As far as dressing modestly, women seem to really resent this commandment. I don't care what a woman is wearing, no one has the right to put their hands on them (or men either) without permission. However, when I was in the 8th grade, way back when dinosaurs were almost extinct (I think one was left they couldn't find yet, lol) my math teacher made a weird comment to us "13/14 year old women" that went something like..."If it ain't for sale, don't advertise it." Can you begin to imagine the uproar that such a statement would cause if he said that today? It would be awful and so un-PC (the bane of my existence - political correctness. I may not like what you say but God and our constitution gives us the right to say it. I am also just as convinced that because you have the right to say it does not make it RIGHT to say it either. We should use restraint and I don't believe anyone should intentionally offend others UNLESS OR BUT -- and there's always a but, lol -- it's true and needs to be said and heard. I do think everyone should dress showing respect for God and if they are unbelievers, then at least out of respect for themselves. It's kinda hard not to "think" a woman is a whore or loose when they show you 99% of their body. Also consider your spouse, boy/girl friend (depending on your gender) or your parents, bosses and even friends will think when they see you in public. Is it fair? Well, it depends. Why are you dressing like this? Is it vanity or to be noticed? I can't think of a good reason you can't dress attractively without dressing like I see so many people do. We live in a sex-obsessed world and it's shallow and superficial. Besides, you want a mate that sees your true beauty as outward beauty fades but true beauty doesn't nor does true love. Take it from someone who has made this mistake too many times to count, you will attract what you put out there. It's all about respecting God and yourself as well as others in your life.
How many (and be honest) are a tiny bit afraid to share the Gospel with someone you don't know? I'll admit it, I've had far too many of those moments. Jesus Christ warned us to be careful how we treat strangers as we may be entertaining angels unawares. We should treat people with decency, love and respect. Turn the other cheek makes so much sense to me today. He isn't silencing us or telling us to let people beat us down, He is simply stating that to not react in kind keeps you out of trouble and could save your life or health and if you just walk away from offensive people rather than react in kind, you don't have to worry about getting into a huge fight over a few nasty words and possibly going to jail (these things can turn so violent in a heartbeat these days) or worse, killing or causing pain to another person. It's not worth it. However, there are times and places for everything and now is the day and hour to spread His plan of salvation. Let them get offended. That's a good thing. If they get mad, you hit a nerve. Conviction by the Holy Spirit is ALWAYS a good thing.
But back to the article I'm fixing to share. While I intentionally left out who wrote it because I believe they are far too legalistic and demand you give up almost anything "secular" in order to worship God correctly. Hanging pictures on the wall is to walk a thin line Spiritually. I also don't think everything they say is wrong either and have some good POVs and insight into prophecy but at the end, the teachings of Ellen G. White is their final authority, not the Word of God even though her prophecies have failed to come to pass repeatedly. I also don't think Jesus Christ left off any information so crucial as salvation until the last century. I believe the teachings of Jesus Christ and the Apostles are the best and we should all strive to do what they did. I believe prophecy is closed and no new and improved revelations are to come, only insights. We're warned not to add or take away from the Bible. If we do add or change scripture, we're actually saying we're inspired. I'm referring to different Gospels, different Jesus Christs, world-wide revelations on ways to Heaven or major prophetic events. We may (or not) be given minor prophecies but if they veer from scripture or over-write it, then that's man's imaginations or what they want it to mean. I think clarity is what we're given today and minor others but not one thing new in regards to salvation, Jesus Christ, grace, not being works-based to help us be saved or even this new doctrine of tongues and especially this Word of Faith and Seed Sowing doctrine...the Joel Osteens, Benny Hinns and Kenneth Copeland's of the world. This "little gods" teaching is heretical that I cringe when I hear it. Keeping all what I said in mine and yes, this was written by an off-shoot of the SDA church and I do not endorse it as a legitimate one, I do believe this is relevant.
This part of the post is written by Brenda Alexander on 6/25/17 and has nothing whatsoever to do with the writing of the article I posted beneath. If you share, please share this too because I do not want to be accused of pagerism (sp). This is not for vanity reasons at all. These are personal opinions and what I've witnessed during my life. Dress uniquely you and find something that works but doesn't put you in danger cos God really loves you and this has become a very, very dangerous world.
+ + + NEWS ARTICLE IS BELOW + + +
Deuteronomy 22:5 says: “A woman shall not wear anything that pertains to a man, nor shall a man put on a woman’s garment, for all who do so are an abomination to the Lord your God.”
Like many of the statutes, this law may have been needed partly because of the pagan customs in the surrounding cultures. The Jamieson, Fausset and Brown Commentary explains:
“Disguises were assumed at certain times in pagan temples. Maimonides…mentions that a man attired in a coloured female dress, in honour of Venus, Ashtaroth, or Astarte, and a woman equipped in armour, worshipped at the shrine of the statue of Mars…
“Asiatics, when they engaged in the worship of Ashtaroth, were accustomed, according to Philocorus, quoted by Townley (in his edition of Maimonides, note 33), to exchange the male and female dresses. In fact, all idolators confounded the sexes of their deities—representing them sometimes as male, at other times as female; and hence, their worshippers, male and female, fell gradually into the custom, which became extensively prevalent, of changing their attire in adaptation to the sex of a particular divinity.”
God’s command to Israel forbade the people from incorporating pagan religious rites into true worship. In spite of this instruction, today’s Christianity commonly mixes paganism in with the worship of Christ.
Does Deuteronomy 22:5 forbid women from wearing pants? No, it doesn’t. In fact, clothing “that pertains to a man” at the time the verse was written would not have been understood to mean pants. Men in the Middle East through the history of the Old and New Testaments did not ordinarily wear pants, trousers or slacks; they wore robe-like garments. And in many cultures such as in China, women have commonly worn pants. The scripture more specifically addresses and forbids transvestism and cross-dressing.
The underlying principle certainly applies to today. Men should dress in an appropriately masculine manner and women should dress in an appropriately feminine manner. Clothing manufacturers make pants designed for men, and pants, slacks and pantsuits designed for women. The Bible emphasizes modesty, and for women, slacks are often more modest than a short skirt.
God does not intend for this scripture to be understood in an extreme or unreasonable way. For example, it’s perfectly fine for a woman to wear her husband’s old shirt when she’s painting or to put on her male friend’s jacket when she’s cold.
For more insight, please read our article The Modesty Question: How Far is Too Far?
GOD BLESS, BE SPIRIT-FILLED, MUCH LOVE AND LOVE MUCH IN CHRIST JESUS...HE WHO SET YOU FREE!
No comments:
Post a Comment