Over the last couple of days the women in the Tradosphere have had one of their semi regular discussions about fashion, in particular if makeup is modest, that you should dress your age, and more formal clothes may be more modest. A fair number of these women have visual talents and or design talents which they apply to how they dress.

These posts occur over and over.

And I don’t get bored with them. Because girls will be girls, and want to talk about this stuff — but more importantly that when they do this they raise the issues of modesty and charity, and these discussions need to occur over and over.

Colossians 3:12-17

¹²As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. ¹³Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. ¹⁴Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. ¹⁵And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful. ¹⁶Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God. ¹⁷And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

This brings me to a good test for young women when they dress. If you cannot praise God for how you look when you are wearing that, go and change. This is the equivalent of the male rule (which is if you cannot go into a pub wearing that, you need to change). Because a girl can get into a pub in a dress that covers not much more than a bikini, if she does not mind inflaming the lust of those around her.

Attached to this is the need to keep yourself in relatively good shape. If you are grossly fat, then… you will have difficult praising God for what you are wearing. And on that note, I’m going to stop this morning. Because the rule in the text — in everything praise God — is one you can generalize.