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Why
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And I have loved thee, Ocean!
And my joy of youthful sports
was on thy breast
To be borne like thy bubbles, onward
From a boy I wantoned with thy breakers
They to me were a delight
And if the freshening sea made them a terror
Twas a pleasing fear
For I was as it were a child of thee
And trusted to thy billows far and near
And laid my hand upon thy mane – as I do here
— Lord Byron
ll my life I have loved water and most all water sports. Just
this week, I bruised my rib surfing in the
Problem: this love for
water has caused me conflict because of the common attire that is worn. Water
activities are engaged either in bikinis or with bare chests.
So why does this have to be
a problem? Some would say, “Scott you have changed, why the change?” So, let’s
answer the question. What has caused me to re-think bikini clad girls and bare chested boys swimming in my lake.
There are at least five things that have caused the change.
1. A Biblical Understanding
of History
2. A Biblical Understanding on Modesty
3. A Biblical Understanding of Clothing
4. A Biblical Understanding of Nakedness
5. A Biblical Understanding of Temptation
1. A Biblical Understanding of History
Understanding the times is
a Christian virtue. And, viewing the flow of history, through a biblical
filter, is the way that history should be understood. So, a few years ago I
read a book by Jeff Pollard, Christian Modesty and the Public Undressing of
America, where he documents a historical perspective on modesty. Among
other things, the book chronicles the reasons for the drift away from modesty
in the last one hundred years.
Over the last hundred
years, we have had, as Jeff Pollard has said, “The public undressing of
1890’s: Swimwear was
modified street clothing
1910: Arms
were exposed
1920: You
would be arrested if you appeared in a modest 21st century
bathing suit
1920’s:
Legs and backs were exposed
1930’s:
Cleavage was exposed and men began to swim bare chested
1935: Two
piece bathing suits appeared with a small break between upper and lower half
1940’s: New
fabrics appeared which hugged the body
1960’s:
Navels were exposed
Today: Anything goes... One
piece suits with fabrics like skin that really leaves nothing to the
imagination and bikinis of various categories prevail as normal.
Today, the fashions are so
pervasively broadcast over every media outlet that everyone dresses the same when
they swim. Movies and TV have so popularized nakedness, that if you challenge
it, you are not thought of as being very accepting. In fact, if you do cover
your body it seems odd.
Jeff Pollard says it this
way, “Fashion designers have used swimwear to undress
So it is time to shout it
out with perfect clarity: “The empress has no clothes!”.
For the last two generations we have been told that swimwear is about fashion.
They say, “Fashion is neutral. Don’t criticize fashion, it is only fashion.”
No! It is public nakedness.
My evaluation of the modern
bathing suit is that it is nakedness thinly veiled. And, they are not
appropriate for public display. My solution is to cover them up with shorts or
some kind of top that keeps private the details.
I have come to the place
where I am not willing to continue in the direction our culture has taken us.
We have followed the styles further than we should have. We have slowly arrived
at the place where we are “ok” with our daughters and wives wearing less than
underwear in public.
As popular dress exposes
nakedness it should be rejected, as it is rejected at the Brown’s lake. I am
not willing to keep following fashion.
2. A Biblical Understanding on Modesty
The 1983 version of
Webster’s dictionary describes modesty in this way:
Behaving according to a
standard of what is proper or decorous; decent; pure; now, especially not
displaying ones body.
Webster is helpful, but
Scripture speaks with divine authority regarding modesty. In this case, the
scriptural understanding is consistent with Webster’s.
I Timothy 2:9-10 makes it
clear that God has something to say about how women dress. He is interested in
both your appearance and your heart. He is not only interested in your heart.
It is not truthful to say that God does not care how you dress, as long as your
heart is right. These verses make it clear that appearance is important.
Most American Christians do
not want anyone to talk about how to dress, but here in this passage of
scripture, God is telling the people in the
When it comes to dress,
Americans are under the nurture and admonition of popular magazines and
In I Timothy 2:9-10, Paul uses
three words that describe the kind of apparel that women should wear:
A. Orderly Clothing – “Kosmeo’ – Order
We get our word, cosmetics
from this word. It means to, “To adorn, arrange, put
in order.” It implies harmonious orderly arrangement, instead of rumpled,
uncoordinated chaos.
B. Modest Clothing –‘Aidos” Shamefacedness
This describes the state of
mind that governs dress: respectful timidity, not showy, honoring others, not
attracting attention. It is a blend of modesty and humility.
George Knight explains the
meaning of “shamefacedness” in this way:
Reverence,
awe, respect for the feeling or opinion of others or for one’s own conscience
and to shame, self-respect... sense of honour. That
habitual self government with it’s constant reign on
all it’s passions and desires, which would hinder the temptation from
arising... — George
Knight, Commentary on Ephesians, P134
William Hendrickson
suggests that shamefacedness ‘indicates a sense of shame, a shrinking from trespassing the boundaries of propriety.” — William
Hendrickson, New Testament Commentary, p106
I don’t think many people
could argue very effectively against the idea that we have lost a sense of
shame regarding dress. It is harder and harder to find clothing that allows
modesty. Why, because it is not fashionable to dress modestly as evidenced by a
review of the clothing seen in the public in our land. They are places of
revealing, not modest clothing.
C. Moderate Clothing - “Sophrosunes”, or Understatement
This word calls for
“soundness of mind, self control, passions and desires, a self control which
holds the reins over Propriety” It is a word that implies moderation; humility;
without shame; honorable to God; self control; hating sin.
This sets modesty in
opposition to elaborate hairstyles and expensive clothing.
In summary there are at
least two areas that Paul is addressing for the men and women in the church. As
Paul exposes some specific types of apparel that are familiar to all of his
hearers, he is forbidding this kind of apparel among believers. So I will, here in the 21st century, do the same for us.
It is appropriate for me to take the principles that Paul has given and compare
them to the popular experience.
Paul is forbidding the
imitation of worldly fashion in two specific areas:
1. Sensual/Sexually
explicit
2. Ostentatious/Expensive
All women’s clothing
whether on land or sea should not call out “fashion, sex, pride”, but it should
call out “God, purity, humility.”
Paul wants to motivate the
women in
3. A Biblical Understanding of Clothing
If you look at what
scripture says about clothing, you find that clothing is meant for covering the
body, not revealing it. Scripture tells us that sin is the reason for the need
to clothe the body. Since the fall, we are no longer naked and unashamed.
Genesis 3:7 And the eyes
of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed
fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.
Genesis 3:10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was
afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.
Genesis
Scripture adequately
answers the question, “Why Clothing”? The answer, ‘To cover
nakedness.”
But if you go to the
shopping malls to look for clothing and walk the streets and the beaches to see
what folks were wearing, you would think that the purpose of clothing was to
reveal your body to excite and entice men, not cover it. The predominance of
tight shirts, halter tops, string bikinis, tube tops, mini skirts, belly
shirts, swimwear, and athletic clothing tell the story quite effectively.
The joys of swimming or
opportunities for participation in certain types of athletics are not adequate
reasons to ignore God’s purpose for clothing. But, there are hosts of people in
our churches who think that if you are swimming or competing in track and
field, it is ok to go half naked or wear revealing clothing.
We have done with clothing
the same thing we have done with art. It is exempt from biblical evaluation.
For example, most everyone reveres the artistic contributions of Michelangelo
and Leonardo Da Vinci, who are arguably the most
talented painters and sculptors in the history of mankind. Who were these men?
Their works were primarily influenced by pagan Greek philosophy which glorified
and exposed the naked body. Under the influence of homosexuality, they produced
some of the most adored homoerotic sculptures and paintings of the gay
community. We call it art.
Somehow, in the evangelical
community, art and fashion have become exempt from biblical evaluation. Call
naked sculpture “art”, and modern swimwear “fashion”, if you will, but let’s
just be honest and give it the other label it deserves: public nakedness.
Unfortunately for swimwear shoppers, public nakedness is forbidden in the
Bible.
4. A Biblical Understanding of Nakedness
What does the Bible say
about nakedness? We know that we are “fearfully and wonderfully made.” We know
that we are made in “the image of God.” The human body is obviously a marvel.
God Himself invented sex and the joys of marital nakedness. We know that the
Song of Solomon glorifies the shape of a man and a woman. But, do we find encouragement
for the public unclothed display of the human body? Do we find examples of a
favorable view of public nakedness? Do we find a record of godly artists
depicted in scripture who display the naked human form in a favorable light?
No!
When you look up the
instances of the word “naked” or “nakedness” you find a certain approach and
attitude that should shape our view. Here are a few passages that give the
right approach.
Genesis 9:22 And Ham,
the father of
Genesis 9:23 And Shem
and Japheth took a garment, and laid it upon both their shoulders, and went
backward, and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were
backward, and they saw not their father’s nakedness.
Exodus 28:42 And thou shalt make them linen
breeches to cover their nakedness; from the loins even unto the thighs they
shall reach:
Leviticus 18:6 None of
you shall approach to any that is near of kin to him, to uncover their
nakedness: I am the LORD.
Leviticus 18:7 The nakedness of thy father, or the nakedness of thy mother,
shalt thou not uncover: she is thy mother; thou shalt not uncover her nakedness.
Exodus 32:25 And when
Moses saw that the people were naked; (for Aaron had made them naked unto their
shame among their enemies:)
Revelation 16:15 Behold,
I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk
naked, and they see his shame.
It is clear that uncovering
nakedness is sinful behavior. It is shameful to reveal the naked body. But in
our culture, it is a virtue to reveal it. The world says, “If you’ve got it,
flaunt it.” The Bible says that nakedness should be covered and that you should
be ashamed of yourself if you “flaunt it.” This causes us problems because we
live in a christian culture
that accepts nakedness when it is seen at the beach, when it is displayed in a
sports event, when it is seen in the art gallery, when it is watched in the
media and when it is displayed in the church. At least we are being consistent.
Where did we get the idea
that naked sculptures and pictures are acceptable and desirable? The Bible does
not endorse art with nakedness. Pagan cultures do. Unfortunately, our Greek and
Roman roots inform in this area far more than the Bible. We should not forget
that some of our most revered artifacts of Greek sculpture were produced by
homosexual, pagan artists.
So what about bare chestedness among men? It is eminently more comfortable to
swim without a shirt on. However, I believe that the principle of nakedness
applies here. At the Brown pond, I recommend wearing a T-shirt or a surfing
shirt sometimes called a “rash guard.”, which is made
of polyester and is much more comfortable in water.
5. A Biblical Understanding of Temptation
There should be a sense of
shame for distracting someone from purity. There should be a sense of shame for
having a distracting appearance.
A woman who hates sin would
have shame to tempt in any way. This is why Jesus is so clear about causing
other people to stumble.
Matthew 18:6-10
But whoever causes one
of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a
millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the
sea. Woe to the world because of offenses! For offenses must come, but woe to
that man by whom the offense comes! If your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut
it off and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life lame or
maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet, to be cast into the
everlasting fire. And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it
from you. It is better for you to enter into life with one eye, rather than
having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire. Take heed that you do not despise
one of these little ones, for I say to you that in heaven their angels always
see the face of My Father who is in heaven.
This is why we should
counsel our Christian wives and daughters to rid their wardrobes of tight
clothing and modern bathing suits that expose the body rather than understate it’s form.
Joshua Harris writes:
Girls, you have an
equally important role. Remember the wayward woman we discussed earlier? Your
job is to keep your brothers from being led astray by her charms. Please be
aware of how easily your actions and glances can stir up lust in a guy’s mind.
You may not realize
this, but we guys most commonly struggle with our eyes. I think many girls are
innocently unaware of the difficulty a guy has in remaining pure when looking
at a girl who is dressed immodestly. Now I don’t want to dictate your wardrobe,
but honestly speaking, I would be blessed if girls considered more than fashion
when shopping for clothes. Yes, guys are responsible for maintaining self
control, but you can help by refusing to wear clothing designed to attract
attention to your body.
I know the world tells
you that if you have a nice body, you should show it off. And we men have only
helped feed this mentality. But I think you can play a part in reversing this
trend. I know many girls who would look great in shorter skirts or tighter
blouses, and they know it. But they choose to dress modestly. They take the
responsibility of guarding their brother’s eyes. To these women and others like
them, I’m grateful.”
“and
let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds”
(Hebrews
Without question, the
modern swimsuit has created a new spectator sport called girl watching. Men
understand this better than anyone. It is incredibly distracting to have an
immodestly dressed female nearby.
So yes, I have changed my
mind about swimwear. It happened a few years ago, particularly after I read
Jeff Pollards book and began examining the scriptures. Above are the reasons I
feel that at least in my area of supervision, that there are different
standards of modesty than you see on the beach and the swim parties. Biblical
teaching on modesty, clothing, nakedness, and temptation are enough for me to
be more careful that I have been in the past.
So, here are some
guidelines that I believe are consistent with the biblical teaching on modesty
and clothing and nakedness. So, if you are swimming here in my domain, here are
some suggestions. Women, should wear a shirt and
shorts over their bathing suits. There should be an effort to cover the
details. For men, I ask for shirts or some kind of upper body covering. And,
obviously, no speedos!
As Jeff Pollard has rightly
said, anyone who takes on this subject will either be accused of being a
libertine or a legalist. I realize this and pray that all of us, in the midst
of this “wicked and perverse generation”, will seek to be affected by the Word
of God more than anything else.
Scott T. Brown is the
director of the NCFIC, a pastor, business man, church leader and elder at
Trinity Baptist Church in Wake Forest, North Carolina. He graduated from