By Cindy Nabb

As a mom I am responsible for clothing the family, not only to wash and dry but to purchase as well.  Shopping and buying clothes is a task I don’t take lightly.  Finding a good deal on clothing is important to me, but more important is what the clothing is saying.  I don’t mean the brand on the jeans or the cute little saying on the t-shirt, I mean what does the clothing say about who we are.  
 
When we look out our window and see people walking down the street we can tell a lot about someone by the way they are dressed.   You can distinguish nationality, gender, age, economic status.   We see a man in traditional Indian attire, a young lady in a sundress, an older gentleman in a fedora, and a power suit walking by.  Their clothing tells us who or what they are.  Does our clothing tell the world that we are Christians?  Does the way we present ourselves make a statement that we belong to Christ?  It should.  

It is more than keeping our skin covered although that is a good start.  It is a matter of humility.  I Peter 5:5 says “…all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another…”   God wants us to clothe ourselves in humility.  That doesn’t mean we can, or should, dress shabbily, but our love and our character should be what people notice first about us.

 There are some simple tests to determine if your clothing is modest.  I encourage you young ladies to read Secret Keeper 2005: The Delicate Power of Modesty, by Dannah Gresh.  Mom’s you should read this, too.  Have a discussion with your daughters about the modesty rules and go through both of your closets and determine what meets the standards and what doesn’t.  One great thing to do is when you get back from shopping have a fashion show for dad and get his approval of all clothing before it gets worn outside of the house.  It takes work and searching for clothing that meets God’s standards but you will be blessed by being modest and you will bless others.