STUMBLING BLOCK
As a student pastor, I am constantly looking at studies, stats, and charts in order to see what Christ is doing and what people are thinking. I came upon a study completed by a group called the “Rebelution” that I found to be absolutely amazing. The folks working overtime at therebelution.com have burned the midnight oil by interviewing thousands of men on what clothing styles they feel to me modest or immodest. Would you like to take a look at the results? I thought you would. Out of the hundreds of questions, here are just 12:
THE QUESTIONS (ALL ANSWERS ARE DIVIDED INTO AGREE/DISAGREE):
1. Modesty is an important feature for a future wife to have. 95.4% Agree
2. You have less respect for an immodest girl than a modest one. 75.6% Agree
3. Character, intelligent, and personality are more important than physical beauty. 91.1% Agree
4. Zipping a form-fitting jacket just below the chest draws too much attention to the bust. 56.8% Agree
5. Denim jackets with faded sections on the chest draw too much attention to the bust. 31.9% Agree
6. Leotards, sheer skirts, and tutus in theatre or dance performances are immodest. 35.8% Agree
7. Immodest clothing is less of a problem for you when a friend wears it. 14.3% Agree
8. A technically modest outfit can be a stumbling block when it has attached sexual associations (such as Brittney Spears wearing a school girl outfit) 61.8% Agree
9. It is okay for girls to wear tighter and/or more revealing clothes if they are working out. 26.3% Agree
10. Showing any cleavage is immodest. 70.4% Agree
11. Bending over so that cleavage is visible down the front of the shirt/dress is a stumbling block. 89.8% Agree
12. It is a stumbling block when a girl reaches into her shirt to adjust her bra strap. 65.4% Agree
The men of USA have indicated that they want their wife to dress modestly and have less respect for those that do not. Tight-fitting clothes are immodest, as in anything that accentuates the bust area. Overall, it appears that everything that involves the female chest area may be a stumbling block in men’s thoughts, including the time tested excuses for wearing less including “we’re just friends,” or “I’m working out,” both of which indicated to be stumbling blocks according to this study.
“Now Tom, you can’t really mean that the way a women dresses can cause a man to sin, men are inherently pigs, and they would sin regardless in this area,” one could say to me. Well, then putting public opinions aside, let’s look to what the Bible states. Matthew 18:7 states “Woe to the world because of stumbling blocks! It is necessary that stumbling blocks come, but woe to the person through whom they come.” Whenever God uses the words “woe to you,” that is very harsh Biblical chastisement. If 7 out of 10 men surveyed say cleavage is a stumbling block, are we as Christians really to ignore those findings and dismiss them?
Friends, seriously, what are we doing? A handful of generations ago it was improper to show our knees and elbows, and now we are wearing thongs and string bikinis at the beach. Women’s undergarments used to be sold in the back and called unmentionables at department stores but now have flashy billboards in the front of the store. Have you tried to purchase a modest swimsuit for your 8 year old girl lately? I have, and I can tell you that the world has fed us a lie that skin is in, and we are all paying the consequences of that dearly. Getting our nation back to a point of moral purity begins in our homes, let’s take an honest look in the mirror, and wear items in such a way that God our savior is glorified.