Too Much Skin? Christian Minister Talks Lust, Modesty, Fashion
With summer fashions seemingly getting skimpier every season, some men may be finding it increasingly challenging to control wandering eyes and lustful thoughts -- at least that's what one minister has confessed.
Ohio church planter Charles Hill addresses the issue in an article titled "Butts and Boobs" published on his personal blog, "Chazz Daddy."
"Warm weather has broken out and my eyes are already tired. I am tired of seeing so many butts and boobs. From age 11 up…it is the trend. As a man…this is not good," the Christian minister writes in his post.
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Hill goes on to discuss the importance of modesty and staying true to the Lord, and suggests: "Let's start by not giving eye candy for free. Work hard to balance modesty and fashion. It's a chore, I know. My kids are in the latest fashions, but we draw a line on how much flesh can be hanging out!"
The Christian Post recently spoke with Hill who explained that the solution is not setting more rules or punishing those who dress inappropriately, but rather he feels what is necessary is "shaping the heart" to improve one's relationship with Christ.
"I didn't want to tell anybody how to dress. We need to think about how we're reflecting modesty, how we're reflecting values, and how we're reflecting Christ," Hill told CP, adding that immodest dress may also suggest immodest morality.
"I think the whole point has to do more with shaping the heart than shaping a federal rule. Jesus came to shape our hearts, not to give us more rules. Matter of fact, he did not like to rule people. He took the woman who was caught committing adultery and said 'learn from this, go and sin no more,'" Hill said.
"I don't think we need to teach specifics because I think the Holy Spirit will lead us there. I don't think there's anywhere in Scripture that tells you how to dress. Take Timothy, for example: women should not have braids on ornamental dressings in their hair. Do we literally take that today? No. It's the principle around it, that we should not be trying to draw attention to ourselves in a way that would be distracting in worship."
Hill argued that the solution to the pressures surrounding the growing exposure of "butts and boobs" is for young men and women to realize that they are far more worthy of God's eternal love than the momentary attention they receive through visual, lustful attraction. Men and women should look deeper and harness the true principle of attractiveness, which is to remain appealing to the Lord, first and foremost.
The Ohio minister added that men will always, on a physiological level, have lustful feelings toward women.
Hill said he doesn't believe issues related to immodest clothing necessarily have to do with sex, as one of God's first commandments in the Bible is to procreate. Rather, the issue has to do with lust, and controlling lustful urges.
"The first thing that God told us to do was to find a mate, the second thing He taught us to do was to have sex," Hill argues.
"I think, like anything, the Bible doesn't say it's wrong to drink, the Bible says it's wrong to be drunk. The Bible doesn't say it's wrong to eat food, it's wrong to eat too much food. Anything in excess can be wrong."
"What goes in your eyes, goes in your mind, settles in your heart, and becomes an action," the Ohio minister said as a reminder to young men.
For women, Hill suggested that beauty and self-worth come from the Lord, not another man's visual approval. "Put your heart and your values in the Lord and not in relationships of the flesh," he said.
Hill is a church planter, consultant, and coach based near Columbus, Ohio. He and his wife, Tiffany, have two adolescent daughters.
