Don’t Waste Your Femininity

It was during our New Testament Survey that while my brother was discussing I Timothy chapter two when this blog topic was conceived.

God created women with the same purpose as men; that is, to glorify God (Isaiah 43:7). One of Elisabeth Elliot’s quotes that I love says, “The fact that I am a woman does not make me a different kind of Christian, but the fact that I am a Christian does make me a different kind of woman. For I have accepted God's idea of me and my whole life is an offering back to Him.” Thus, Christian women should not use our distinction from men to justify sins or idolatry. Using our being woman to reason out that we have greater needs and demands doesn’t glorify God. We may be even wasting the very purpose of our creation. Please bear reading this blog post and I pray that my meditations will help you not waste your femininity.

I also want women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God. (I Timothy 2:9-10)

Don’t Waste Your Femininity on Flamboyant Clothes

Women are mostly given the taste for artistry and creativity; that is to be used for conducive homemaking. It can also be used for one’s physical outlook. Nonetheless, artistry and creativity doesn’t require the compromise of immodest dress. You don’t invite attraction and appreciation with low cutlines, miniskirts or even short shorts; rather, you provoke lust.

Christian women, know the struggles of men regarding lust and you will be helping them a lot by not enticing them to fall or even struggle with it. You are created not only to complement your partner/future partner. You can do so even among your brothers in faith. You can glorify God even with the choice of clothes you wear. (read more here)

"In the world's philosophy people dress in order for other people to notice them. But the Christian philosophy is that we do not dress primarily for others, but to please God. If He is the one we're trying to please, our objective should be a desire to reflect his glory, even in the way we dress.

In the world's philosophy the purpose of clothing is to reveal the body. The purpose is for sexual attraction. Some do it overtly and crassly-exposing most of their bodies. Many of the women in our churches would not do that. But some have adopted the philosophy of showing a little bit to tease. That can be just as seductive, if not more so, to Christian men than some of the more extreme forms of immodesty on the covers of magazines at the grocery store check-out. The Christian understands that the purpose of clothing is to cover the body." (Nancy Leigh DeMoss)

Don’t Waste Your Femininity on Material Temporal Things

Women are so much hooked now on how they may improve their hairs, how to have fairer skin, how to loss weight – all for the physical yet temporal beauty. Paul reminds Timothy that women are not to be much with braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes. It is not bad to braid our hairs or use accessories but Paul rebukes those Ephesians (specifically the women) because they are imitating how the prostitutes dress. They dress to entice men and the Ephesian women are starting to make these fashions as their standard. In Colossians 3:2 Paul says, Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.

"…the world promotes the philosophy that beauty is physical and external, whereas the Word of God helps us to understand that beauty is fundamentally spiritual, and therefore, internal… The woman who adopts the world's philosophy, believes that her body is her identity. It becomes the basis for her security or insecurity. So you knock yourself out trying to achieve this beautiful model's figure, and that becomes the basis for your security." (Nancy Leigh DeMoss)

Don’t Waste Your Femininity With Ungodly Deeds

After Paul rebukes and reminds what are not supposed to be the passion and pursuit of a godly woman, he then tells what is appropriate for her – to adorn herself with good deeds. Good deeds will glorify God (Matthew 5:16) and they testify that those who do them are wise (James 3:13).

King Lemuel’s mother reminds him that an excellent wife or woman is far more precious than jewels and one of her characteristics is that she does him good all the days of her life (Proverbs 31:12). At verse 30, she exhorts that charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.

You waste your femininity when you do not do good deeds. That is because you are not a woman living for this world’s approval; you are a woman living for the glory of God.

Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 5:16)

It is advised that you acquaint yourself with godly men and women whose aim is for the glory of God. And as I conclude, let me share some challenges and wisdom from godly people I respect:

"Does your hairstyle, clothing, or any aspect of your appearance reveal an excessive fascination with sinful cultural values? Are you preoccupied with looking like the latest American Idol winner, or the actresses on magazine covers, or the immodest woman next door? Are your role models the godly women of Scripture or the worldly women of our culture?" (C. J. Mahaney)

"The world's philosophy is if you want to be loved, you have to be beautiful, sensual and alluring. Now I grant that women who are sensual and physically stunning will likely receive a certain kind of male attention and love. But physical beauty will never get you the kind of love you were created for, the kind of love and attention that your heart as a child of God really longs to have. The Christian woman recognizes that she's already loved by God in a deeper and richer and more meaningful way than she could ever be loved by any human being. Therefore, our hearts as Christian women should fundamentally seek to be beautiful for God, i.e., to cultivate the kind of beauty that he finds attractive.

The world's perspective on clothing is driven by fashion. But the Christian's philosophy is driven by the heart and the Word of God. Now, let me ask which of those philosophies is revealed by your physical appearance and your clothing choices. What are you communicating? When people look at you, what do they learn about what you believe? Christian modesty is first and foremost a way of thinking. It's a way of thinking that manifests itself in the way that we dress, talk, and act. So ask yourself based on these two philosophies, "Am I living according to the world's way of thinking or am I reflecting God's heart and his way of thinking?" (Nancy Leigh DeMoss)