks, summer will arrive. The cold days of winter and the rainy days of spring will be behind us, and we’ll be enjoying warm sunny days. Seasonal change is a wonderful part of God’s creation (Genesis 8:22). Unfortunately, summer brings with it the problem of immodest apparel. Let’s first…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[697,366,365],"class_list":["post-94357","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-attire","tag-dress","tag-modesty"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":32406,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/are-men-and-women-who-dress-immodestly-urged-toward-promiscuity\/","url_meta":{"origin":94357,"position":0},"title":"Are men and women who dress immodestly urged toward promiscuity?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 3, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Are men and women who dress immodestly urged toward promiscuity? Answer: Webster's Dictionary defines immodest as: not modest; not decorous; indecent; not shy or humble; bold; forward. Immodesty doesn't necessarily go hand in hand with promiscuity.\u00a0 It can lead to promiscuity,\u00a0but it is not a given.\u00a0 A person can\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":7625,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-a-sleeveless-shirt-or-a-knee-length-dress-immodest\/","url_meta":{"origin":94357,"position":1},"title":"Is a sleeveless shirt or a knee-length dress immodest?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 23, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Are sleeveless shirts that are covering everything immodest? I had a skirt that was right on my knee and I wore it to church. I had an older man come up to me and tell me how sinful I was for wearing such a thing. It revealed my knee\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1647,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/modest-apparel\/","url_meta":{"origin":94357,"position":2},"title":"Modest Apparel","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 1, 2004","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton \"Therefore I desire that the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting; in like manner also, that the women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with propriety and moderation, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly clothing, but, which is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":86335,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-it-immodest-for-a-man-to-wear-a-tight-t-shirt\/","url_meta":{"origin":94357,"position":3},"title":"Is it immodest for a man to wear a tight t-shirt?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 4, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Would it be immodest for a Christian man to wear a t-shirt that shows his biceps or is tight-fitting so that the muscles can be seen? I believe the kind of attention a man wants to draw to himself will reveal where his heart is, so perhaps I've already\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":43389,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/are-yoga-pants-bikinis-and-short-shorts-immoral\/","url_meta":{"origin":94357,"position":4},"title":"Are yoga pants, bikinis, and short shorts immoral?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 18, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Are yoga pants, bikinis, and short shorts immoral? Most women in my area wear these, even pastors' wives, so it confuses me greatly because I feel sometimes like they're immodest and that I should avert my eyes. Answer: They can be immoral. When clothing no longer hides a person's\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":29019,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/modesty\/","url_meta":{"origin":94357,"position":5},"title":"Modesty","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 26, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"by Randi Roberts Sentry Magazine, September 2003 \"Do not let your adornment be merely outward-arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel -- rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/modest-girl-300x200.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94357","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=94357"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94357\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=94357"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=94357"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=94357"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}