Last week, walking the sandy Michigan beach in black sundress and straw hat, I felt conspicuously clothed.
Surrounded by tummy-touting females, sometimes a woman has to wonder, why not strip down, kick back, and soak up sun’s summer rays?
In The Look: Does God Really Care What I Wear? Nancy Leigh DeMoss transports us all the way back to the Garden of Eden for the skinny on why we even bother to cover up:
When God made the first man and woman, He made them without clothes: “The man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed” (Gen. 2:25).
Before Adam and Eve sinned, there was no clothing . . . and there was no shame or guilt. That’s because Adam and Eve were sinless. There were no barriers in their relationship with God or with each other.
That all changed when Adam and Eve decided to “have it their way.” The moment they ate the forbidden fruit, they experienced shame and self-consciousness: “Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked” (Gen. 3:7).
For the first time in their lives, they experienced the shame and guilt that are the fruit of sin. From this point on in the Bible, nakedness (outside of marriage) is referred to as shameful.
Adam and Eve immediately tried to come up with a way to cover their nakedness and shame. They didn’t ask God’s advice about how to dress. Instead, they came up with their own plan—they sewed fig leaves together to cover their private parts. (Did you know that fig leaves have the consistency of heavy sandpaper? Those first clothes must have been really uncomfortable!) They quickly realized that the fig leaves could not adequately solve their problem, so they hid themselves.
Mercifully, God didn’t let them stay hidden; He took the initiative to restore the fellowship that had been broken. “But the LORD God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” (Gen. 3:9).
Notice who first brought up the issue of Adam’s lack of clothing. It wasn’t God. It was Adam! In fact, his first words to God after the Fall were: “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself” (Gen. 3:10).
God’s response demonstrates that He didn’t consider their nakedness the primary issue: “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat? (Gen. 3:11).
Adam and Eve’s primary concern was their nakedness; God’s primary concern was that they had disobeyed His word and that their relationship with Him had been broken. They were concerned about their external appearance; God was concerned about their hearts.
In fact, initially God didn’t even address the issue of their nakedness. First, He dealt with them about the root issue of their sin and its consequences; He dealt with the broken relationship; He gave them the Gospel (Gen. 3:15)—the promise of a solution for their sin. Then, God came back to the matter of their clothes. With loving concern and grace, God dressed the first couple.
God didn’t overlook the problem of their nakedness or act like it didn’t matter. But neither was it the first thing He addressed.
When He finally got to the clothing issue, He said to Adam and Eve in effect, “Here’s My provision for your nakedness. Your way just won’t work. You need to do it My way!” Notice that Adam and Eve’s idea of clothing (fig leaves) and God’s idea of clothing (garments of skin) were very different.
Genesis 3:7 says, “They sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.” That word in the original language could be translated “aprons” or “belts (for the waist).”
By contrast, the “garments” that God made for Adam and Eve (Gen. 3:21) were “tunics” or “coats.” Various Bible dictionaries agree that this term refers to an article of clothing that covers the body at least from the neck to the knees.
This observation helps us understand that the God-created purpose for clothing was to cover the body.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on this topic. As the temperature climbs this summer, what will motivate you to cover up (or to not cover up)?
Come back tomorrow for super practical helps for the next swimwear shopping trip for you, your daughters, and/or granddaughters.
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Comments
on Tuesday, June 12, 2012 at 7:29 am
on Tuesday, June 12, 2012 at 7:52 am
on Tuesday, June 12, 2012 at 7:57 am
on Tuesday, June 12, 2012 at 9:16 am
In church one day, I watched as a woman walked up the aisle, shaking hands with all her girlfriends... but as she bent over each time, every woman's husband had to avert his eyes.
I made that mistake myself with a group of men once... helping them load boxes, not realizing that every time I bent over, I was exposing too much. One of the godly men in the group graciously asked me to "not help," and I later discovered why. (Learning experience!)
Another time, some teenage girls were sitting, hunched over, on our church stairway to the second floor. Every man who had to pass by them saw "all the way down their blouses." I didn't want to embarrass them, but I gently suggested that they might move because they were showing "a bit too much" (which was putting it mildly). They rolled their eyes, shook their heads, and refused to move. I grieved for the men in our church.
I spoke with a group of women several times about having a modesty panel on a women's day out to discuss these issues ... but every time it got derailed because we couldn't move forward with one question: "How will we deal with swimsuits, if that question comes up?" So I'll be interested in reading the post tomorrow.
on Tuesday, June 12, 2012 at 12:50 pm
For the life of me, I have never figured this one out and I am in my 50's now.
Makes sense to me to read scripture and realize it is very simple. A woman should be modest and shame faced. Modest is not having men gawk and believe me, they gawk, and then the responsibility of their lust lies on us. We as women, have an awesome responsibility. We need to take it seriously.
I know I have heard all the explanations of "Well, we need to buy 'modest' swim attire." Really?
If it is against the law to wear your underwear in a public place.... how do we justify wearing swim attire in a public place. I would rather know the truth of the matter than blind myself for a little fleshly pleasure.
I hope this isn't misunderstood. And I hope these comments are posted as food for thought, certainly not contention. Sometimes we label things as contention if they are too hard to swallow or unpopular.
on Tuesday, June 12, 2012 at 1:49 pm
In recent years there's been research done on the brain when it comes to immodesty and I believe that when I have too much showing (cleavage, bra straps, too short of shorts/skirts, too tight of clothes) it puts a block between me and someone I'd like to share the gospel with.
Modesty is an issue of the heart...plain and simple.
on Tuesday, June 12, 2012 at 4:35 pm
on Tuesday, June 12, 2012 at 4:40 pm
on Tuesday, June 12, 2012 at 9:34 pm
on Wednesday, June 13, 2012 at 2:47 am
on Wednesday, June 13, 2012 at 7:16 am
on Wednesday, June 13, 2012 at 9:53 pm
Paul put it very well-we are free to do anything-but what we choose to do or not do should always be guided by what it might do to others-especially our Christian brothers and sisters.
Let's please go back to modest dressing-and not put things out there to hurt Christian young men in their fight to be true to the Lord.
on Thursday, June 14, 2012 at 11:33 am
on Thursday, June 14, 2012 at 8:20 pm
on Friday, June 15, 2012 at 8:58 am
on Monday, June 18, 2012 at 2:23 am
What motivates me to cover up is first about honoring my body (the temple of God), and secondly about access - only my doctors and future husband should have access to certain areas of my body, not every man, woman, and child around me.
Thanks for this post, Paula!
on Tuesday, July 3, 2012 at 2:52 pm