Modesty

As you grow closer to God, he will reveal things to you to align more with his will and truth. This was true for me.

Modesty was one of the things that was heavy on my heart when I began this journey. Being a girl in her 20s is especially tough. There is a lot of influence and false importance put on our looks and what we wear. I was one of those people following the trends, “keeping up” and staying current with what the world was wearing. For instance, in the fitness world. Wearing next to nothing in the gym is so normalized today that this generation cannot see what is wrong with it.

Modesty really influenced me the most in the gym. My normal day to day clothes fell more to modesty naturally. The gym is where I needed work.

I too fell into thinking wearing a sports bra and leggings to the gym was normal and okay. But when I started growing closer to God, I felt a pull on my heart to not wear those things. It’s like God was asking me “what is the real reason behind wearing this?”. A lot of people (myself included) will say it’s what we feel most comfortable in or “I’m wearing it for me, no one else”. While those things can be true, you have to realize that not everyone thinks how you do. While you may see wearing a sports bra in the gym as harmless. Some men in the gym are going to stare at you in a lustful way. The last few times I wore only a sports bra in the gym, I noticed this heavily and it made me very uncomfortable. I never wanted to be looked at a certain way for what I was wearing again.

I began to make small changes with what I wore. I stopped wearing only sport bras, and overly tight clothes without something over top. During the process of changing what I wore to the gym, I still struggled. I was so used to wearing cute but immodest outfits to the gym. The desire was still there.

I think one of the things that we have to realize is that, when we are trying to change something or get away from something that we used to do. The desire is still going to be there in the beginning. It’s not just going to go away. Like a person that quits smoking. They are still going to desire a cigarette. Don’t beat yourself up for those desires but have faith that despite your desire God will change your heart and give you the strength to choose better.

I continued to make the decision to make my gym outfits modest. Over and over again, despite wanting to wear what I was used to or what is “normal” these days. Eventually I stopped wanting to wear those things all together and God changed my heart.

I think the biggest thing that helped me was asking this question. “If I had to wear sweatpants and a sweatshirt to the gym, would I still enjoy going?” I claimed to love the gym so much for the right reasons, but were my reasons actually pure? My initial answer was no. It made me happy to wear those outfits because I was “showing off my hard work”, aka my body. When I realized my answer, I knew I needed to challenge myself to go to the gym for the right reasons. Not external validation.

You might be asking yourself why is modesty important and why am I placing so much emphasis on this?

I find modesty important because I was placing my value on what I was wearing and how my body looked. I was so focused on my outward appearance and not my inner appearance to God. God doesn’t care if you are trendy or have the nicest body. He cares about what is in your heart.

Not only that but I also choose to wear modest clothing to honor my future husband. I know a godly man will not want his future wife to be looked at lustfully by other men. You might say to this that other men should control themselves, but you have the responsibility to protect yourself as well. God created everything good, but the devil exists so evil exists too. I don’t want to be looked at lustfully by other men if I can control it.

1 Corinthians 6:18 “Run from sexual sin! No other sin so clearly affects the body as this one does. For sexual immorality is a sin against your own body.”

I also want to honor the body that Christ gave me. If I truly believe that my body doesn’t define my value, then I should have no desire to show it off and attract unwanted attention.

Modesty is such a personal thing, and everyone’s journey with it is different. I didn’t write this article to shame anyone for what they wear. I wrote this to share my experience and how God opened my eyes. If you are in the space place I was, I want you to know that you are so much more than what your body looks like. I know it’s so hard to believe when the world is telling you differently. Dressing modestly, honor myself, my future, and God has given me more confidence than any outfit or gym workout could.

If you feel God tugging on your heart to not wear something, I encourage you to listen and ask him what he is trying to reveal to you.