God gave parents a charge to bring up their children in the ways of righteousness.  In the interest of this lesson, I will focus on girls.

“And ye shall teach them your children speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.”  Deuteronomy  11:19

Teach your daughters early on to dress modestly, and this means from the time they are born.  When they get into the pre-teen/teenage years, if they have had no instruction in God’s Word or what God desires regarding manner of dress, it will be much too late to teach them in those critical years.  They must be taught daily, so there will be no surprises later.  You cannot shut the flood gates once they are open.  Men, women, boys and girls are literally saturated with media today.  There is no getting away from it.  We can couple it with the public school and the enormous amount of influence friends and acquaintances have upon our children.  If you want your daughters to walk in Godly paths, and live closely to Him,  you will have to live His Truths yourself and teach them.  They will not pick up Godliness accidentally nor will they in a 45 minute class on Sunday or Wednesday.  Classes given on Lord’s day and Wednesday evenings are to reinforce training done in the home.  They were never designed to take the place of parents.

We may have to live in this world and be surrounded with all manner of evil, but we don’t have to live as the world does.  We must set a good example before the world, so they will know the difference between evil and Godliness.  We are now seeing our culture change rapidly as children of divorced parents/teaching of humanism within our schools/homosexuality/lesbianism/ pornography/immodest dress/cursing/lack of sober mindedness and the media at large, take a heavy toll upon youth.  These young and impressionable minds are being brainwashed by the media at large and influencing the thinking of our children, which explains so very much why many young people within the Lord’s church are leaving.  In short, a lack of teaching and training of God’s Word within the home and a dependence upon others to do what God has instructed us to do, and the consequences have now arrived on our doorstep and demand now to be faced.

“Be not deceived;  God is not mocked:  for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.”    Galatians 6:7

At one time our culture could blush at sin.  Today, however, there are no qualms nor blushing when students live together before marriage, (if they even believe in marriage).  I have seen parents even encourage immoral behavior in their children from drinking to drugs to illicit sex.  In these warped parent’s minds, they tell others they had rather their children behave this way in their home than to have the behavior while out on dates.  Focus on this mentality for a moment, for what I am writing is truth.  There are many parents teaching this very evil mentality to their children, more than one would like to believe.

“And said, O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to Thee, my God:  for our iniquities are increased over our head, and our trespass is grown up unto the heavens.”     Ezra 9:6

“Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination?  nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush:  therefore they shall fall among them that fall:  at the time that I visit them they shall be cast down, saith the Lord.”    Jeremiah 6:;15

“Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination?  nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush:  therefore shall they fall among them that fall:  in the time of their visitation they shall be sat down, saith the Lord.”       Jeremiah 8:12

“Teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; . . . .”     Titus 2:12

When I mention Walmart, everyone knows exactly what I mean.  Occasionally I will see properly clothed women in the store, but not that often, especially in the spring, summer and early fall.  Maybe it’s just me, but the lack of clothing on women and young women seems to be getting worse, and I am often made to wonder just how far this will go before it gets better…..if it gets better.

Young women with very short shorts, tank tops, sheer fabrics with underclothing showing through, and sometimes I see them enter the stores in pajamas and house shoes, as well as bathing suits.  Most have tattoos on their legs, arms and other unmentionable places decorating their bodies, which accounts for the lack of modest clothing.  After all, they want young men or a man to look at them.  At all the wrong places I might add.  If you do not want your daughters looked upon in a lustful manner, then teach them to dress as God would have them dress.  A fig leaf will not suffice.  God’s clothing is best.

“Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them.”    Genesis 3:21

There is something else which goes through my mind when I see young women in stores dressed in such attire.  I often wonder why parents spend their money and allow their daughters to dress in such immodesty.  Is nothing ever said to these young ladies?  They need Godly parents to instruct them from God’s Word in appropriate clothing.  Young women “think” they know, but they don’t realize they are inviting the wrong kind of attention from men and boys.  These young women have been sold a lie from the media that if they dress in a certain manner, they will get attention from the opposite sex.  It is true.  They will get attention, but a sleazy attention.

Once, while at Walmart, I saw a woman in the parking lot with no underclothing and a wet t-shirt.  You can only imagine.  I don’t know if these women are drunk or on drugs or just really don’t care how they look, but it is most disturbing to see our culture becoming so coarse and cavalier in their behavior in public.

And then while I was in town today, I saw a woman with very short shorts which left nothing to the imagination and an elastic top of some sort, which barely covered her.

The stories are legion.  I’m quite sure you have some of your own.  As fathers and mothers, the time has come to teach modesty within the home and to teach these Truths as He has instructed us in His Word.

“In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety;  not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array;  But which becometh women professing godliness with good works.”   I Timothy 2:9-10

“You can dress attractively without being immodest.  Within the Lord’s guidelines, there is room for you to be lively, vibrant, and beautiful both in your dress and in your actions.    ~ Monson

Eileen Light