not even a hint...

I just recently finished reading "Not Even a Hint", by Joshua Harris. He is an incredible author and I highly recommend his books.

"Not Even a Hint" deals with the issue of lust. Joshua discusses lust in a very straight forward and blunt way.
Even though I don't personally struggle with some of the topics he taught on, I found that the Biblical principles he shared to combat lust could be applied when confronting any habitual sin in my life.

Joshua Harris really hit hard on not trying to see how much sin we could handle but how much we could abstain from it. He talked about how easy it is to compromise in areas like movies or TV just for the sake of entertainment. He shared a story about going to a Block Buster to rent a movie for him and his wife to watch. He picked up a movie that had inappropriate content and as he made his way to the counter to check it out, the Lord kept prompting him to not rent it. He ignored his conscience and chose to check it out. As the girl at the counter checked out the movie her eyes got big as she saw his name come up on the computer screen. She looked up and said something like "Aren't you the guy that wrote 'I Kissed Dating Goodbye' "?

Another thing he touched on in his book was that lust is not just a "guy thing". Many women struggle with it too, to varying degrees. Whether a young woman is drooling over a handsome movie star or wallpapering her room with pictures of her favorite male singers it is lust. Sometimes womens' lust is overlooked ,or rather excused, because it is not as blatant as mens' but it is still sin.

Growing up my parents always told me to dress modestly so that I never caused a young man to stumble by what I was wearing. Reading "Not Even a Hint" made me that much more passionate about Biblical modesty. Men are very much responsible for their thought life, but as Christian women we should DESIRE to protect the minds of our brothers in Christ. We should want to encourage them in purity! We should love them enough to sacrifice certain styles of dress to exhort them in Christ likeness.
Men were created to react to our bodies, and when we wear clothing that is revealing or accentuates feminine features it is wrong because we are making it challenging for them to guard their hearts and minds.
God doesn't give us an exact list of what and what not to wear when it comes to our wardrobes but He IS passionate about modesty.

Likewise, I want women to adorn themselves with proper clothing, modestly and discreetly, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly garments, but rather by means of good works, as is proper for women making a claim to godliness. 1 Timothy 2:9-10

Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

Like a gold ring in a pig's snout is a beautiful woman without discretion. Proverbs 11:22

God sees lust as sin.

“For lust is a shameful sin, a crime that should be punished. It is a devastating fire that destroys to hell. It would wipe out everything I own.” – Job 31:11-12

“But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed because these are improper for God’s holy people” – Ephesians 5:3

"Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.
Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:
But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.
Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.
Do not err, my beloved brethren." James 1:12-16

What are your motives when you choose your clothing? Are you seeking to draw the wrong kind of attention and to please yourself? Or, do you strive to honor the Lord by dressing in a way that draws attention to you countenance?

Lust is a prevalent issue in our day. I want to take a stand against culture and embrace not only physical purity but emotional purity, which includes my thought life!


Here is a short clip that I think every young woman should watch.

http://youtu.be/6U9WJbzAg04

M.E.