Graceful Beauty - Modesty
I want to start by sincerely saying a BIG thank you to papa Elmond Isaiah for this opportunity to teach. The theme is so timely and I count it a privilege of not just teaching but also an avenue to learn. Thank you, Sir and God bless and increase you in all things.
In my walk of faith, I see how God has been teaching me about modesty. Living a modest life in this generation is not an easy thing to do as I have fallen short in this area many times. Modesty is not only for women it is for men. Immodesty shows bad intentions and in a way, it is boasting of self. However, your motives are what make it sinful. I’m not saying that you have to look like a ball of clothes especially if it is extremely hot, you’re going to the gym, etc. But there is a clear line between appropriate and inappropriate and you know it. What are your motives deep down? Be honest with yourself. We must always have godly Women, modesty means you have beauty and power. And you use that to teach men how to love you for the right reasons and perspective on how we present ourselves. Dear girls, dressing immodestly is like rolling around in manure. Yes, you will get attention, but ALL of it will be from pigs. ”Dressing modestly doesn’t mean I lack confidence, it means I’m so confident I don’t need to reveal my body to the world, I rather reveal my mind.”
“Modesty isn’t about hiding ourselves – It’s about revealing our dignity.”- Jessica Rey
There is a difference between beauty and sensuality.
This verse says, “With proper clothing.” That means that there are proper clothing and there are improper clothing both for men and women. The body of Christ should not dress in a way to draw attention to physical beauty. When you look in the mirror are you looking for sexiness or fruits of a biblical woman?
1 Timothy 2:9-10 “Likewise, I want women to adorn themselves with proper clothing, modestly and discreetly, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly garments, but rather by means of good works, as is proper for women making a claim to godliness.”
The intentions of a worldly woman and a godly woman are different.
Worldly women seek to bring you down and set a trap before you. They seek to cause you to chase after them and lust after them by their clothing and the way that they act. Sometimes worldly women bend over as a sign that they want you to approach them. When you associate with such women, you waste your wealth in exchange for disgrace. Stay far from them and you will stay far away from the pit of destruction. Sleeping with a promiscuous woman is like falling into a trap that you’ll never be able to escape! – Prov 23:27
Satan is deceiving many women today. Don’t fall victim to his schemes.
Satan told Eve, “Did God really say you should not eat from that fruit?” Now he is saying, “Did God really say that you should not wear this or that? He will add; God wouldn’t mind, its just a little cleavages to be revealed.
There is a way your dressing reveals the content of your heart. There is no getting around this. Immodesty sometimes shows a wicked heart. Immodesty shows ungodliness and spiritual immaturity. Pretty women who dress inappropriately will never look as beautiful as a woman dressed modestly.
Godly women know their significance in Christ.
They know that they are so loved by Christ and they don’t need to find false love in other places. It saddens me by the number of women who need to try to reveal themselves to get attention from the opposite sex. So many people today struggle with self-esteem issues because they are looking at the false images of the world. “I need to look like this, I need to do this, I need to dress like this so more men will be interested in me.” No!
What Makes a Woman Beautiful?
A woman can and should be beautiful—God designed her to be that way. Her skin, hair, and other features were created to be soft and appealing, and her body was fashioned to be attractive and beautiful to men. A woman was designed to be attractive, and most women want to be beautiful. When a woman is healthy, she has an attractive glow about her. Good health adds more color to the face and skin and helps produce more energy. A balanced, nutritious diet and exercise plan will help a woman to have this healthy glow. It will also help to keep excess weight off and produce a more attractive physique. When a woman is striving to follow the health laws she looks and feels more beautiful.
Another key factor of womanly beauty is looking feminine. A woman should look like a woman, not a man. A woman can achieve this through her dress and hairstyle.
The Bible says women’s hair should be longer than men’s. This doesn’t mean she has to wear it down to her ankles, but it should be long enough to differentiate her from a man. Most women enjoy choosing different hairstyles and fixing their hair. Our society is obsessed with being beautiful! But is there more to beauty than what meets the eye?
Our society places high emphasis on the physical aspect of beauty and neglects the other elements that really make a woman totally beautiful. A truly beautiful woman is physically appealing. Not all women are gifted with the perfection of physical features, but fortunately, this is not the only prerequisite for beauty. Women tend to take a critical look at their individual features and flaws and feel this is what makes them attractive or not, whereas a man tends to look at the overall impression a woman creates. What a woman does with what she has is very important in making herself attractive. Physical beauty is really within the reach of any woman. A physically attractive woman is also one who dresses modestly. Our society teaches women to flaunt their physical attributes by displaying scantily clad women on billboards, magazines, and most other media outlets. Many women feel they must also dress this way to be considered attractive. This is not true. A fully clothed woman dressed in a modest, feminine way is very attractive. She is not only attractive, but she also gains honor and respect from those who see her. A woman’s body is designed to be attractive and arousing to men, and when a woman is revealing too much of herself in public, she is stirring up the wrong kind of feelings and will attract the wrong kind of attention. A truly beautiful woman aims for respect in the way she dresses.
A truly beautiful woman is not only attractive on the outside and inside, but she is also attractive to God. How a woman looks to God is more important than any other quality she possesses because one day her outer beauty will fade and her inner beauty will cease, but the beauty that God sees in her will be important when she stands before Him. Being beautiful to God should be a top priority on every woman’s list. The Scriptures give us some clues as to what God finds attractive in women.
God values a quiet spirit in a woman. As 1 Peter 3:3-4 tells us, “Do not let your adornment be merely outward—arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel—rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God.” Does this mean that a woman should never say anything—that she should always be quiet? No, this is saying that a woman should not have an argumentative, contentious spirit. She should not be quick to argue and demand her way. She should be peaceable to others and respectful to her husband. There are several scriptures in the book of Proverbs that talk about women who are angry and contentious, and how difficult it is to live with them. A truly beautiful woman is not in competition with men—she understands the value and strengths that they possess and appreciates them.
God also values a woman who fears Him. When a woman is putting God first in her life and is striving to do what He has commanded, she is attractive to God.
She should continue to deepen her relationship with Him and continue to grow spiritually. Proverbs 31:30 reads, “Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing, but a woman who fears the LORD, she shall be praised.”
What does it mean to grow in grace?
Answer: Second Peter 3:18 tells us to “grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.” To grow in grace is to mature as a Christian. We are saved by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8-9), and we mature and are sanctified by grace alone. We know that grace is a blessing that we don’t deserve. It is God’s grace that justifies us, sanctifies us, and eventually glorifies us in heaven. We are not to impair it by being proud, because God says that He resists the proud but gives grace to the humble (James 4:6). Grace is the attribute of God that enables us to break free of our sinful nature and follow Him. It gives us strength and protects us. Without God’s grace, His favor, we would be hopelessly lost in this world. The more grace we have and ask God for, the more mature as Christians we will be
The Beauty of Womanhood
Her Uniqueness Makes Her Essential
Who is this who looks down like the dawn, beautiful as the moon, bright as the sun, awesome as an army with banners?” (Song 6:10)
Who indeed? A woman, of course. Shock the world by being what you were made to be: a fearless, unflappable, God-fearing woman.
The unique influence of a godly woman is in transforming things. A woman is to be compared to a crown on the head of her husband (Proverbs 12:4). This is not because she’s merely decorative, but because she is the thing that makes her good man great. She transforms a promising bachelor into a purposeful, respected husband. He gives his seed and by some miracle and mystery, God has designed her body to nurture and grow a new person.
Have you ever admired someone’s physical attractiveness only to meet them and find them to be a nasty person? Or have you ever met someone who the culture wouldn’t deem attractive that people were drawn to? It becomes apparent as we get to know people that God’s definition of beauty is what remains. Our physical appearance cannot maintain relationships. What’s on the inside, is what relationships should be built on. Our spirit and soul (inner beauty) should far outshine our outer beauty.
Whether we manage to put on our makeup, jewelry or nice clothes today or whether we do something pretty with our hair, let’s make sure to adorn ourselves with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness and self-control so that we might reflect the beauty of Jesus’ character to the world. Such beauty is unfading.
What is Self-Worth
Self-worth is defined by Merriam-Webster as “a feeling that you are a good person who deserves to be treated with respect”.
Self-esteem is what we think and feel and believe about ourselves. Self-worth is recognizing ‘I am greater than all of those things.’ It is a deep knowing that I am of value, that I am loveable, necessary to this life, and of incomprehensible worth. It means that a woman is not dependent upon anyone else to make her feel good about herself, because she already knows she’s fine just the way she is. She is confident and aware of her strengths and abilities. She wants to share them with others. This does not mean she is conceited. She is also aware of areas needing work and growth. But that’s ok because she knows she’ is not perfect, and she doesn not have to be. No one is. She understands that we all have our strengths and weaknesses.
How to Increase Your Self-Worth as A Woman
Be Mindful Of How You Think And Talk About Yourself.
When you speak or think of yourself negatively, those words and thoughts have the power to become self-fulfilling prophecies. If you've gotten into the habit of having these thoughts, stopping them will take a lot of awareness and work on your part. As soon as you notice that you're being overly critical of yourself, try to make a conscious effort to stop and instead channel more positive thoughts
Don't Compare
There will always be someone who you can find to compare yourself to, that you will consider better than you. Especially, if your sense of self-worth is low and you're looking to confirm your low self-worthlessness. Comparison is also a bad idea because you very rarely have a person's full story to really be able to tell how happy they are. Many people tend to be more forthright with sharing the positive things in their lives than the negatives.
Embrace Your Strengths
Everybody's good at something. Discover what that something is, or what you're passionate about. Then, devote your time and energy to it. Setting aside this time to do things that you naturally excel at, can help to increase your self-esteem, which in turn, can help to improve your sense of self-worth. This doesn't mean that you should completely abandon anything which you're not good at, nor is it practical. Though, you may find that the things you "fail" at don't bother you as much, when you have something that you're good at for which to be grateful for.
Care Take of Yourself
Self-care is so easy to neglect, in favor of all of life's other ambitions and pursuits. However, one of the keys to feeling better about yourself may start by taking better care of yourself. Exercise is something that is hard to start and create a routine around, but once you do, exercise has a way of empowering you and making you feel proud of what you physically accomplished. Even if there are no changes to your body, fueling your body with nutritious foods, instead of unhealthy ones, can help you feel more energetic and better about your overall health.
Ways to look classy on a budget.
Your makeup, skin, cosmetics, nails, etc. are truly the canvas for your wardrobe.
Sometimes Simple is Better; many women like looking busy with colors, hairs, clothes, and makeup. Combining all kind of things in the name of fashion, and sometimes is ignorance. Always look simple and sweet.
Fitting is everything; knowing your body shape and dressing to fit it, pay attention to the curves; is about dressing to look your best.
Walk a Mile in Some Good Shoes, it enhance your dressing.
Always wear lipstick.
Get your nails done
Look great at one-time events, surprise even yourself by looking different for a different event. But some ladies look the same for church, choir rehearsal, visitation, class, weddings, and funeral, etc.
Don't be a walking billboard. Never wear obvious logos. Too many labels can actually cheapen your look.
Accessorizes is very important, never forget that.
When in doubt, wear all black.
Always be clean and confident.
Smelling nice is key.
Have well-ironed clothes
THE GUIDE TO BODYSHAPES: The clothes which will flatter you best will depend on your body shape. When it comes to looking good, it's not your size or shape that matters, it's the fit of your clothes. Wearing the right clothes shouldn't be about following the latest fashion trends; it should be about choosing what suits you and what makes you feel comfortable and confident. The dress must follow the body of a woman, not the body following the shape of the dress.
Hairstyling; Know your hair type
Diagnose your hair type. The three major hair types are thick, medium, and fine. Some women can even have a combination of all three types on different parts of their heads. To figure out what hair type you have, wrap your hair in a ponytail with an average-sized elastic. If you can wrap the elastic only once, your hair is thick. If you can wrap the elastic two-three times, it is medium, and if you need to wrap the band more than that then your hair is fine.
Always keep your hair neat
How to Mix and Match Colors in Your Clothes
Mapping colors to your clothes is as much science as it is an art. You can have all the money in the world and flaunt the most expensive wardrobe possible, but if you do not marry the colors in your outfit well, its a lost cause.
Analogous; Matching two or three continuous shades on the color wheel that blend well with each other.
Triadic; the combination of colors that are equidistant from each other on the color wheel is called ‘triadic.’ They look great together, but some might argue that they can be OTT.
Ombre Test; diminishing shades of the same color either in ascending or descending order works great.
Monochrome Look seems like a no-brainer because its just one color in the same shade for the entire outfit.
Match It with Your Skin Tone
Fashion Tips That Can Make Anyone Admire Your Sense of Style.
Panties rules; it may seems that your panties play no role in your image. But we have to remember about one tiny detail that’s able to ruin your incredible look; extremely visible panty lines.
Tights rules; tights can make you look elegant. But if you fail to choose suitable tights, they can ruin the whole look.
Watches; a watch is one of the most useful accessories. They enhance a female wrist and complete the look of a woman who doesn’t waste her time.
Underwear rules; underwear is meant to be hidden by clothes which makes it elegant not visible under clothes.
Have 3 to 4 top options for each bottom; avoid repeating one top for all bottom.
Low rise jeans that make your belly look like a muffin top or show off your underwear to others should not have a place in your wardrobe.
High heel platform shoes; make some women’s feet look funny and can resemble hooves. There’s also the endless discomfort that a woman has to suffer from if she wears a pair of such shoes instead wear high heel shoes or Open footwear with a good pedicure.
Color combination; a combination of black and brown with dark blue looks cheap, but classic colors combination looks elegant.
Brand logos; fake branded clothing look cheap, but moderation in clothing look classy.
The neckline on a dress; an over revealing neckline is wrong, but subtle neckline looks graceful.
BLESSING J. DANJUMA
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