Your Spiritual Act of Worship

I was so pleased when I saw this group of youth dancing for the Lord on stage at the 2011 Jesus in the City parade in Toronto. I was particularly glad because the dancers were dressed so modestly, and so they looked so beautiful—more beautiful than any lady I have seen in a long while. Sadly, modesty was not the norm at this event: there was a worship group from Ottawa composed of two ladies who were dressed so immodesty that I didn’t photograph them (I didn’t even watch them), because I would’ve been nearly impossible for me as a photographer to edit their photos to make them acceptable with Christianity’s teaching about modesty. There was also another two ladies in the crowd who I avoided standing behind them because they wore such tight pants (both, to avoid temptation and to avoid photographing them), and so you can imagine my surprise when they later walked to the stage and started signing a worship song—they were a worship team! When I photographed them I composed my photos above the waist. I remember one young lady in particular at the Jesus in the City parade because she was dressed in a summer dress like she was going to the beach, and so I thought, “WOW! This parade has attracted even the non-Christians. This is wonderful!” A short time later I was shocked when I saw her singing worship songs on one of the floats—she was a worship leader!

When I was in my early teens (that was in Iraq) I was sitting on the school bus after Sunday school (technically, it was more of Friday school because that was the weekend day in Iraq; this Sunday school was organized by the Roman Catholic church). It was summer so it was a hot afternoon and as I looked out the window my Sunday school teacher, a young lady in her 20s, looked at me, gave me a sweet smile, and waved good bye as she walked home. I don’t remember how she looked like except that she looked like a typical Chaldean: fair skin, brown eyes, and dark wavy hair. But what I do remember is how modest her clothes were which stood as a contrast to how the other girls dressed at Sunday school. Her clothes were simple and modest, unlike the flashy, expensive, and immodest dressing of the girls who attended the Sunday school. Actually, immodesty was one of the reason I disliked attending church, because it makes no sense for a man to be more tempted with sin in the church than on the street! Until today I find modest girls very attractive, but this writing is not about my personal experiences or beliefs, and it is not about my feelings. This writing is about God’s Word and what He teaches about modest dressing. I am writing about this topic from a man’s point of view, and so I hope I do it justice.

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Immodesty, in my opinion, is an epidemic in the church—whether in the eastern churches or the western churches. It is a sin so advanced and accepted by the churches that I really don’t see how Christians will be able to turn this tide of sensuality around. I remember when I was new in Canada, that was in the early 2000s, I was watching TV and there was news about the National Day of Prayer in the U.S., and behind the reporter this “Christian” lady wearing a short-skirt came and knelt with her head down to the ground in prayer! Now, I am not going to describe to you how absurd the scene was, but I remember thinking, “What’s wrong with this Christian woman?” Another time, I went with my uncle to this Canadian church in Toronto and the pastor invited this 16 years old girl to come on stage to read some youth news and she was wearing such tight pants they looked like they were painted on her. The same thing was with their worship leader, and all the ladies who were in the rows in front of me. The whole time at that church I kept my head down. My uncle’s wife told me, “Fadi, church is a place to rejoice with the Lord, why are you sad?” I didn’t answer her. But we cannot rejoice in sinfulness—joy with the Lord must be coupled with holiness.

And that is what I have against the Jesus in the City parade: the pastors spoke and worshipped, and encouraged, but the whole event did not even start with the people confessing their sins! Lady, if your husband said a very mean and hurtful thing to you in the morning, and when he came from work he was all smiling and nice to you as if nothing had happened. Would you be smiling back or be joyful? No, you would want him to first apologize, explaining why he said those hurtful comments, and how he would not hurt you again (repentance), right? Then why do we expect God to accept us joyfully when we come to Him with our unrepented hearts?

Another time I went to a Middle Eastern church with my sister’s family because they had a play called “Heaven or Hell”, and the same scenario repeated itself: all the actors were dressed immodestly, including the worship singers! Another time, last year in April I think, I went with my sister’s church to this conference held by Arabic churches in Toronto. One lady who was standing at the door giving away brochures and she was dressed in such an immodest dress that it immediately reminded me of the sensual dresses Hollywood actresses wear! I then thought, “Who organized this?” Because not a single pastor, or a church elder, or a senior Christian man or woman thought or spoke up--as if this is how Christians are supposed to dress. Speaking about worship here is what the Bible says in Romans 12:1-2:

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

Let me ask you a question. Before coming to Christ we spoke foul words and laughed at dirty joke, but after we came Christ we put those sinful ways away, correct? Before coming to Christ we lied and cheated and even stole, but after we came to Christ we put those sinful ways away, correct? Before coming to Christ we doubted, we rebelled against God, we blasphemed, but after we came to Christ we put those sinful ways away, correct? Before coming to Christ we lusted, fornicated, and committed adultery and all kind of sexual immorality, but after we came to Christ we put those sinful ways away, correct? Then why do women dress immodestly after coming to Christ just as they did before coming to Christ? Actually, after becoming born-again we are supposed to evaluate even our good deeds such as honouring our parents and self-control. Before, we honoured our parents because we were taught that is the right thing to do, but after becoming born-again we understand all things should be done for the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31). Before, we practiced self-control as a mean to “succeed” in life, but after becoming born-again we understand that self-control is a fruit of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). How can a Christian woman then not evaluate the way she dresses—the way she represents Christ?

I remember going with my sister’s church to a trip and there were many people at that location, and when the church ladies mixed with the non-Christian ladies you could not tell who is Christian and who is not from the way they dressed. And it is sad when a Christian woman dresses so sensually that she does not stand apart; remember what the above verse says: Do not conform to the pattern of this world. How is a Christian woman going to be a living testimony to a Muslim woman when she can not even dresses blamelessly? In Iraq, my Muslim friends used to ask me out of curiosity, “How can the priests let the girls dress like that in church?” I did not answer them, because I agreed with them.

Do you know what is blameless? Our Lord was blameless: the Bible says that when they tried to bring charge against Him none could stand because He was sinless and blameless, and they finally crucified Him because of His identity--the Son of God. Some say we represent Christ through our words and actions. That is not entirely true: we represent Christ through our minds—remember what the above verse says, “be transformed by the renewing of your mind”—and our minds are expressed through what we say, how we dress, and what we do. Some people say, “But you can’t judge me because you don’t know what’s in my heart!” You are right that I cannot judge you, but I know what is in your heart: all I have to do is take a look at your life. People love to hide behind “But you can’t judge me because you don’t know what’s in my heart”, but you know what? That is not even a Biblical teaching. The Bible says in Matthew 7:16-20:

“By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.”

And it says in Matthew 15:19:

“For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.”

And I say to you, Christian lady: Can I recognize your holiness by your immodesty? A sinful woman cannon dress modestly, and a righteous woman cannon dress immodestly. Thus, by the way you dress you will be recognized.

The problem with immodesty might not be a discipline problem, it might be a much bigger problem: it might be a question of, “Am I even born again?”, and not a question of, “Do I need to take another Alpha course?” You see, if a Christian lady says, “I know I dress immodestly, I know it’s a sin, I know it’s wrong and grieves God but I can’t help it because my emotional security is tied to the way I dress—I can’t break free from the hold it has on me.” Then I would say, “Yes, there is a big chance that she is born-again but she is struggling with a sin that is gripping her and won’t let go.” Just like smoking: people do not necessarily become free from the addiction of smoking as soon as they come to Christ. But if a Christian lady who has been going to church for 10 years says, “What’s wrong with the way I am dressing? It’s not immodest. The Bible doesn’t say anything about modesty, and whatever it said that wasn’t for us—that was for the church 2000 years ago. Besides, Jesus Christ paid for my sins.” I will be very fearful of this woman’s eternal destiny because her statement shows me she does not have the discernment of the Holy Spirit, and if she does not have the Spirit then she does not have part with Christ. It also shows me that she is using our Lord’s sacrifice as an excuse to sin—she does not understand anything about salvation and regeneration.

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Now, here is what I think are some of the reasons immodesty is such a big sensual problem in the church today:

1) I believe, the biggest problem with immodesty is that it is a very well disguised idolatry. Anything that we replace God with to make us feel whole, to fulfill us emotionally, to make us feel wanted and desired, to lift our self-image, to make us reach our goals (such as attracting a husband-to-be), or to make our lives feel complete is an idol. For example, a man does not lust for the sake of lusting: a man lusts because momentary this physically attractive woman makes him feel a satisfaction he hasn’t fulfilled with his relationship to Christ. The same applies to other sins such as getting drunk--nobody gets drunk to make a fool of himself—people get drunk to escape a reality they do not like because they did not make Christ the centre of their reality. Immodesty is no exception: its root is idolatry.

2) There is no teaching in the church about modesty. For example, you can attend a church for a whole year, which means there are about 48 sermons in total, and you would never hear the preacher talk about the virtue of modesty: what the Bible teaches about it, its benefit, why it pleases the Lord, and how immodesty is actually a sin. Preachers seems to focus so much about how to pray effectively, why we should tithe, how to have a successful marriage, how to evangelize and they neglect holiness. Didn’t our Lord say, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well"? Then why are we seeking everything except His righteousness?

Do you know what is the best way to have your prayers answered? Live a holy life! The Bible says, “The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” (James 5:16) Do you know what is the best way to be a good parent and husband or wife? Live a holy life! Do you know what is the best way to evangelize? Be a living testimony—live a holy life!

3) There are no role models for Christian ladies in regard to modesty. A Christian lady in her mid 20s dresses just like the rest of the world and the rest of her church, get married and pretty soon has a daughter. The child is used to wear tight clothes since she is a baby because that is the clothes her mom buys her. Pretty soon she is a teenager, and then a young lady who is getting married, and the cycle continuous.

Parents are sometimes afraid their kids will have “emotional problems” if they teach them to live a holy life, for example: to dress differently from the world. But that is not true! How can you say that if you teach your child to be Christ-like then she will have emotional problems, so instead you choose to follow Satan’s ways! As a parent your first is responsibility to teach your children how to live a holy life. Your first responsibility is not to make sure they get a “good education”, or have the “latest gadgets”, or to wear the “latest fashion” clothes.

4) It is a very well disguised sin. Let me give you a couple of examples: a little girl look up to her Christian mother, who dresses immodestly, and thinks:

-I want to help others like mommy—which is a good thing.
-I want to learn to cook like mommy—which is a good thing.
-I want to learn to play the piano like mommy—which is a good thing.
-I want to look beautiful by dressing like mommy—which is a sinful thing.
-I want to sing at church like mommy—which is a good thing.
-I want to teach Sunday school like mommy—which is a good thing.

Do you see what is happening? It is a sin that we have accepted, and we are passing our attitude toward immodesty to our children. Let me give you another example:

A bride’s maid is dressed immodestly at a Christian wedding, yet when the Christian guests see her they all smile telling her how beautiful she looks. Now imagine the best man told the Christian guests a dirty joke, they would all frown in disgust and rebuke him. They young woman and the young man both sinned—both sins were sensual in nature: she expressed it through her dress, and he expressed it through his words--but the young woman’s sin was praised and called beautiful, and the young man’s sin was rebuked and called disgusting.

The sin of dressing sensually is so interwoven in our lives--it is at: our churches, our missionary work, our Christian schools, our church trips, our weddings, our worship song, our church altars—it is everywhere.

5) Compromise. The world is simply bombarding our young women with this style, this fashion, and this brand, and promises them if they wear this then they will be more beautiful, more desirable, happier, and more content. But the sins of immodesty is very much like any other sin: it is like drinking muddy water when you are thirsty—the more you drink the more thirsty you will become. It is like standing in a hole and digging it deeper hoping that you will reach the surface!

Compromise is such a big deal when it comes to modest dressing because women usually think, “Well, it is ok to dress a bit revealing in a wedding,” or, “It is ok if someone is going to a picnic or the beach!” First of all, if you are a born-again Christian you have no business going to a beach where you are expected to dress immodestly! For example, a Christian man not only does not engage in sexual immorality, but he also does not go to places where sexual immorality is practiced! A Christian man not only does not get drunk, but he also does not go to places of drunkenness! Yes, our Lord associated with sinners, but He did not participate in their sin. Second of all, if that is how you think then your heart’s attitude toward sin is wrong, which means your heart’s attitude toward God is wrong. Because you cannot have a new relationship with God if you do not have a new relationship with sin.

6) Lack of personal relationship with God and commitment. Christians love to proclaim that Christianity is a personal relationship, but they do not live it as a personal relationship! They wait for their pastor to preach about modesty so they practice it! If that is the case then what happened to the teachings of the Holy Spirit? What happened to spiritual discernment? What happened to asking in prayer, “Lord, speak to me. Show me what You want to change in my life. What can I do to be more like Your Son?”

You know, there is a preacher from Texas that every time I see him on TV he is only talking about the State of Israel. Do you know what that means? His congregation is not getting any spiritual teachings, is not growing in their faith, and are not being continuously conformed to the likeness of our Lord! In other words: his whole ministry has missed the point of Christianity!

It is beyond me how a Christian lady can start her day with an intimate and focused prayer with her heavenly Father, and 15 minutes later dresses sensually for the rest of the day! What do you pray for, "God, please bless my sins!"? If you cannot make a single commitment to the Lord to dress modestly in the morning--which will impact your testimony for the rest of the day--how will you then continuously make a commitment to the Lord throughout the whole day before each time you utter a word, before each time you look at someone, before each time you think about something?!

As a Christian lady it is your responsibility to read the Bible on your own and pursue God’s will for your life, especially in holiness of the mundane daily things, such as your dressing.

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I am not doubting the sincerity of Christian women’s love for Christ, and so I am not saying that those Christian women who dress immodesty are doing it because they hate Christ. But the Bible does not say we are perishing because our lack of love, no, it says we are perishing because of our lack of knowledge:

“My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge. ‘Because you have rejected knowledge, I also reject you as my priests; because you have ignored the law of your God, I also will ignore your children.’” (Hosea 4:6)

Also, when you love someone you have to love that person the way they want and need. For example, if my wife wants to go to a certain restaurant but I take her to the restaurant I like then I have not expressed love toward her. So it is the same with Christ: we have to love Christ the way He wants us to love Him. And the Bible says in John 14:21, “Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me.” Christ says if we want to love Him then He wants us to express this love by obeying Him. If you love Christ and want to worship Him you have to do it in spirit and truth. In spirit by living a life that agrees with the Holy Spirit, because we cannot worship Christ when we are grieving the Holy Spirit. And in truth by living according to the truth of the Word of God.

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Because preachers do not teach about modesty, and Christian women are not being good role models, nobody really know what modesty is. It really is a lost virtue. To make things worse, Christian ladies are not reading the Bible and obeying it because the Bible clearly talks about modesty. So what is immodest dressing?

Immodesty is a sin—disobedience toward God. I categorize it as a sensual sin in the same class as lust, adultery, and all other sexual-immorality. It is rooted in idolatry and ignorance of God’s Word. Its goal is to satisfy the sinful desires of the flesh instead of the holy desires of the Holy Spirit. It expresses itself through dressing in such a way that it draws attention to one’s body/physical appearance rather than one’s face/countenance; this includes clothes that are: tight, revealing, cut-short, or transparent.

A lot of girls think that since their pants are “not” too tight then they are more holy than non-Christian girls who wear “too” tight pants! Imagine how ridiculous it would sound if a Christian man said: since non-Christians commit adultery, and all type of sexual immorality, but lust is not “that” bad since it is not physical then I am holier than those non-Christians and lust is ok. What you are doing is really comparing your sin to someone else’s sin and saying, “Well, my sin is less sinful than this person’s sin so I am doing pretty good!” If you want to compare yourself to someone should you not compare yourself to a spiritual role model, like our Lord Jesus Christ? Why are you, a saint, comparing yourself to a sinner?

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So why is immodest dressing a sin?

1) Because the Bible says so, and the Bible, for the Christian, should be the final authority of what is sin and what is not.

“Therefore I want the men everywhere to pray, lifting up holy hands without anger or disputing. I also want the women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, adorning themselves, not with elaborate hairstyles or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God.” (1 Timothy 2:8-10)

”Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewellery or fine clothes. Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.” (1 Peter 3:3-4)

“Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honour God with your bodies.” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)

The Bible is not saying that you should not wear jewellery, or that you should cover your face, or wrap yourself in a blanket! It is saying that your beauty should come from your godly character and not your physical appearance, remember the definition: modest dressing should draws attention to your face/countenance and not your body/physical appearance.

2) It tempts others to sin. Our Lord, Jesus Christ, said:

Jesus said to his disciples: ‘Things that cause people to stumble are bound to come, but woe to anyone through whom they come. It would be better for them to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around their neck than to cause one of these little ones to stumble. So watch yourselves.’” (Luke 17:1-6)

These are harsh words, are they not? What do you think will happen to a person who is thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around their neck? They are harsh words because God takes sin very seriously: after all it did cause Him to send His Son to die on the cross. Here is a video you might like to listen to:

What Guys Think About Modesty: www.godtube.com/watch/?v=KLKZZWNX

Imagine you, a daughter of our heavenly Father, causing your brother-in-Christ to sin, to make his spiritual life miserable, to prevent him from focusing on spiritual things, from growing in his relationship with his heavenly Father, and to hinder him from being conforming to the image of our Lord.

3) Like all sins, sensual dressing destroys your relationship with your heavenly Father, it destroys your prayer life, and it destroys your testimony. It also destroys relationships. I wonder how many relationships, how many marriages, would be healed if women truly live by the standards of the Noble Woman of Proverbs 31 rather than just use ‘Proverbs 31’ as their username!

It also robs you of God’s blessings because God cannot entrust you with much if He cannot trust you with little. For example, if you are not being a good example for Christian girls, I doubt He will give you a position as a Sunday school teacher, or a Christian councillor; you can get those positions on your own but it doesn’t mean He placed you there, and His will makes all the difference in the word. I also wonder how many godly Christian men changed their minds about marrying a certain Christian lady because her dressing is immodest.

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Most Christian ladies ask by now about immodesty, “How much is too much?” My answer is this:

1) If you are a mature Christian in Christ the last question you ask is, “How much is too much?” I am not condemning you, because when I was a young believer I asked that question about a lot of things. But as I grew in my Christian life I automatically stopped asking that question because my concern was not about when do I cross the line of sin, but about how much more intimate I can be with Christ. And the more intimate we become with Him the farther we become from sin.

In Christianity, sin is not a line that we cross, or an edge we fall off. The Bible says that adultery is not only an action but an attitude of the mind, ie: lust. The Bible says that not only those who murder are liable in court, but if you say to your brother “you fool” then you are in danger of hell. The Christian life is not about doing, but it is about being: you are born-again—you are a new creation. Your new nature is so holy you should not only hate sin but hate going close to it. In Christianity you do not fall off the edge when you fall off the edge, but you fall off when you get so comfortable with sin that you actually start living close to the edge—you sin when you start liking sin.

I remember one time I visited a very popular Christian forum on the Internet and do you know what was the most common question in the “Engagement” section? “How far is too far” when it comes to physical and sexual limits. I was stunned when I read that! I realized everyone asking that question was not even mature enough spiritually to be engaged or get married!

2) To answer your question, here is what the Bible says:

“But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God's holy people.” (Ephesians 5:3)

God is not only saying that we, Christians, should not sin, but sin should be so far away from our lives that the people around us should not even start questioning if we are sinning or not. So back to your question, “How much is too much?” Not even a hint!

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When I write I target a very small percentage of Christians. In this writing I am targeting even less--no more than a handful of ladies who are actually seeking to get closer to our Lord, to please Him, to live for Him a holy and blameless life. I am seeking those few ladies who are asking, “What can I do to get closer to Him? What can I do to be more like Him? What can I do to take my faith to the next level.” Let me tell you a story:

Few years ago I was working in a warehouse as a general labourer. One day after I finished my lunch I decided to go sit in the warehouse reading my Bible for few minutes before my lunch time is over. So I sat on a box and I opened my Bible and prayed to the Holy Spirit to speak to me about anything in my life that He wants to change. I opened my Bible and started reading James 3:8,

“Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”

I closed my Bible in disappointment because I thought God did not speak to me as I had hoped because I had “never” stolen in my life. Since I was a child my parents had taught me not to steal—I did not so much steal a small pencil from my school mates! As I got up and walked I could hear the Holy Spirit, “Is that right? You don’t steal?” That disturbed me, so I started thinking about everything I had to see if I had any stolen property! After few seconds I considered my computer and then it hit me: almost all the software and songs I had on my PC were stolen from online!

As soon I reached home I formatted my PC, and broke all CDs that contained software and songs I had stolen. My PC after that day looked so depressing but I was never that happy or peaceful before, because I knew I had removed a sin from my life. My relationship with Him and my prayer life improved dramatically afterwards too.

I did not ask anyone if “pirating” software and songs is stealing or not. Why should I? If God speaks who is man to approve or disapprove what He said? The apostle Paul said in Galatians 1:15-16,

“But when God, who set me apart from my mother’s womb and called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, my immediate response was not to consult any human being.”

So my question to you is this: if the Holy Spirit has convicted you of the sin of immodest dressing and dressing for sensuality’s sake, what are you going to do about it? Are you going to consult an “elder” or a “Christian councillor”? Are you going to wait until your pastor preaches about modesty? Or is the prompting of the Holy Spirit enough for you?

I am not asking you to wait until you have to buy new clothes then you start dressing modestly, because that does not show commitment or love. What I am asking you is that you first go in prayer and confess your sin of dressing sensually, and repent (have a change of heart about immodest dressing). Then to go and get rid of all your immodest clothes. The Bible says in Matthew 5:29-30:

“If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.”

This is the life of faith: doing what you know is pleasing to the Father. True worship starts with obedience. Worship is not about dressing sensually then going to church and singing worship songs, feeling goose bumps, and thinking you have been touched by the Holy Spirit. Goose bumps have to do with emotions, and not faith. Goose bumps have no spiritual value--you can get goose bumps from watching an emotional scene in a movie with an ungodly story line.

Stop being the “nice” church-attending Christian lady and do an act of rebellion against sin, Satan, and this world. An act that screams, “I LOVE YOU LORD!”

(Toronto, ON; summer 2011.)