Monday, July 29, 2013

Influence With Modesty

     Everyone has an influence. If it's a small influence or a big one, everyone still has an influence on someone. It's not our choice of who we influence, but it is our choice of how we influence them. 

     In 1Timothy 2:9 it says, "in like manner also, that the women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with propriety and moderation, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly clothing," Usually when I use this verse, I focus on the modesty part, but today I'll be talking about the second part of the verse which says, "not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly clothing," this isn't talking about how we shouldn't dress nicely or brain our hair, but back when this was written in the time of the ancient Romans, women would braid their hair in these fancy, intricate braids and decorate it with gold, pearls, precious gems, and sometimes even fancy china plates in order to draw attention to themselves. Now, this may seem a bit extreme and like it doesn't apply to us today, but in all reality, it does. If you'll notice, a lot of articles you'll read in magazines or online about models, actresses, singers, or just random famous people, the headlines will usually read, "You'll never believe your eyes when you see _____ in this daring dress!" A lot of these people will wear things to seem more and more daring, bold, or even just strange to draw attention to themselves. And I don't know if you've noticed or not but this has deeply influenced the styles of clothing sold in stores today. These people have had a great influence on society, which has caused a great problem in modesty, all because they wanted to attract attention to themselves. So not only do we have to remember that we have an influence, we also need to remember that the clothing we wear shouldn't be worn to draw attention to us. In 1Timothy 2:10 it says, "but, which is proper for women professing godliness, with good works." We need to make sure that when people see us, they don't see that we're drawing attention to ourselves, but to God. 

     Now I'll be taking about the influence that we can have on others. It can be easy to think that we're not big enough, or in a god enough of a situation to have an influence on anyone. But the truth is, you do. Everyone does. To your friends, classmates, children especially, and everyone else around you. We have to remember that just because we may not know who we influence, or just because you don't want to have an influence, that doesn't meant that we don't. And it can be very easy to be the wrong kind of influence, but we need to remember to be a good influence. The way we dress is very important. If someone looks up to you as an example, and they see you dressed inappropriately, then they will think that there's nothing wrong with that. This applies with everything else too. We need to remember to watch ourselves, because we never know who's watching.