1 Timothy 2:9-10 -- Dressing modestly

To catch up on our adventure through 1 Timothy, click here and read from the bottom post up.

1 Timothy 2:9-10 (NIV):

"I also want women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God."

Paul now turns his attention to the women. He says they are to dress:

1. modestly
2. with decency
3. with propriety

These suggest avoiding sexually suggestive clothing as well as ostentatious clothing. In other words, don't wear clothes that call attention to your body or to the clothes.

He gives some specific examples for their culture: braided hair, gold, pearls, expensive clothes. Interesting that none of these things are problems today--we've gone way beyond these issues!

In applying this verse it's important not to latch onto the cultural specifics of their day but to apply it more generally to our time and culture.

He seems to be telling women to avoid dressing suggestively or showy, and instead let their good deeds be the "talk of the town."

Whether you're a man or a woman, how you dress is important. You can dress in a way that is hip and yet doesn't go too far. Don't let how you dress be a stumbling block for other people. Women especially need to guard against dressing in such a way that they lead men down the wrong path in their minds.