Saturday, March 26, 2011

So Much More Chapter 7: Modesty

On page 86 they quote the passage "The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman's garment: for all that do so are abomination unto the Lord thy God" (Deut. 22:5)

This Scripture passage got me thinking about a speaker I heard many years ago (not the Botkin family or Vision Forum) His basic premise was that since pants used to be solely men's clothing it was wrong for women to wear them today. He used an example of the signs on the bathrooms in stores. (The one with pictures only and not words) He said women don't look at the sign and go "Hmmmmm I can be like the picture of the women in a skirt or the picture of someone in pants. Which bathroom do I go in?" So he said obviously women's clothing is skirts/dresses and men's clothing is pants. According to the Deut. passage a women should never wear pants otherwise you are an abomination to God.

This held me in bondage many years until I pondered why the passage didn't say what was specifically considered men's clothing and what was women's. Why? Could it be that the standard can change? For example, go to Scotland or the Middle East and the men are basically wearing skirts/dresses. Definitely not something we would see normally here in the US. I would find it a little disturbing if a guy in my church started wearing skirts. Here in America it just isn't done. The standard is different. For girls no one thinks twice (unless you are in the conservative movement) about a girl wearing pants. Pants aren't seen as solely men's clothing anymore.

So did the standard change? Can the standard change? I would say yes. It would be impossible to go back through the ages and make sure the clothing you wear was never worn for the opposite gender. Not only that, but start trying to double check other countries and you will run into contradictions all over the place.

If God had specific clothing items that would for all times be for one gender He would have said so.

Honestly our outward actions will reflect our inward heart. If we accept and love what gender God created us to be why do we need to create rules about it? We will naturally do the right thing as we seek God and embrace His design. Many girls are very feminine in pants. They look adorable. The bulk of guys I know don't think a girl is wearing pants because she is disregarding her femininity. They just see it as something practical. Who would go rock climbing in a skirt?

4 comments:

  1. Great post, and I love your observations!! :) Honestly, if we're talking about the modesty of your private parts here (trying to get my point across without being too vulgar) then skirts are more modest for guys and pants are more modest for girls. They are just made to suit the parts much better. :P This also reminds me of people who claim it's God's will for women to have long hair - what about women in Africa who CAN'T grow long hair? If there are people in the world who find it physically impossible to fulfill something that you think is a command of God (Ie: having children) then I think you better reconsider your stance.

    Femininity isn't based on rules. Great observations! :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. I was thinking about what you said about long hair. 1 Cor. 11 is another verse that doesn't say how long is long. It seems to me in different periods of history that men would wear their hair down to their shoulders and women past their waist or longer. Obviously most men today don't wear it that long but its another instance that shows how culture can change what is considered acceptable.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I think Paul meant by the context of praying that men shave their heads and it is becoming for a man to have really short hair. Which has kind of bothered me, I mean: Don't male Jews wear hats like all the time? Women should have something up there, a bonnet, a wig, something... you know?

    Also every body can recognise a woman in pants. I think the point of the passage was the idea of decieving people into think you are of a different gender. Because we know lying is wrong and that this is a form of lying. It is just another way of saying attempting to decieve is wrong.

    The Bible does this stuff over and over again, you know, saying the same things in different ways: Love your neighbor, love your enemy, kindness is like heaping firy coals, you know, over and over the same ideas.

    I really enjoy your blog, if you couldn't tell. And don't think you need my comments, but I couldn't resist.

    Bad! Daniel.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Daniel,

    Thanks for your comment. I love comments on my blog :)

    1 Cor 11 is a passage of Scripture that still puzzles me. How does it relate to loving God and other people? Yet I know as I seek Christ He will continue to open up my understanding.

    Thanks for the reminder that the Bible says the same things over and over again. A great reminder to let Scripture interpret Scripture!

    ReplyDelete