The Importance of Being Modest

Let’s talk about modesty.

Modesty: the quality or state of being unassuming or moderate in the estimation of one's abilities.

Personally, I consider myself a big advocate for modesty. It is a subject that God has put very close to my heart. I believe He has given me certain experiences and knowledge on the subject.

I feel as though when someone hears “modesty” most of the time they jump to fashion and clothing; which is a huge part of being modest. But, modesty isn’t just about the clothes you wear. It is also about how you present yourself.

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Proverbs 31:11-12 says:

“Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value. ¹²She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life.”

I really love that last part. One of my super awesome friends from Ministry talked about Proverbs 31 during one of our Valentine’s Day meetings. She and I were reading When God Writes Your Love Story at the time. Whenever I think of and apply modest dress to myself, this verse always pops into my mind. I try really hard to dress in a way that would honor my future husband. Let’s say for instance it is the future and I am married and everything. I would not wear a super low-cut, tight shirt. That would draw unnecessary and unwanted attention to me. If I’m being honest, I don’t want a bunch of random men hitting on me because of what I am wearing. I know my husband would definitely not appreciate it. Just like I would not appreciate him wearing pants that droop down too low and reveal more than what I would want any other girls to see. So that is the rule I typically follow for modest dress. I know that most all of my friends and my momma dress this way too. I typically don’t go for knit tops, cut-off shorts, those knit skirts that hug your butt, crop tops, super short skirts and dresses and “v” neck or low cut shirts. I also do not own any bikinis; I don’t like showing too much skin. I am perfectly happy and comfortable wearing a one piece and so are a few of my friends. Now, I’m not saying that if you wear any clothes like that you are wrong and should change. No, all I’m trying to do here is to share how God has taught me to be modest and in passing on this information, maybe help someone who is trying to learn more ways to be modest.

Another aspect of modesty, as I mentioned above, is how you present yourself. If I think back to when I first heard the term “modest” it was in a scenario similar to this:

Johnny’s basketball team is in the final quarter of the championship game. Right before the buzzer, Johnny scores the winning basket. As everyone afterwards starts telling Johnny how amazing that was and how he is just one of the best, Johnny say “Oh thanks. But, I could not have done it without my teammates. Without them I would not have been able to.” “Oh Johnny, you are always so modest and humble.”

Presenting yourself in a modest way is hard. We all have moments where we crave attention, especially if the same person is getting attention consistently. But, live in such a way that others can see Jesus through you. If Johnny were to have bragged about how awesome the winning shot was, people would only see a bragger. To me, modest living is also about not doing things on your own to draw attention to yourself. For example, if you want someone to know how awesome and huge your grandma’s house is, t you start talking in such a way that prompts someone to ask about it. I used to be very guilty of this; I still have my moments too. Again, people aren’t going to see how awesome and big your grandma’s house is, even if she hosts a weekly bible study there. All they are going to see is someone who wants attention.

The ultimate goal is to show people how amazing Jesus is, how much his love for us burns. If we live in such a way that people don’t see that, then we need to figure out how to do just that. Being modest is just one way that we can.

1 Peter 3:3-4:

“Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. ⁴Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a quiet and gentle spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.”

A Focus on Jesus

I'm so EXCITED! Why? Well, let me tell you... Only four more days until camp!!!! Other members of my church and I will be gone for one whole week! My co-counselor and I are going to decorate our cabin with an “Under the Sea” theme! Oh it’s going to be so great! I've had some people ask though if I'm worried about missing one whole week of work. I have a lot of “bills”, for lack of a better term, that need to be paid. School payments, car insurance, cell phone bill… With my job cutting hours over half, money has been tight. Not to mention the summer semester just started yesterday. So, before I leave I have two weeks of assignments to get done since everything is due on a Sunday. And to add even more pressure to that since I am a Health Care student, the grading scale is much more severe. The lowest “A” is a 92% while an “F” is 75%. But, in my mind, I constantly think about money. I constantly am thinking about work. I’m consistently thinking about food and school and other things that honestly shouldn’t be taking up as much space in my mind as they do. Not mention all of the time I spend actually at work or sitting down and doing schoolwork. I’m not saying that those things are wrong, they certainly very important, if not necessary. But, Jesus is the most important thing in the whole universe. So, for me to take one week out of my entire summer, out of my entire year to just solely focus on Him, to focus on teaching kids about Him, I don’t think that is too much to ask. I give so much of my time to things that are very earthly and, in the end, don’t matter. (Again not saying work or school isn’t important.) Why can’t I spend a week focused on Jesus? So, am I worried about missing a whole week of work? No. No I am not. 

Always Moving, Never Stopping, Never Ceasing

Congrats all of you 2015 grads!!! Especially my awesome cousin who just graduated from high school! Woo-Hoo!!!! Even though this is an awesome, happy time for some people it is also sad and uncomfortable. You spend four years, five, maybe six for you college peeps, surrounded by the same people, staying in the same environment. Now that isn’t there anymore. So what else are you supposed to do? For some high school graduates, college seems scary. Even if they aren’t going away it is completely different from high school. Or even going into the “real world” job force, it’s scary. So, you just won’t. The adventure ends here. You will stay right here where you are completely comfortable. My awesome boyfriend's favorite bible verse is Luke 1:37 "Nothing is impossible with God." We typically look at this verse meaning that "anything is possible" with God, which is so true! But, my boyfriend pointed out a different way of looking at this verse. Instead of "anything is possible" take the perspective of "God is always doing something." God won't sit back and do "nothing". God is always moving, never stopping, never ceasing. I think that is a way that we should look at graduation. Don't think of it as "the end". Think of it as moving forward; don’t stop because you don’t know what is around the corner! Don’t stop because you don’t have your friends here! Don’t stop. You won’t know what amazing adventures are in store for you unless you take that first step! “Seek God’s will in all you do, and he will show you the path to take.” Proverbs 3:6

About Me!

Hey there! I'm Marissa and I'm a dreamer. Life is too short to have one interest, one goal, one dream. I aspire to be many things and through this blog I hope to inspire others to dream bigger and more as well. God has given us one life, let's make the most of it! :)