Modesty: If My Job Is to Get to Heaven, What’s the Dress Code Here?

“What’s the point of being modest?” Ok, it’s the age-old question many adults ask themselves, yet the most challenging circumstance seem to happen when we’re asked by our own children or youth at youth group.

I believe I have been answering this question poorly … but this conversation has been on repeat with friends, family, relatives, and strangers too for millennia.

On a Facebook thread, of all places, I finally blurted out exactly how I feel our internal monologue would go if we really meant that the real point behind modesty was getting to Heaven... while empowering the person who owns that message. So here it is… my assembly of delightful wizbangs regarding modesty to share and connect with youth who are "supposed" to be inspired by sparkling gold leotards and pleather spanx.

"You are unique, unrepeatable, and created in the image of God.” Actually, as a parent, this is an extremely valuable phrase to genuinely speak truth to a wide array of teenage experiences. So I’ll start again because it bears repeating until it’s a metamessage we hold in our deepest core.

“You are unique, unrepeatable, and created in the image of God.”

If this isn’t a great inspiration for you to jettison your own empowering conversation about the feminine genius, I will continue with what I pray becomes the deepest inner knowledge of my daughter and the young adults and youth of the future.

“God alone knows you and loves you. Your body and soul shine most when your singular and greatest goal is glorifying God. The meaning of life is to know, love, and serve God. So let that meaning inform your decisions for … well… anything. If your profession is window washing, then high heels and skirts are not it. If your profession is hostess at a wine bar, then jeans and a harness are not it. Just so, your body is made and known by God down to the hairs on your head. If your job is to get to heaven, then what's the dress code here?"

Beyond this, there is a scope of considerations. For everyday, what is your family’s domestic church life? What is your school’s guidance on dress codes? For whatever occasion you or your youth is discerning their outfit, consider what is appropriate, reasonable, and Heaven-minded. (Apologies for those who would prefer to avoid the “mindedness” phrase… if ya can’t avoid ‘em, integrate ‘em.)