Modesty & Grace

Posted on 01 December 2010 by Sarah Mae | 199 responses

*THIS GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED*

“Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious.” 1 Peter 3:3-4

You know what stands out to me in that verse? This: “let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart.”

The hidden person.

The secret inner dwelling of the heart.

The place that only He sees; the place that only He knows.

It is in that place that our modesty begins. There, in the secret quiet, we ask Him to cultivate true beauty: Gentleness, kindness, peacefulness.

Beauty is not about what we wear or how modest (or immodest) our clothing is. I am learning that beauty is loving the seductress as Jesus loves her. I am learning that beauty is grace and grace is kind and gentle. I am learning that sometimes when I dress modestly, I think I am better than those who don’t. How ugly is judgment from a logged heart? See, even through my days of immodest dress and lustful behavior, He loved me. He pursued me. He wrapped himself in flesh and met me in the mud. Then,

He lifted me out of it

he set my feet on a rock
and gave me a firm place to stand.
He put a new song in my mouth,
a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear the LORD
and put their trust in him. (Psalm 40:1-3)

You see, without the One, we cannot be modest; we cannot have beautiful hearts. It is with wild (and I mean wild) grace that He chooses to make us beautiful…to make us perfect (Hebrews 10:14).

Would you join me in praying that we would believe Him when He tells us we are “perfected for all time” and that our modesty cannot make us more perfect (or better or good)?

We can believe Him, and then when we dress modestly we can know we are doing it in freedom, not bondage.

Oh, and speaking of dressing modestly, would you like a free modest skirt? How about this one from The Modest Mom…

What girl doesn’t want a cute denim ruffle skirt?! It goes with just about anything!

Well, today is your “lucky” day because Caroline from The Modest Mom is graciously giving away one of these denim ruffled skirts to one of you!

Hop on over to The Modest Mom and check it out, then come on back and leave a comment (they have maternity skirts, A-line skirts, and even nursing covers!)

For extra entries:

Post about this giveaway, Facebook it, email a friend, tweet it, “Like” Modest Mom on Facebook, or follow them on Twitter! (Leave a comment for each thing you do or it won’t be counted!)

This giveaway ends Friday at midnight EST.

You can find The Modest Mom blog here. Enjoy!

“…For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7