An Open Letter to Young Ladies

The following is a letter published in the Lost River Church of Christ bulletin from a young Christian man. It is certainly worthy of our attention.

Dear girls,

I know this is something you may not be comfortable with, but I hope you will pay attention to what I have to say from a guy's point of view. I know that you all love God with all of your hearts and that you are willing to do whatever is necessary to please Him and live eternally in heaven, so I know you will understand what i will write.

As a guy, it seems like girls are always on my mind. The thing is, as a Christian, I am commanded not to even look upon a woman to lust after her, and let me tell you, that is something that is very hard not to do. I remember sitting in class and not being able to concentrate on my work at all because of what the girl in front of me was wearing! Regular old jeans and a T-shirt. God made us with a desire for the opposite sex, and I tell you the truth when I say that it's possible for a guy to lust after a girl even if she is wearing modest clothes. On top of that, the styles these days are getting more and more indecent. If you go to a high school you will find girls wearing clothes that scream out "LOOK AT THIS!" and you can see what kind of underwear they are wearing, its color, and pretty much whatever else you want to know. Then all the girls walk up to her and say, "Oh, aren't you just adorable?" Tight pants, tube tops, low-cut shirts, belly shirts and backless shirts are all acceptable to the world, but are designed to get guys to look and lust and many girls think that is how to get a guy to like them. Some girls just wear these clothes because they are in style without caring about its effect on guys. But I ask you, how can a girl expect to set an example as a Christian if the only thing a guy can think about is what's underneath her clothes? So you See, society doesn't look at modesty the way a godly woman should, and because of this the Christian girl is constantly told that immodesty is good.

But there is an enormous difference here. Society thinks that it's only natural to lust. Society encourages lust. I encourage You to test what society says and compare it to the truth of God's word. Realize the fact that if you wear immodest clothes, not only are you conforming to the world, but you make it easy for a fellow brother in Christ to stumble and sin before God.

Let me say one more thing. This may be the most important of all. What do you see in your future? I hope you envision yourself married to a man who places God at the center of his life and doesn't let anything get in his way. I hope you envision yourself married to a man that doesn't take stock in the things of the world, but stores his treasure in heaven so that as you and he grow old, he won't look at you and wonder where your beauty went, he will look at you and wonder how you keep getting more beautiful as you age. I hope you envision yourself married to a man who keeps God in your marriage and loves you all the more because of it. And I hope you envision a man who will help you get to heaven. The advice I give you now is, if you really want a man of this caliber, now is the time to prepare yourself for him. If you do not dress as a moral, godly, Christian woman, a strong Christian man will not be impressed by your lewd appearance.

There is a warning addressed to men in Proverbs 5:3 that says: "The lips of an immoral woman drip honey, and her mouth is smoother than oil; but in the end she is bitter as wormwood...her feet go down to hell." I hope you read this passage and see a reason to be a godly woman, because a Christian man reads this and realizes not to enter the path of the immoral woman. a godly man should do his best to resist a woman such as this, so I ask the question, why in the world would you want a truly godly man to resist you? A godly man is attracted to a girl's purity and zeal for God, not simply for her physical features that are passing away.

Thank you for listening to me and I hope you understand that males have such an infatuation with females that you don't have to show off your body to get their attention. Show off your inside, not your outside. And I hope you realize that being immodest can have a serious effect on a guy that may be struggling already. Finally, I want you to know I pray for you. May you all someday be the "virtuous wife: described in Proverbs 31.