Ladies, trying to find the perfect outfit for today? Hopefully I can help you decide.

Picking out the perfect outfit can be a challenge. You look in your closet and see many items of clothing that could possibly work. You have a few different ideas, and now you’re trying to decide on the perfect one. You’re thinking about how you'll look in it, how much attention you’ll get and how it will make you feel. Have you ever thought that deciding what you're going to wear isn’t actually about you?

Crazy idea, I know. It’s on your body, right? Who else should care? What about your neighbor, that boy you used to babysit, the barista at Starbucks or the guy who sits next to you in class? What about your best friend’s boyfriend, the pastor’s son, your uncle or even your teacher? When you decide what to put on your body, you’re also influencing what goes on in the mind of those close to you. OK, so what? They can close their eyes, right?

Wrong. Yes, they can physically close their eyes, but what they’ve already seen doesn’t go away. It just grows in their imagination. Men face a daily battle that is difficult to be fully comprehended by women. One of the ways to put it into perspective for women is to educate you on the porn industry today. Did you know that the porn industry generates $13 billion each year in the US alone? By the age of 18, nine out of 10 men will be exposed to pornography. Before the age of 12, 51 percent of boys will have engaged in pornographic content. Lastly, 68 percent of young adult men use porn at least once a week. That means that six out of 10 men you encounter have looked at porn recently. However. not all of these men want to live in impurity, but they find it consistently pursuing them.

From the magazines at the checkout counter or the billboard on the highway, even the worship leader at church or the sales associate at the mall. These are all constant temptations. Do you want to be one of these temptations? It’s easy to throw on your skinniest jeans or your favorite tank top, but what messages are these items of clothing sending? If a man sees a woman dressed immodestly, he begins to think of her as an object of pleasure.

Now, if you are dressed this way, you shouldn’t take offense when he doesn’t respect your personality or emotions. Even wearing a t-shirt and athletic shorts can be immodest. If your shirt is longer than your shorts, the mind of a man will picture you as if the t-shirt is all you’re wearing. By creating these images in the mind of a man, especially a married man, you could be hurting relationships and potentially marriages. I’m helping you decide how to dress not only to protect the boys and men, but you, as well. Who you are on the inside is important, too.

OK, so after reading all of this, you may still think, “There’s no one around me that this will affect.” Well, what about your dad, your brother, your future son or your future husband? They are all currently being influenced by immodesty and the sex industry in America today. While that's all prevalent, what can you do to help?

Before you pick out that dress that’s just a little too short, or the sheer top that shows your bra straps, think about how it will be perceived by others. Would you want one small decision on what to wear chosen by another girl create an impure thought in the mind of your dad? Or cause your little brother to stumble? Give your son the wrong idea? Or cause your husband to lust? I hope you wouldn’t, because that's what you need to be thinking about as you get dressed. I’m not asking you to throw out your entire wardrobe, but change the way you put outfits together, and remember it’s not just about you.

"Likewise also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire, but with what is proper for women who profess godliness—with good works" (1 Timothy 2:9-10 ESV)

"Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious" (1 Peter 3:3-4 ESV).

Bibliography:

"Pornography Statistics: Annual Report 2015."Covenant Eyes. N.p., 2015. Web. 12 June 2016.