Monday, January 9, 2012

Because I said So


I teach a Sunday school full of 4th grade girls and inevitably the topic of clothing comes up. As we chatted about modesty and why we must carefully choose what we wear it really struck me that even though a few of these girls had grown up in a Christian home, going to a Christian school and attending a fundamental Baptist (let's just say we aren't known for our mini-skirts and crop tops) that none of them could really explain to me why we we should dress modestly.




What I lovingly refer to as my Baptist garb. You will not find a Baptist church that doesn't have at least one long blue jean skirt in it.


In a Sunday school class it is hard to go into the details as really it can lead to questions that parents should be answering, but it did get me thinking about what I am teaching my daughters. Of course we all have our own convictions as to what the Bible teaches us about modesty, but as Christians, we should be explaining these convictions to our children!


    
Required homeschool mom uniform

This post isn't to beat anyone over the head about what they should wear, in fact it isn't really about just modesty. It is about convictions in general. It is so easy to explain away our decisions to our children with a "because I said so" but what we are missing are valuable teaching moments that prepare our children for the world. How can we expect our children to walk into the world and hold firm when we are not preparing them?

The best way to ensure that your child(ren) question their faith as adults is to not answer their questions when they are children. I challenge you, the next time you give your child an instruction and they ask why, instead of taking the easy route of "because I said so" to explain to them why so that the next time you give the instruction they know and that one day when they are walking down the street and someone questions them on why they believe something, they can confidently share their faith and convictions with others.


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3 comments:

Rachel E. said...

Amen! I struggle daily with this. My eldest is constantly fighting with me about things. I explain to her the why nots. She understands for the most part. There are a few items, purchased on line, which are low cut, but I tell her constantly to wear a shell underneath. She refuses...so, I think they will disappear. :-)

Thosetwogirls said...

Modesty is a hard one these days. I remember the intense desire to dress like everyone else. Now as an adult I understand what I gave away, but as a child all I could think about was looking like my friends. It is one reason I want to keep my children home. I want to be able to introduce them to those things in a controlled environment so that instead of asking friends questions they ask us.

Little Hillbilly Woman said...

Looks like Pentecostal garb to me! lol!