Modesty in How We Act

Let me just start off by saying that I'm NOT writing this because I'm good at this particular concept. In fact, I'm deplorable at it. Still, over the last few years God has really worked on my heart, and my actions naturally followed from this.

I always used to think that modesty only pertained to how we dress, but I remember hearing Kristin Jones say at Xtreme one year that it is so much more than that. (In fact, that was the Xtreme that Julie and I became friends. YAY!) She said that modesty is a heart issue, and out of the heart comes everything, from how we dress to how we talk to how we act. That message has still impacted me to this day, and I thank God for not only Kristin's words but how she lives out the concepts she was teaching. It only solidifies what I heard because I saw, and still see, her living it out.

So what is immodest actions? I remember wondering what that looked like, and asking God to reveal to me what they were. I can only tell you what He told me, and I don't think there is a solid answer to that question. We can glean from Scripture, certainly, but I think it's something that He has to reveal to you personally as well. Here's what He said to me.

Immodest actions stem from a heart that craves attention over glorifying God.

Jess touched on this in the last post, too. She confessed that as a child she enjoyed shocking people by what she said. Similarly, immodest actions crave the attention and accolade of people, not God, and this also can involve the "shock" factor as well. Let me give you an example.

I love playing basketball. I used to practice for hours in my backyard growing up, and then when we moved to Florida I would practice at Metro's gym. When we started the Wolverine's basketball program I was in my senior year of high school, and was thrilled that I could play with my friends on a team.

I found, throughout the season, that I really enjoyed the attention I got because of it. I was good at something, and people noticed. That brought me selfish pleasure and self-gratification. My desire in playing was not to glorify the God who gave me the skills in the first place, my desire was to receive the attention and accolade of people.

Perhaps you can't identify with a sports illustration, so here's another one. I grew up playing the piano and singing. My whole family is musical, and we often got called the "Von Phillips" instead of the Von Trapps. This also brought me a sense of self-glorification, even though the reference was to my family as a whole and not just me. I would tell people that we were referred to as the Von Phillips just so that people could know we were "talented", to use the word VERY loosely :-).

After hearing Kristin's message, and God revealing areas in my life where my actions depicted an immodest heart, God started to give me a desire to change. Granted, I heard the message before I played on the basketball team, but God graciously revealed that to me and reminded me of what I had heard and what He was teaching me. Does this mean that playing basketball, singing and playing the piano are immodest? Of course not. My HEART was, because I wanted attention, I wanted praise, I wanted to be noticed, I wanted to take God's place as the center of the universe.

So maybe, like me, you need to pray and ask God to reveal to you where you are acting immodestly. I'm sure it will not look very much like my own examples, but remember what Scripture says? Jesus, as in like the SON of GOD, said himself that "if I glorify myself my glory means nothing." I know, right? Crazy! If Jesus can say this how much more is it true for me and you! Paul also writes in Romans 15:5-6, "May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ."

So let us be musicians, athletes, artists, daughters, sisters, and students who have one heart and mouth, which in unity praises and glorifies God and not ourselves.

Why Wait?

You know the verse. It's one of the most familiar illustrations in Isaiah. Maybe even in the whole Old Testament.

"They who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not grow weary; they shall walk and not faint." Chapter 40 verse 31.

I always picture an eagle in flight over vast mountains, soaring in the heavens, proud and free. It paints a picture of what we shall be like as we wait on the Lord. But why is waiting the prerequisite to taking flight? Why not, say, "those turn away from idols shall renew their strength." Or, "those who serve the Lord shall renew their strength." Or, better yet, "those who trust in God shall renew their strength." Why did Isaiah use the word wait? It's so...odd.

I think the answer is found in the rest of the chapter. Isaiah 40 is a personal favorite of mine, and for many of you I'm sure. Who can forget this from verse 12: "Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and marked of the heavens with a span." The whole chapter is recounting the glory of God, and the splendor of His power. "To whom then will you liken God, or what likeness compare with him?" That's from verse 18. Isaiah goes on to explain a craftsman that makes an idol, takes it from a tree, slathers it with gold, and then people bow to it. Blatant idolatry; the worship of something created...a tree for crying out loud!

Verse 22 says that the inhabitants of the earth are like grasshoppers. Verse 23 says that he brings princes to nothing. Verse 26 tells us to look on high and ask ourselves who created it all. Verse 27 asks us why we think our way is hidden from God, as if He didn't know what we were doing. Then, oh joy, we get to this particular passage. Drum roll, please.

"Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary (like we do), his understanding is unsearchable (ours is nothing.) He gives power to the faint (that's us), and to him who has no might (me and you) he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted, but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not grow weary, they shall walk and not faint."

We, like all frail human beings, will eventually run out of our own strength. Every single time. Are you tired of fighting sin on your own? Are you tired of the way you forget to study Scripture, or you don't even forget, you choose not to? Are you tired of living at home, submitting to your parents, going to school, working, praying, reading...the list goes on. Might I propose that the reason you are tired of all of that is because you are relying on your own strength to get you through. You say, "NEXT time I will pray before I go to bed."

"NEXT time I will not argue with my dad when he tells me to do something."

"NEXT time I won't yell at my little brother for using my CD."

You say those things with really good intentions, and you might even believe it, but how do you get the strength to do it? How do you get the strength to do the every day things, the mundane chores, the will and desire to do right? How do you get the strength to do really big things, like evangelize to unsaved friends, family and strangers? Or how about go to college and remain upright and pure? Or how about keep yourself only for you husband, when everyone you know thinks your crazy and says that you are missing out?

Wait on the Lord, and He will renew your strength. It's almost like Isaiah is saying, "Wait and watch our mighty God act in your life! See how powerful He is! Can't he then work in your life as well?"

Then, and only then, will you have the strength of character and will to "take flight" like an eagle. The whole purpose of Jessica, Julie and I in writing on this blog is to tell you things that we did wrong and right in our own lives, in the past and currently, to help you remain faithful. It's hard. We feel the pull of the world, and lies that the Devil tells us, to give in and rely on our own strength. But you know what? As a Christian, we don't have to give in. Isn't that glorious? God Himself gives His children all that we need for life and godliness, as promised in Scripture.

We invite you to come and take flight with us, as we delve into the daily struggles we face.

--Janelle, on behalf of the Taking Flight team