Article: Apparel in God’s Sense | Sheeba Robinson, Nagpur

1 Timothy 2: 9,“Likewise also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control,…”

If you are a believer, and if you have a baby daughter in your family, what kinds of dresses you will opt to buy for your baby. It’s good that you want your child to look good, wearing good clothes, but always remember that your babies, specially daughters, whom God has entrusted with you, are not the trophies for the world to be displayed each and every day.

I would like to share a small incident that came across sometime back. On a Sunday as I was sitting in the Church, a family came with their daughter around 7-8 years old, very sweet child. She was wearing a backless dress. Her back portion of the dress was fully open. Since being a small child, she was walking around continuously inside and outside the Church. Could you just imagine how many lustful eyes might have enjoyed over that small innocent child’s body? This child in fact, doesn’t even know anything about all these things..
Who’s responsible for this? None other than the parents.. who knowingly/ unknowingly showing off their child’s beauty all over the world, sharing through pictures, on many other social media sites. In that way, you are exposing your beautiful child to the whole world physically as well as spiritually to devour over him/her with all kinds of eyes committing adultery with your child, without their knowledge.

Please read, Matthew 5: 28,
“But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”

When kids are very small, and can’t make choices for themselves, at that time it’s parents’ responsibility to teach and make them to wear decent clothes at home and outside as well. As you being a mother/ father for your babies, you must have a clear understanding of this, that whenever you dress up your child, make sure and be aware that your child is wearing clothes to cover his/her body, not as a show off to anyone.

Being a mother, when you yourself wear decent clothes at home and outside as well, and your child also watches you from a very young age, you wearing only respectable apparel. While growing up she might ask you, ‘Mom, why can’t I wear the kind of dresses as my friends wear? Why I always look different from all others? Why, since my childhood I’ve seen you in dresses like these, and you call it respectable? Even in Church also, mostly people wear all kinds of stuff, why can’t we?’

Then, make your child understand this from a very tender age, at home itself, what the Bible says in 1 Corinthians 6: 19-20,
“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.”

When you are taking your kids to a gathering/ market/ party, dressed in the exposing manner, many people will be looking at your child and sometimes touching him/her. May be through their words, they might even praise your child, but what’s their intention in their hearts, you wouldn’t be having any idea. At a very young age, knowingly or unknowingly, you are exposing your child to the evil world, which is full of lust and sinful nature.

As we read above, in Matthew 5: 28, “But I say to you that everyone who looks…”

In today’s world, is there any age to commit any sin?
The moment your child comes in contact with this lustful eyes, the evil spirit of lust starts to follow your child everywhere, even in dreams. Even this can happen with a male child also. Gradually, as the kids grow, they will become rebellious in their nature.
Next, in kids’ behaviour you will see slight disobedience. When they grow a little more, unknowingly they will develop more feelings and attractions towards all kinds of people and things in the world.

There can be a lot of different reasons for a child or a person to behave like this, but this time I humbly request you to kindly focus on this important point.

Firstly, the parents must understand that the difference between the worldly and the Godly lives.
When we see people all around the world, we can see everyone running in an unknown race called “Fashion”?
You please hold on…

As we read in the Word of God, Romans 12: 2a, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind…”
What does the Word of God say here? We, the children of God cannot live, talk, walk, eat, drink, wear, watch, go out /present ourselves, as the worldly people do. The places where they go, we cannot go and the things that they do, we can’t do. There’s a great difference between a person, who’s a born-again and an unbeliever.

As we read above from, 1 Timothy 2: 9, it says, “Likewise also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel…” Even the way we and our children dress up should be pleasing and acceptable in God’s sight. When a child of God moves outside in the world wearing respectable clothing, s/he will be saved from all kinds of lustful eyes.

When God created Adam and Eve, as we read in Genesis 2: 25, they were both naked, and they felt no shame, because they were covered and protected by Heavenly/ spiritual covering. But when they disobeyed God, they realised that they were naked, because the covering of Heavenly protection was broken.
Likewise, when a person accepts Christ as his/her personal Savior and becomes a New Creation, s/he instantly receives a covering of Heavenly protection upon his/her life. That person will be completely guarded from all kinds of evil, if that person continues to live his/her personal and family life in full obedience to Christ. Then, we read in Psalm 23:4, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I’ll fear no evil, for You are with me.” This is our confidence in Christ.

When you or your children are even a Born-again, but don’t have this knowledge and not living according to the Word of God, then you are open to face many problems in your life, or through your childrens’ lives as they grow up…
Always keep in mind, when your children reach to teens and to the youth, if many unbelievers are after your son/ daughter, then remember “a sewage attracts many flies”.…. Please don’t let this situation happen in your life and family.. Don’t take it as the world takes it, this world calls it “Popularity”.. God’s people cannot go after all the worldly things.

I would like to let you know that there are some weird things happening in this world. Some people with evil intentions are specifically assigned by devil to make things such as, clothing, accessories, utensils, paintings, antic pieces, perfumes, and many other things. These are specially designed to destroy the precious lives of God’s people.
Have you seen T-shirts with some writings on it like, “Behemoth, Lucifer, Queen of oceans, pictures of mermaid…” ? Now you see from where these are coming?
And when people start wearing it, these evil things start to activate in their lives and control their lives as well.

Have you ever noticed that in one or two generations back, why the daughters in the Godly houses were so diligent? Why they were so happily married and lived with children around them? Why there were not many divorces occurred? Why there were not many suicides in youths happened? Why they used to value their families more?

These people must have lived in full obedience to Christ. And they never had any access to this kind of exposure, which the people have now, like internet, gadgets and social media etc…

But then, in this age what is happening, why there’s a drastic change in everything we see? The institution of marriage, which God has made so beautiful and holy for His people, has now become just a show-piece or just a trend to follow?

Kindly do try to understand what the Spirit of the Lord wants you to learn from it.
We read in Proverbs 31: 30, “Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.”

Then see what the Bible says in Romans 12: 1, “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.”

I would like to request you one last thing that, whenever you come home after any shopping, even before keeping things at their proper places, please take a precious moment and place your hands upon the things and pray for a while, say,
“Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for all the things. I pray for each and every thing which I bought. I disconnect all the things from it’s every evil origin, and I cover all the things with the precious Blood of Lord Jesus Christ. I bless everything in Jesus Christ name. Amen!”

Dear People of God, I urge you those who are reading this, please don’t make yourself and your children an open prey to the devil and letting him play with your and your childrens’ lives and destroy it.
Do ask the Holy Spirit to help you to understand in a better way and help you to present your and your childrens’ bodies as a living sacrifices to God, as your bodies are His temple, and you can glorify Him in your bodies… God bless you!

Sheeba Robinson, Nagpur.