Part 1: Is Modesty the Most Attractive Style of All?
We live in a culture that is unashamed of leaving nothing to the imagination - yet modesty stands out as quietly powerful. Why? Is it because it’s so vastly different from what we’re so used to seeing (everything hanging out)? I don’t think so. The draw runs deeper. Modesty draws attention to a woman's presence rather than just her clothing, creating an allure that is both timeless and magnetic.
In Genesis 2:25, Adam and Eve lived in perfect union with God, unaware of their nakedness because sin had not yet entered the world. God gave them one boundary: "You may eat of every tree in the garden, but not from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die” (Genesis 2:17).
Eve was deceived by the serpent, ate the fruit, and gave some to Adam. “Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths” (Genesis 3:7). What was once was innocent now became shame. They hid from God, blaming one another instead of taking responsibility.
Their own attempts to cover themselves were inadequate. Later, God clothed them with animal skins (Genesis 3:7) - the first sacrifice symbolizing atonement. Throughout the Old Testament, blood sacrifices continued to cover sin until the perfect covering, Jesus Christ, came.
So what?
Just like Adam and Eve, we try to cover our own shame, but only the light of Christ truly cleanses:
“And this is the judgment: this light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God” (John 3:19-21).
So, is this article really about style? Yes - but modesty goes beyond clothing. True modesty doesn't run skin-deep; it's the beauty of Christ flowing from within.
Yes! But can't anyone cover up their bodies with clothing and look modest? Modesty doesn’t just run skin deep – it’s the beauty of Christ that first flows from within.
Who is timeless and magnetic? God Himself - eternal and irresistibly drawing us near. “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him” (John 6:44). Jesus said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life" (John 8:12).
Clothed in Righteousness and Made Alive:
Our first and greatest need isn't physical clothing - it's spiritual life in Christ. Scripture says we are all born spiritually dead in sin:
“And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air (Satan), the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the flesh and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:1-10).
In short: “Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life” (1 John 5:12).
True modesty is a godly virtue of humility and restraint, grounded in understanding shame and covered by the righteousness of Christ. Shame reminds us we are not right with God - but through Jesus, we are restored.
Is modesty the most attractive style of all? Yes. A heart redeemed in Christ radiates true beauty - the light of a child of God.
“Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead” (Philippians 3:8-11).
The Covering We All Need
We live in the same fallen world as Adam and Eve, and all have sinned (Romans 5:12). No good deeds can save us - our righteousness is like "polluted garments" before God (Isaiah 64:6).
Jesus, God in human form, lived a sinless life, died for our sins, and rose again. He alone provides the perfect covering for our guilt:
"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9).
Modesty is not merely about outward appearance - it's the inward adornment of a heart transformed by Christ.
“For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21).
"I will greatly rejoice in the Lord; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels" (Isaiah 61:10).