Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Bad Clothes

Last summer, I went to Ichthus Music Festival in Kentucky. It had almost every big Christian band out there: Casting Crowns, Swiftfoot, RED, Lecrae, Thousand Foot Krutch, Aaron Gillespie, Disciple, The Afters, Addison Road, Skillet, The Devil Wears Prada, Philmont, tobyMac, Newsboys, Barlowgirl, and scores more. Since music is such a huge obsession of mine, this was naturally a heaven-on-earth experience. The only downside is it an's outside event, so it was very hot, day and night. Tempurature never fell below 90. Everyone was sweaty, stinky, and desperate for shade or water. Nevertheless, it was a great experience. The festival is held at a farm with seven stages, at which artists perform from noon to 2 AM. Twenty-five thousand people attend the festival last summer, most of them teenagers. I went with some friends, among them being my best friend David. As we walked around the festival, it felt as if we were at a small town. It had skating parks, showerhouses, merch tents, food vendors, autograph tents, radio tents, seven stages, and hundreds of camp sites, overfilling with RVs and tents. It was surreal!

It's a Christian event with scores and scores of popular and unknown Christian bands. Chick-Fil-A was there, along with many big name speakers, and several well-known Christian radio stations were there as sponsors. So naturally, my friend David and I believed that many people there would be Christians. Right? Not exactly. David and I were surprised at the many teenage couples there. Not everybody was a couple, but there were far more pairs or threes than I expected. But that wasn't what really caught my eye. What truly shocked us was the immodesty of the girls. I only saw a few of girls wearing modest shorts. Only a handful of teenage girls wore long shorts or jeans. Granted, it was very hot, but I had a feeling it wasn't simply the heat to blame for the incredible amount of skin shown. The shirts were not as immodest, but there was still an very surprising amount of cleavage revealed. The countless number of short shorts and diving necklines that the young women clad themselves in worried me. As David and I discussed the issue, we were very surprised at the lack of integrity or modest at a Christian event. The Bible makes it clear Christians should "flee from sexual immorality", and these girls were literally dressing in sexual temptation!

If these girls dressed that way at a hot festival away from home, they likely dressed that way when it was hot at home, too. What did that mean? While I won't jump to conclusions and say that girls who dress poorly aren't Christians, I am saying that girls who dress poorly are sinning. And while I'm not saying that simply attending Christian festivals makes you a Christians, I'm saying that around 90% of the teenage girls at this Christian festival (a festival with 25,000 people) were not dressed like a strong Christian girl would. And while I certainly don't want to judge anyone based on their clothes, I do dare oppose the young women who call themselves lovers of God but willingly dress as prostitutes. If you feel like I'm stepping on your toes here, think about it this way. If 90% percent of the young men at a Christian festival or conference were cussing, or getting into fights, or being handsy with girls, wouldn't you say they would be acting like non-Christians?

I expected a few immodestly dressed girls, and I wouldn't be upset if a few scantily clad girls showed up at church. But what if almost every teenage girl at your church dressed poorly? How could that reflect on the church, or the youth ministry, or even the young girls' relationship with God? It'd be wrong to say that wearing skimpy clothing makes you a non-Christian. But it'd be incorrect to say that racy clothing isn't harmful or appropriate or that it doesn't tempt.

4 comments:

Ashley said...

*claps* Good post!

Sophie said...

Nice job, Logan, way to be bold. As a girl, I would be expected to defend my rights as a girl to dress however I want...but I'm right with you:) We need to live lives in which there is not even a hint of sexual immorality...and dressing like that is MORE than a hint! Clothing like that (and behavior like that) definitely makes one question if not the salvation, the sincerity of the person's walk with God.
There are many "role models" out there, even in the "christian" entertainment world that, by their own dress standards, show "christian" girls that they can dress just like the world!
Isn't it wonderful that we are called to live set apart?

Jennifer said...

It is disappointing to say the least. I've rarely been in a Christian circle where the girls HAVEN'T dressed like prostitutes.

Shay said...

Again I agree. I just want to point out though something about modesty that most people don't think about...While most people focus on modesty so we won't tempt our christian brothers ( which is hugely important! don't get me wrong.) Our clothing should ultimately reflect who God is. If I am an Ambassador to the Lord...Don't you think I should dress like it? Have you ever seen an ambassador or representative dressed skimpy or for that matter even sloppily? No, you don't and if you do well then they are not good representatives are they?

I say this because I have always tried to be modest since I gave my life to Christ...but before last year I did it solely because I was suppose too and for my christian brothers sake. I didn't fully get it until an older friend of mine said this..."If you had an appointment with God what would you wear? God is with you everyday,everywhere,so dress like it." She didn't mean I had to wear my best everyday but she meant to make sure my clothes are acceptable and do represent where my heart lies.

sorry for practically writing a blog post in your comments. You can tell I am passionate about this issue though =D