Just the other day my daughter and I went to a local department store to pick out a dress for her to wear in a fashion show at our church. We found quite a few dresses that looked so adorable on the hanger, but when she put them on the were not what I'd call modest. While most came all the way to the ground in length (not something I was especially concerned over) they evidently had used up all their material making the dress long and in turn left the top as quite revealing! She still didn't dare bend over - not because the dress was too short, but because it was cut so low!!! We finally found a cute cami to go underneath and she looked beautiful in the show.
Fast forward to my classroom and I see one of my beautiful young ladies come into the class wearing a similar dress, only the cami she had chosen to wear underneath was cut so low it really didn't help much! I wish this was the only time I'd had to talk to a student about wearing revealing clothes, but unfortunately I find I am having to do this more and more. Do they look cute? Absolutely - until you look closer (and believe me - boys do) and you are basically being given a peep show! One teacher told her student that it was difficult for her to concentrate while being 'flashed' and she couldn't imagine how much more difficult it must be for the boys in her class! Our pastor once said that boys assume if you are willing to show it, you are willing to share it. OUCH!
With all these things in mind, we enter today's random thought about the armor of God. We've already covered (pardon the pun) the belt of truth and today it's time to look at the breastplate of righteousness - in otherwords, keeping our chest covered.
Now I am in no way a fashionista (hope I spelled that correctly), still I like to look cute in my clothes. The armor of God is, however, about more than just looking cute. We need it to survive, yet I find that wherever I go, young women are 'letting it all hang out' and never realizing they have left their armor at home. Maybe they don't even know what it is!
First of all, we are to put on the WHOLE armor of God so that we may withstand in the evil day and having done all, stand. According to Strong's, withstand is the word anthistemi which means to stand against...and it can be compared to antihistamine. Now anyone who lives in south Mississippi is very aware at how important an antihistamine can be in order to survive! When allergy season strikes, if you aren't taking an antihistamine, very often you won't be standing long! You find you can barely function, much less live life to the fullest or fight any kind of fight, much less a good one! We are to anthistemi or block the evil forces!
Back to the breastplate of righteousness. It obviously is to protect the heart. Let that sink in. How many young women are running around showing off their chest because they have been told it makes them look attractive? They think it makes them look 'sexy' and they have been led to believe by the lies of the world that 'sex' equals love. Just like the men, they have bought the lies. Young women, whose bodies have matured at a rate far faster than their spirits, have been lied to. What they desperately want, even if they don't know it, is to be loved. What they get is the world's cheap imitation.
Maybe I'm an old fogey...I'm okay with that. Perhaps you think I have no fashion sense....I'd have to agree with that as well. Some might even hint that I might be jealous that I am not as "blessed" in the 'girls' department...who knows. What I do know is that we are in a battle and cannot afford to face the enemy without our armor. Since our flesh should mirror what is happening in our spirits, I can't help but wonder how many young women are blindly following the world and letting their armor fall to the side. I'm not saying you have to wear longjohns in the summer, I'm simply saying that it's time to examine our hearts. It's time to grow up. Stop acting on what feels good and starting acting on what is good.
Men and women...don't buy the lies. The devil has nothing good planned for you, but God has promised that He has a plan for you that includes a hope and a future! You can know that if God said it, it is true.
Next stop....our shoes.
1 comment:
I totally agree.
Everybody claims to want to be unique. Here is a perfect opportunity. Don't show us what God has given you (like everyone else). Keep it like a treasure safely hidden away for the guy who will eventually claim you as his own (wife).
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