"But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8
"God loves modest girls more"?
FALSE!
This myth is super sneaky - it hardly ever rears its head in full-blown declaration. It's hard to locate, harder to pin down, and hardest of all to expose and debunk. It's a lie that many of us are guilty of unwittingly believing, a guest we often entertain unawares, and a
thing we amicably slip scraps to under the table, unaware that it snaps greedily at our fingers...
This lithe shape-shifter appears in many lights or hides in many shadows, but always at base it is smug and self-assuring: "I'm doing good, because I'm
better than..."
Comparison to others boosts our confidence.
Surely, we think,
God sees that I am doing this, and she is not... or she is doing that, and I am not. And isn't it just right that He would kind of love and appreciate us more? After all, we are toeing the line and dotting our
i's. That should be good for some points with God, right?
Please, read Luke 18:9 - 14. Then, thoughtfully consider this retelling:
Two girls arrived at church early one morning to pray. One was Jessica, a dedicated Bible-study leader. The other was Jenna, new at church but already turning heads in the mini skirt she knelt in.
Jessica looked across the church at Jenna and rolled her eyes at the way the skimpy skirt displayed her tanned legs. '
I'm not going to kneel,' she thought, '
and risk looking as improper as she does.' She sat down in a chair and primly crossed her legs.
'
God, I thank You that I am not like other people...' she began a stream-of-consciousness prayer, '
indecent celebrities, the girls in the world, or the girls who dress like hookers and wear provocative clothes while they pretend to serve You... the insecure who need to flaunt their bodies to feel worth. I cover up. I dress impeccably and tastefully. I am modest.'
She reminded God of her goodness in following standards of modesty, almost as if He were Santa Claus checking his Christmas list twice. She finished her prayer with a satisfied sigh, and straightened her shoulders with a feeling of saintliness.
Meanwhile, tears poured from Jenna's eyes, smearing her mascara and sprinkling her knees. '
God, be merciful to me, a sinner!' she pleaded.
The pianist began to warm up, and other people were starting to trickle into the building. Sniffling, Jenna found the bathroom and dabbed at her tear-streaked face. Jessica was in there washing her hands; she did her best to avoid eye contact. '
Awkward,' she was thinking, as she hurried out. Meanwhile, Jenna's heart was whispering, '
Thank you, Lord, I love You!'
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Paul's attitude was straight on when he said:
"But by the grace of God, I am what I am." 1 Corinthians 15:10
He shares from his heart in 1 Timothy 1:12 - 17 that all credit goes to God if we are living worthy lives:
"I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, putting me into service; even though I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor. And yet I was shown mercy, because I acted ignorantly in unbelief; and the grace of our Lord was more than abundant, with the faith and love which are found in Christ Jesus.
It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all.
And yet for this reason I found mercy, in order that in me as the foremost, Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience, as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life.
Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen."
Always, he felt his own unworthiness, always the enabling power of Christ. Thus, if he succeeded at living according to Christian standards, the glory went to God and not to him. He didn't see himself as earning favor with God, or as more deserving of Christ's love - he called himself the chief of sinners! And when the apostle Paul calls himself the chief of sinners (this is the guy who had a conversation with the resurrected Jesus, went up to the third heaven, and didn't die after being bitten by a fatally poisonous viper), how can we have the elevated opinion of ourselves that we do?
Nothing can separate us from God's love, Romans 8:35 - 39 assures us. Nothing can lessen His love for us. And if He loved us even while we were covered in the despicable filth of our sins, can we really believe that we can earn
more love?
If Paul compared himself to other people, it was to declare that he was just as terrible a sinner as they, if not worse. Yet we compare ourselves to others and always manage to find something to praise in ourselves and condemn in them.
This is not to say that we don't call others to walk consistently with their confession (Ephesians 4:1) or to dress as becomes women making a claim to godliness (1 Timothy 2:9 - 10).
But it means that it is not done arrogantly or with smug feelings of spiritual superiority or with complacent reassurance of being a more deserving Christian.
You see, a 'Sister with Standards' may have all her ducks in a row when it comes to dressing modestly, yet be incredibly blind about her shortcomings in another area.
Why do we act as though modesty makes or breaks one's salvation? How hypocritical! Jesus took to task those who act unlovingly toward their brothers. What good is it if you are hyper-modest, but have not love (see 1 Corinthians 13)?
The very girl we mentally condemn for her dress as worldly and un-Christlike may epitomize Christian fruits in other areas of her life.
Thus, encouragement and even some choicely worded exhortation may be in order, but Christian love should govern all, and Pharisaical judgment should never rear it's ugly head.
"But you, why do you judge your [sister]? Or you again, why do you regard your [sister] with contempt? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of God." Romans 14:10
I beg you to ponder this, and draw your own conclusions and applications.
As much as I champion modesty, allow me to plead for Christ-like love even more!
In Christ,
Brynne
