Modest Dress and Godly Femininity

“I see now no difference between the dress of matrons and prostitutes.” The church father, Tertullian, wrote these words around 1900 years ago. He observed that many of the women in his day were dressing like the ones who were selling sex as a vocation. Is there any difference in the product if the advertising is the same?

One of the effects of the Fall upon women, particularly, is the temptation to immodesty. Paul wrote, “ I desire then…that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire, but with what is proper for women who profess godliness—with good works” (1 Timothy 2:8-10).

Christians should note from this passage the connection between the inner person and the outer person. What you choose to wear reflects the state of your soul. The soul redeemed by Christ and inhabited by the Holy Spirit will choose an ordered and appropriate manner of dress.

I might put it this way: the Christian woman’s aim in all of life is to bring glory to Christ, not attention to herself. For Tertullian and Paul, this meant not adorning yourself either with handfuls of gold jewelry or in a way that is overtly sexual.

What Christian fathers should note from this passage is that your daughters need your help in this area of life. Your daughter is not a prostitute and you are not her pimp. 

There are two challenges against you. First, the feminist movement has worked for decades to tell you that your opinion about how women dress is a matter of oppression. Second, your daughter has a natural, sinful desire to dress immodestly. There is a fallen belief system behind her clothing choices.

To the first, remember all false religions want to tear down everything the one true God declares as good and true. You must have the courage to stand for what is right in the Creator’s eyes. To the second, remember your precious daughters need your faithful, tender instruction in their lives. They do not learn godliness by accident or osmosis. Be careful, however, to teach the reason behind biblical standards of dress, not just the standards themselves. You are combatting the belief system, not just your daughter’s will.

The theologian Franciscus Junius reflected on his own father’s instruction saying, “As a very wise man he understood that true piety cannot be forcibly introduced but must be gently instilled in minds.” There is the crucial instruction: true piety. Your concern, parent, is not just how your daughter dresses, but her heart. You reach your daughter’s heart through diligent instruction, not brute force.