Wednesday, May 27, 2009

She wore an itsy bitsy teeny weeny...


So lately I've been having quite a few conversations with different people about bathing suits. I guess because summer is right around the corner and soon everyone will be making their way to the beaches and pools. To be honest, I have no idea why it's ok for women to wear bikinis to the beach, but not ok for them to walk around in their bra and underwear. Is it because one has been deemed "swimwear" and therefore appropriate to wear outside? If we stop to think about it, both cover about the same amount of skin and sometimes the swimwear actually covers less. Yet, somehow it is perfectly fine to flaunt your body simply because you are at the beach wearing a bikini. Call me a prude, but I find something very wrong with this picture especially being a Christian women.

My concern is not really about the bikinis themselves, but about the concept of purity. Normally I would say it's about modesty, but my husband pointed out that modesty is relative. Society dictates what's modest throughout time. Obviously, in this particular time in history, bikinis are not immodest. But I do think they challenge God's idea of purity. As Christian women, we need to realize the power we have to either encourage our brothers in Christ towards purity and away from sin or present a stumbling block in front of them with our bodies. Men are visually stimulated and seeing a woman's body in a bikini (or any other revealing clothing for that matter) can cause them to think lustful thoughts and tempt them towards sin. Is this what we want? Instead we should "spur one another on toward love and good deeds." (Hebrews 10:24) Ultimately, a man is responsible for his own actions and thoughts, but why not help him along? Why not choose to encourage instead of tempt? For some reason, this just sounds like a good idea.

3 comments:

  1. Awesome post Tina!

    My question is "Why would you want to wear a bikini?"

    The general anwer is: "Because it makes me look sexy!"

    My thought on that: 'Sexy' means sexually attractive. So why do you want to look sexually attractive in public? If you're looking sexually atractive then men are thinking sexual thoughts (lust) so you're causing them to sin.

    You're exactly right, Christina.

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  2. I totaly agree, especially with your husbands point. He must be a really smart guy.

    I also liked how you said that we should encourage others to do what is right and good versus being a stumbling block.

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  3. I told peter that I like and respect the fact that he doesn't put his little girls in little bikinis then he asked if i had seen your post about bikinis and I said no so he sent me the link. thats how I got here lol but I agree in every way with what you said! I don't think it's ok to wear a bikini. I also don't understand how so many christian girls and women ignore the fact that wearing a bikini puts guys thought in places they should not be! anywho I enjoyed reading your thoughts very much! this is your cousin breann by the way.

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