Java With Julie

Java With Julie

The Loss of Shame in Women
Culture Invading the Church
(part 4)

1927

Bell Telephone and the U.S. Department of Commerce conduct the first long distance use of television that took place between Washington D.C. and New York City on April 9th. Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover commented, "Today we have, in a sense, the transmission of sight for the first time in the world's history. Human genius has now destroyed the impediment of distance in a new respect, and in a manner hitherto unknown."

I'm thinking Herbert Hoover never ever suspected that television would or could be the downfall of our moral society. What seemed to be and in many ways, continues to be the most marvelous of inventions...has destroyed the filtering system of our minds. For whatever reason, we have decided that television and its contents gives us the standard by which to live. Of course we must add the movie media to this, but it started with what we "allowed" in our homes and in our minds. It boils down to a matter of self-will versus God will.

April 18, 2011

Wedding Dress
(showing cleavage)

Culture says this is the dress for your wedding. Would they wear this to worship?

Wedding Dress
(no cleavage showing)

Culture says this is the dress for your wedding. Could this be worn to worship?

Banquet Dress

Culture says that your daughter should wear this to her banquet. Would you let her wear this to worship?

Addressing the attire of brides and young ladies will raise the ire of Moms, daughters and brides. With brides we have told them that it is "their" day. With our young women for their high school banquets (as I hope we are not sending them to the prom), we want them to look stylish and beautiful! New York and California have decided what we should wear. Really? Do we not have a much higher standard?

In a 2007 survey of over 1600 males who called themselves "believers" (ages 12-50), multiple questions were asked about modesty. Specifically, 991 males were asked to address the following statement: "STRAPLESS DRESSES ARE IMMODEST."
653 (65.9%), agreed+/or strongly agreed. Here are some comments.

Age 16

Definitely, strapless dresses bring way too much attention to the shoulders and the bust.

Age 23

They make you look half-naked and then they look like they could fall off, which makes it worse.

Age 18

It's hard (for a guy) to see a strapless dress without wondering what's holding it up.

Age 22

It looks like it's about to fall off, and that does NOT help!

Age 17

It's as though there's nothing preventing more exposure, and that invites impure thoughts.

Age 19

From what I've seen, when girls/women wear strapless dresses they are constantly tugging at the tops to keep them in place. This draws attention from guys. They can also lead a guy to the conclusion that the girl may not be wearing a bra either.

Age 40-49

No exceptions. Bare shoulders are a problem, period.

Every day is the LORD'S day. We know we have been created to glorify HIM. But unfortunately, the tendency is to please ourselves. While many times we are quick to affirm that we "love" the Lord, our actions show differently. Romans 12:9-10 tells us that LOVE MUST BE SINCERE. And sincere love will honor others above ourselves. Conclusion....Sincere love for our brothers in Christ will cause us to seek what is best for them. They are telling us...but many don't want to hear it.

At the end of the day, it is our heart that dictates the decisions we make. If you don't believe that what you do or wear can cause a heart to stumble, then you WILL wear what YOU want to wear. But may I suggest that you talk to your Lord about it?

Thursday will be the final part of this series. We will look at how church leaders and Titus 2 women

are responsible to help keep the church pure and teach younger women. But also, it is imperative that we look at how we are to receive admonition. Many times, that is the biggest problem.

Make it a great day!

Blessings,

Julie