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RobertW Member
Joined: 2004/2/12 Posts: 4636 St. Joseph, Missouri
| Re: | | When I was a teenager I heard and old timey preacher giving advice to men in a sermon. He commented that the men would not be nearly as lustful after other women if they would stop forbidding their wives to look 'nice'.
He commented to the effect (speaking to pentecostal holiness men) that they are particularly bad about trying to dress their wives as poorly as they could and then wondered why they had a lust problem. If you would buy your wife some nice clothes like those you may actually be attracted to her instead of that other woman.
I found it to be good wisdom. ;-)
I don't believe that a person has to look bad to be holiness. I think the motivation has to be right. If a man or woman seeks to exalt themselves or draw attention to themselves by their dressing, it could be sin. In a church gathering you run the risk of dividing the worship. This could be male or female.
_________________ Robert Wurtz II
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2008/12/31 20:57 | Profile |
HeartSong Member
Joined: 2006/9/13 Posts: 3179
| Re: | | Robert W,
First you say this:
Quote:
Truly, if God were to jerk the covers on most peoples lives I believe there would be great distress.
And then you say this:
Quote:
I don't believe that a person has to look bad to be holiness.
Please clarify for it sounds as if you are saying that people that wear simple clothing and/or do not wear make up "look bad" . . . |
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2008/12/31 21:24 | Profile |
| Re: | | Personally my husband is more concerned about weight than make-up. Eating right is the best thing and I find that people who eat right and excercise glo. They look good and feel good about themselves but not b/c their beautiful but because they just have a natural radiance that comes from taking care of themselves.
I find that those who are the most beautiful in the world when it comes to beauty are radiant with the life of Christ and it's spiritual not physical. :-)
Proverbs 31:30 Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised.
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2008/12/31 21:49 | |
PaulWest Member
Joined: 2006/6/28 Posts: 3405 Dallas, Texas
| Re: | | Quote:
I find that those who are the most beautiful in the world when it comes to beauty are radiant with the life of Christ and it's spiritual not physical.
Very true. Amen. _________________ Paul Frederick West
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2008/12/31 22:01 | Profile |
ginnyrose Member
Joined: 2004/7/7 Posts: 7534 Mississippi
| Re: | |
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Sister, I would encourage you to seek to please Christ and not men. And be confident in Christ and have your self-esteem in Him.
rbetty, I think the above answer is an excellent one. Once you resort to rationalizing you are working to find reasons to [i]not[/i] do what the Holy Spirit is leading you to do. We usually do not understand all the reasons why God wants us to do certain things, but we must be obedient anyways. This act of obedience is called 'faith'!
Best wishes and God bless, ginnyrose _________________ Sandra Miller
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2008/12/31 23:13 | Profile |
HomeFree89 Member
Joined: 2007/1/21 Posts: 797 Indiana
| Re: | | Quote:
I myself still wear mascara. I know that the Lord would rather that I did not, but I have blond eyelashes and I have worn it for so long that I feel ugly without it.
Since I'm a young man, I would like to approach you with respect and ask you, HeartSong, a sincere question. Why are you telling this young lady not to wear make-up when you still do? Even when you know the Lord would rather you not wear it.
I do not ask this to start a fight, but rather for us to examine and see what damage this might do.
Blessings to you! _________________ Jordan
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2009/1/1 11:06 | Profile |
ccchhhrrriiisss Member
Joined: 2003/11/23 Posts: 4779
| Re: | | Hi HomeFree89... Quote:
Why are you telling this young lady not to wear make-up when you still do? [u]Even when you [b]know[/b] the Lord would rather you not wear it[/u].
Isn't this just the type of topic that we should NOT speak with such bold absolutes? Should we act as though we have a monopoly on the thoughts of God regarding issues that are not entirely clear from His Word? This is often a problem in a forum of believers from different backgrounds. Sometimes, we are so assured of our views that we would insist that those views are straight from the heart and mind of God. I just don't think that it is wise to place words of thoughts into the mouth of God that aren't entirely clear from His Word.
If the underlying problem with makeup is immodesty...then is it possible to wear at least some makeup in a modest way? My wife does wear a very limited amount of makeup from time to time. So does my mother. They don't "cake" on makeup and limit its use quite a bit...but it is just something they do to enhance their natural beauty (in my opinion, no different from women who prefer to wear a particular color to "bring out their eyes" or men who wear gel or hairspray to keep their hair from looking unkept). I know many other godly women who feel the liberty to wear some makeup. Believe me when I say this: This isn't done to draw ungodly attention to themselves.
Our body is certainly the temple of the Holy Spirit. Yet even the early temple was ordained with materials meant to enhance its beauty. Read I Samuel chapter 7 and learn about all of the "unnecessary" additions to the Temple of Solomon -- including sculptured lilies, pomogranates, cheribum, lions and palm trees. These things weren't needed for the service of the Lord...yet were included in the construction anyway. Now, I am not saying that we should all go out and "enhance" our features with makeup, particular colors of clothing or nice haircuts or doses of hairspray. Rather, I feel that such petty issues are a personal matter between a person's conscience as they strive to please God.
Would it be proper to speak as if we have a 100% certainty regarding the thoughts of God about this...or should we inject those two words of disclaimer that reveal our own limited humanity: "[i]I feel[/i]..." I have actually heard comments about people with various opinions in such matters. One brother made a remark about a woman, "[i]If that woman REALLY knew the heart of God, she wouldn't wear those pants...[/i]" I angrily told him, "[i]If you really wanted to please God, you wouldn't gossip about her behind her back[/i]!" (I did apologize to him later). I just think that we should strive to please God with a clear conscience...and not inject our opinions or suppositions of the matter without identifying them as such.
This wonderful little sister, rbetty, visited our little forum and asked a sincere question. We should be very careful on how we answer her...as any "certainty" of this issue is unclear in the Scriptures -- no matter how we feel about it. I am sure that God has an opinion of the matter...but not in a Pharisitical way.
I looked up the word "makeup in the Bible" on Google...and there were at least a dozen web articles on the first few pages that speak with such absolutes regarding the matter -- all claiming to know the "truth" about it. Yet the whole "truth" of the matter is that the Bible does not address the issue of makeup specifically, and that our "guesses" or "beliefs" are only created after reading supporting passages and deducing that they relate to makeup. We need to be extremely mindful to clarify the difference between what we FEEL the Lord thinks of such a matter and what we KNOW the Lord thinks.
The underlying principle, in my opinion, is regarding issues of vanity and modesty. We must strive to live, move and have our being while forsaking fleshly vanity and immodesty. Yet I know men who wear no makeup yet live for the vanity of their bodies. They don't use makeup, but they wear "sharp" clothing (even nice suits), well pressed shirts with creases, fine tapered hair cuts and well-polished shoes. I somehow think that the poor guy who wears his "everyday" outfit of old shirts and jeans or slacks to "Church" might somehow be less vain than these.
None of us wear the uncomfortable garments (mostly robes) of the first century (thank the Lord!). We don't use 66+ "scrolls" to read the Word of God. We have Bibles...some in black, some in blue, some in red, some in leather, some in cloth, and some in multiple colors (or even with pictures) -- yet it doesn't change what is found on the inside. I think that is a good thing to think about. Vanity and modesty are far more important issues of the heart than they are of the outward appearance. It is our duty as believers to have a clear conscience before God in such issues rather than to simply please some person who thinks that their views or beliefs are the only ones that count (or that their specific views are absolutely representative of the mind of God).
I would encourage our little sister to take care of the inner questions first (vanity or modesty) and simply strive for a clear conscience before God with this matter.
:-) _________________ Christopher
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2009/1/1 13:33 | Profile |
HomeFree89 Member
Joined: 2007/1/21 Posts: 797 Indiana
| Re: | | Hi Chris,
If you go back and look at my post, you'll notice that I was quoting HeartSong. She's the one that admitted she wears mascara("I know that the Lord would rather that I did not").
I was simply asking HeartSong why she was telling someone not to wear makeup, but then wearing it herself.
_________________ Jordan
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2009/1/1 14:27 | Profile |
roadsign Member
Joined: 2005/5/2 Posts: 3777
| Re: Spotlight on cosmetics | | Hi RBetty, You have received three pages of advice, and Im wondering if you are feeling overwhelmed by now. Wouldnt it be nice to receive a simply yes or no answer without all the extra discussion. Too bad life isnt that simple! For example:
Years ago, when I was just a bit older than you about 21 yo, I was working in a hospital. One day a doctor came up to me and took my hands and squeezed my fingernails. (He wouldnt dare do that today!) When I asked him what he was doing he said he was worried that I may be anemic and was just checking. (I have a fair completion, and under neon lights I can look like death warmed over.) After that day I made sure to wear makeup at work!
In most situations outside my home I wear some makeup- though Id rather not bother. When I am in the public eye, and especially on a platform under bright lights, I add a bit extra. It is simply a case of respect for others.
The choices all of us make regarding our grooming habits cant change us. They dont make us better or worse people, but they do tend to reflect our view of ourselves.
If you did just what you wanted to, what would that say about you? Is that the person you wish to be?
Diane
_________________ Diane
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2009/1/1 14:27 | Profile |
ccchhhrrriiisss Member
Joined: 2003/11/23 Posts: 4779
| Re: | | Hi HomeFree89... Quote:
If you go back and look at my post, you'll notice that I was quoting HeartSong. She's the one that admitted she wears mascara("I know that the Lord would rather that I did not").
I was simply asking HeartSong why she was telling someone not to wear makeup, but then wearing it herself.
Yes, but my issue wasn't with WHO wrote the comment or whether or not the comments were spoken in regard to a reproof of logic. Rather, I had issue with this part of the statement (which I underlined in my post):Quote:
[u]Even when you know the Lord would rather you not wear it[/u].
How can we say with any sort of absolute that we KNOW that the Lord would "rather you not wear it?" I realize that this might have been intended to be used as a question of logic ("you wear it and then instruct someone else to not do so"). However, I still think that we need to avoid the use of absolutes with our rhetoric regarding an issue that isn't entirely clear. Thus, this this is the rationale behind my post(s) in this thread.
_________________ Christopher
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2009/1/1 14:38 | Profile |