Occasionally you see an article or blog post about modesty. And we need each and every one of them that is written shared abroad. But have you noticed how almost every one of them is written to women? To be fair, this is likely because the fashion trends among women are unquestionably provocative and for various reasons most girls and women have embraced them. Hardly anyone thinks twice about wearing short shorts, short skirts, or low-cut tops except the men who see them.
But today, I want to address modesty among males. In the most recent issue of GQ magazine, Tim Tebow is shown shirtless posing in the cruciform position. Apparently it is a picture that was taken while he was quarterback at Florida University. Also not long ago, one of my pastor friends posted a photo of one of his members who was competing for a fitness competition. The photo showed the man shirtless and pulling his jeans outward from his body to show all of his definition. And it is becoming all the more common to see young males on Facebook showing off their ripped bodies. Yes, males being intentionally provocative is a growing trend. It is becoming so common that people do not even think about whether it is appropriate.
And so, we need to broaden our message about modesty. It is not just about women provoking unclean thoughts in men. It is also about men provoking unclean thoughts and women. It is about all people keeping the marriage bed undefiled by keeping their bodies appropriately clothed. It is about teaching our boys and our girls that they can be attractive without being overtly sexual. It is about teaching all of them that the sexual allure of their bodies has been given to them in order to serve their future spouse and to assure that procreation occurs in marriage.
Long gone are the days when only stereotyped construction workers would ogle and call at women who dressed to impress. The discussions about who is hot and sexy are had in almost every place people work and play. And part of the reason this is true is because men and women alike have forgotten what it means to dress modestly. This we must fight. This we must avoid. This we must repent of.
In my day and age, when we boys took off our shirts it was to designate who was on your team. After all none of us were much to look at with our shirts off any way. But in a day when boys are routinely sculpting their bodies to capture the attention of others, we need to say to our boys, grab a jersey and keep your shirt on.
This is interesting-males. Hmmm…Stems from the TV and Movies, then into the clothing, etc. ads and into the culture. Ronald Reagan in his,,DIARY, mentioned watching current movies at Camp David. He called the sexuality shown in them,”pornograghy”. That was in the early 1980s.
Education, such as this, should go on more for males and not just females. Thanks for sharing.