Modesty should be one of the most important things a young person thinks about when he or she starts his or her day. Young men as well as ladies have to think about this and be careful to dress in a way that glorifies God. However, young women, I am talking to you from the perspective of a young man. Young ladies should be careful to be modest in their dress, for the world tells the Christian to dress for the pleasure of the human nature rather than the glory of God.

There are two types of young men. First, there is the young man who is godly, who looks at you and sees a wonderful personality from within. He sees inner beauty from the heart, the beauty that God has implanted into your soul. He sees your outward appearance as beautiful no matter what you look like, because he sees the inner beauty inside you, which overshadows the outer looks and makes all of you beautiful to him. He does not focus on the physical appearance, but looks at the heart to see the beauty of Christ inside. This young man will be solid in his love for you and does not let the imperfections of your outer looks, such as growing older, overshadow his love for the true beauty inside.

Then there is the worldly young man, although I will be the first to admit that the affections of the godly young man are not always as pure as they seem. But the worldly young man does not really care about what is inside, nor can he even see it. He looks at the outward appearance, to what seems “hot” to him and excites in him the lustful desires of the flesh. He does not care for true beauty, but he cares for the fake beauty on which our society today is based. He will see you as just another girl for him to look at and to use. He does not truly love; he merely loves the outward, and when that gets old to him, he moves on to whatever excites him more. He is not godly, and he does not care for godliness. He cares only for worldliness and lust. I myself will admit that each and every guy struggles with these thoughts, but the godly young man learns to push away such thoughts and look toward the inner beauty that God gives to the young woman he loves.

Modesty helps get rid of the temptations of the flesh that the ungodly young man desires so much, and instead attracts the young man who loves inner beauty. Ladies, if you would like to choose a godly young man, put on that which shows inner beauty, not outer. Do not try to show as much skin a possible to pull the young men around you into being attracted to your outer flesh. Dressing in a manner that does not pertain to godliness only attracts the world and exalts the old man of sin and the flesh, putting away the new man that governs our regenerated life in Christ. Instead, get dressed with the new man in mind; put him on, realizing that the godly young man you seek to attract is not looking for the outer flesh, but instead he looks for the inner beauty that flourishes in your heart. Show by your clothes that you seek this type of young man, not flaunting yourself like the world.

The godly young woman does not want to flaunt herself. She seeks to show her inner beauty instead, not spending hours on make-up and clothes that show just a little too much of her body, so as to attract the men around her. Instead hearken to the words of 1 Peter 3:3–4: “Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives; While they behold your chaste conversation coupled with fear. Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.” These words tell women not to adorn themselves outwardly, but to show the inner beauty that is not corruptible. Ladies, if you want to be that godly woman, do not adorn yourself as the wicked do, but dress modestly, showing the beauty that Christ has put in you.

Young women, dress to show the Lord in your hearts. Dress to show that the new man has worked in your heart to change your desires from the lusts of the flesh to the glory of God. Dress to attract the godly young man who is attracted to you for the beauty of regeneration in your heart that is evident when you clothe yourself modestly. In all and through all, dress for the glory of the name of the Most High.