I'm sorry I haven't been posting on the regular days lately. I've been out of town a lot. But starting today, I will be posting regularly again.
Yesterday I was browsing through Twitter, and someone had posted a link to an article called, "Why do we have a dress code?" The article was about how it's not a woman't fault if a man looks at her, and she should be able to dress however she wants and boys should be taught not to look at a girl in that way. Having seen things like this a LOT all over the internet, I thought that I should write about it, because frankly, it's a very childish way of looking at it.
First of all, I would like to say that yes, I do think that it isn't taught enough that men should respect women even in their own minds. I'm not saying that it's okay for men to look at a woman and lust just because she's wearing something inappropriate. What I will say, however, is that it's a problem on both ends. No, men should not lust after a woman, but it's the woman't job not to put that temptation in front of him. Romans 14:13 talks about this very thing. It says, "Therefore let us not pass judgement on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother."
Having an older brother, I am very much aware of the fact that no matter how strong of a Christian a man is, if he sees a woman wearing suggestive clothing, it can be a stumbling block. Sometimes, ladies, I don't want to sound harsh, but sometimes men don't want to see your entire body. I'm not saying that everyone dresses inappropriately, but when you show off your body and reveal 90% of your body to everyone around you, you cannot get angry when a man has a hard time looking at you and not have a difficulty keeping their thoughts pure. One of my least favorite sayings is, "Don't show people everything you have. Leave some for their imagination." The whole point of dressing modestly is so that people don't imagine what you look like, but keep their minds away from that.
Yes, it is important for boys to not look or think anything when they see a girl wearing suggestive clothing. But it is even more important for girls not to dress in a way that makes men stumble. What's the point in dressing inappropriately if the only guys who will look are the ones who will disrespect you and your body, and the ones who won't look are the ones who will respect you and your body?
