Modesty should be lovely, not legalistic.
Yesterday’s e-mail from the True Woman make-over was titled “A Woman’s Great Loveliness.” It summarized a Nancy Leigh Demoss radio message on modesty. Even skimming it quickly, I appreciated its focus on the heart.
To be modest, Nancy says, is to “know how to be appropriately embarrassed, be discreet, be reserved, see yourself as you really are, be ashamed if your attitudes or dress were ever to cause dishonor to Christ.”
And to be the opposite of modest is to ”be showy, talk too much, be arrogant, be aggressive, controlling, or domineering.”
The entire message is well worth reading. The essence of a modest heart is a focus on God and others instead of oneself. I might be outwardly like a “whitewashed tomb” and inwardly full of pride and selfish ambition.
Being a modest woman involves far more than my closet, dealing with my unkind thoughts toward others, my self-centered worries, my efforts to control, my displeasure when things don’t go my way. It means not wanting to call attention to myself. It means not finding secret satisfaction in supposing myself prettier or smarter than someone else.
A Puritan prayer from the Valley of Vision demonstrates the longing for a humble spirit:
O Fountain of all Good,
Destroy in me every lofty thought,
Break pride to pieces and scatter it to the winds,
Annihilate each clinging shred of self-righteousness,
Implant in me true lowliness of spirit.
mmm…good to think about
Wow… great thoughts! This is something I need to remember.
Modesty is being “appropriately embarrassed.” So true. I love that word choice. We all need these reminders. Thanks, Anna!
Any way you’d like to repost this at Is This Modest?
I think this is a great post and helps to remind us that we need to focus on the inside first!
Thanks, Kayla, Kaysie, Hannah, and MInTheGap. M, you’re welcome to quote an excerpt linking back to the original post!
What a lovely post!