It was brought to my attention that a lady was discussing my post, “Walking Billboards” on her blog and and based on her post, she was obviously confused.

In case anyone else misunderstood my post as extremely as she did, please read the rest of the comments attached to that post as well as allowing me to share something with you. Some years ago, I could have easily been the teen-aged girl in my story. When I think back to the foolish things I’ve said and done I cringe – then I thank God for His mercy and grace in my life.

The fact is, I still do and say foolish things, though not as many as I did twenty years ago, and God still offers me His unwavering mercy and grace. I am so unworthy.

You know what else? Twenty years from now, I will still be doing and saying foolish things – though, hopefully not as often as I do now. That’s part of sanctification. That’s part of becoming more conformed to His image.

Not only did the woman who posted on her blog claim that I said things that I did not, she also made a few untrue and sweeping statements like “She went on to judge the motives of this girl’s heart…”

If you read the article, you can see that no motives of the girl’s heart were addressed (except to assume that she wasn’t purposely trying to be immodest). One of the most disturbing comments she made was one where she wondered if I thought this young girl should have been stoned to death! So, if we see a sad trend in Christian pop-culture and then *gasp* actually say something about it by giving a fictitious example and challenging people to think, then it must mean we think the person in our example should be put to death???

This dear lady obviously missed the point of the article, as well as publicly contemplating my motives in a most ungracious fashion. But, that’s ok, I forgive her. For me, it’s just another lesson in the importance of consistency and good communication.

You see, the point wasn’t to critique one girl and the way she dresses. The point wasn’t to tsk tsk over the sin (or naivety) of some oblivious girl and her mother. The point was to challenge our thinking. Our thinking – the church. That was it.

It was not disturbing that one girl who visibly claimed Christ dressed that way. The point was that MANY, MANY girls (and women, men, and boys) who claim Christ dress and behave in a way that is inconsistent with their testimony.

Who are these “Christian” retailers who are making WWJD t-shirts in tight, stretchy, paper-thin fabric with spaghetti straps and in lengths that don’t even reach the navel anyway? Hmmmm….What’s next? “Skin tight t-shirts that say, “Modest is Hottest?” (Never mind, they already have that one). Ok, well, what’s next, bikinis with the Ten Commandments on it? Uh-oh, don’t give them any ideas!

The point was to remind us all to glorify God in every single way we live – including how we dress. And the point was also to encourage us all to think things through. If we don’t want to draw attention to something, we shouldn’t put writing on it. :-) If I write something across my forehead, you’re going to look at my forehead. Modesty isn’t exclusive to dress or hairstyle – the heart of modesty points to Jesus in all things – rather than ourselves. We’re immodest when we attempt to steal glory and attention from Jesus. We’re modest when our speech, our attire, our demeanor all communicate, “Look at Jesus!”

And instead of approaching new Christians with a “come as you are, stay as you are” attitude, we should be welcoming them with open arms and then teaching, correcting, nurturing, and edifying them. That’s what it’s all about.

Sometimes that means we say hard things. It’s much more fun to sound nice and have everyone think you’re oh-so-sweet. But, true love sometimes says hard things. That’s the only way we’ll be able to see change. We can’t sit around waiting for someone else to say something. True love sometimes has to be willing to be misunderstood, slandered, and even hated. Oh God…give me the strength to always be willing to truly love.

• Are Pants Modest?
• Modesty Helps Foster Friendship in Women
• Walking Billboards
• I Thank Thee, Sire
• "One Way"

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