Beth Moore on Modesty and Creepy Righteous Dudes

 

On February 11, 2022, Beth Moore posted this tweet.

I’m gonna put this right here: I’m not a fan of immodesty. What I am is simply completely creeped out by hyper fundamentalist dudes objectifying women and telling women in detail how not to dress in pictures so that we unrighteous crudes don’t make these righteous dudes stumble.

That last phrase caught my attention—don’t make these righteous dudes stumble. I know she was being sarcastic, but it is an unfortunate turn of words.

I am sure I qualify as a hyper fundamentalist by her standards and I by no means want to creep her out, but this seems to be a contradiction with what she has said before. See the video in the same thread.

I do not intend to tell women what to wear in this post, but I think it is appropriate to explain to Christian women what God expects of their brothers in Christ—what God expects of me.

Sex drive is not sin drive.

God is the one who invented the sexual relationship and He is the One who created sexual attraction and placed it within men and women. Men, for the most part, are visually attracted to women. This is the way that God made them. It should not be viewed as a flaw or a source of guilt. Many men today feel a false sense of guilt for their in-built God-given sex drive. They are made to feel like creeps by their own misguided consciences and by women who desire to practice liberty at the expense of their brothers in Christ.

This is one of the reasons that we wear clothing, not just for protection from the elements but also for maintaining the exclusivity of thought and heart for the marriage relationship.

You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. (Matthew 5:27-28)

This is a command given to men, not to women.

Creeps do exist. Women wearing modest clothing is no guarantee that wicked men will not think or act wickedly. Creeps can think creepily regardless of how a woman is dressed. Many wicked men have preached modesty while behaving immorally—even as abusers and predators. However, the fact that some wicked men exist, does not make creeps of all men who address this issue. If you want to deeply hurt a truly godly man, insinuate that he is a sexual creep. There are very few insults that could be more damaging.

However, Christian men are responsible for their own thought-life regardless of their environment. No man can blame a woman for his own sin. We live in a wicked world and we are required to act and think righteously regardless of its temptations.

Spirituality is not immunity.

“Aha! If men were more spiritual, I would have to be less concerned about the modesty of my dress.”

That is not how it works. I want Christian women to understand that the spiritual walk of a man does not desensitize him to visual sexual temptation. In fact, it might make him more sensitive to it.

Why is this?

The godly man does not fill his mind with inappropriate images of women on his computer or TV screen. The man that tells you that immodesty has no real spiritual impact on him is either lying or so filling his mind with inappropriate imagery that he now lacks sensitivity to the visual stimuli around him. There is the possibility that he simply does not have as much sex drive as other men, but the one thing I can guarantee you is that his walk with the Lord will not make him immune. Young Christian men are especially vulnerable.

So, if that is the case, what does God expect men to do when faced with visual temptation?

Look away.

God expects godly men to look away when confronted with visual temptation. In some cases, this might require making the very conscious choice to focus on a woman’s face only. In other cases, it might mean looking away from her entirely.

And from the roof, he saw a woman bathing, and the woman was very beautiful to behold. (2 Samuel 11:2)

Many argue that David should have been with his men in the field at this time, and maybe that was true. Some argue that David should not have been lounging around in his house at this time of day, and maybe that was true. But what I know to be true is that when David caught a glimpse of Bathsheba, he should have controlled his thinking, averted his gaze, and not set his eyes on her long enough to assess her beauty.

Walk away.

If the situation demands it, God expects godly men to remove themselves from the company of those that are tempting to them as Joseph did when tempted by Potiphar’s wife (Genesis 39:7-15). He must do this even if it causes offense—as it did with Potiphar’s wife.

Stay away.

Walking away might also mean staying away. The foolish young man of Proverbs 6 made the fatal error of going by the corner of the woman who was dressed for (and seeking for) sin.

So, here is a sincere question. What do you think God thinks about a woman who dresses in a way that forces His most faithful sons to look away, walk away, or stay away? God does not call on women to dress to please men. He does call on women to dress to please Him.

I am discouraged by the growing disregard that Christian women, even in our own fundamental churches, have for their brothers in Christ. The men aren’t going to say anything about it to women who are not their wives or daughters—and they certainly don’t enjoy people like Beth Moore calling them creeps. We do not need to be catered to just because we are men, but we are God’s children, and we matter to Him.

So again, I ask, what do you think God thinks?