“We Can Cause Temptation” – Mom

Yesterday evening, we posted two thoughts specifically geared toward unmarried ladies – one of which served as a warning concerning men with roaming eyes. To be fair, there are two sides to the coin so this morning we desire to look at the other side in the following post:

Ladies – married and unmarried…young and old – we must be sure that we are not intentionally tempting men to lust. Wait…please wait. Before you stop reading, may I ask you to at least consider a few things – or maybe I should say a few people?

Our husbands – With yesterday being the 7th of September, part of my Bible reading included Proverbs 7. Once again, I was reminded of the characteristics of a strange woman – one of which is her attire. The way she dressed was one tactic used to catch the attention of men. Dear ladies, could this be said of us? If we don’t want other females intentionally trying to catch our husband’s eyes, why would we dress in a way to catch the eyes of other men? I know that our refusal to intentionally tempt other men is certainly not going to prevent other females from doing it. I know that. We may not be able to control the actions of others but we can control our own.

Our future husbands – Dear single lady, if you are intentionally using suggestive attire to attract a husband, what will you need to do to keep that husband? Think about that for a minute. A man who is governed by lust will spot ladies who “put out the welcome mat”…but when they grow tired of you they will move on to others – if not in body, in their mind. Sweet lady, lust is NOT love. Song of Solomon 3:4 says, “I found him whom my soul loveth” NOT “whom my flesh lusteth”. Please don’t allow yourself to become desperate about getting married by dressing in a way that invites temptation.

Our sons or future sons – What kind of young lady do we desire for them? Are we modeling that before them now? If we are attempting to get the attention of men, will we one day reap that in our sons or grandsons? What temptations will they face? Will it be partly due to the seeds we have sown?

Our daughters or future daughters – what kind of examples are we setting for them? I know it may not be something we think about too much when our girls are very young. We tell ourselves that they are too little to notice US but then before we know it, they are teens. All of a sudden THEY are intentionally dressing in a way to get the attention of young men. How will we feel about it then?

Our brothers in Christ – Do we really want to have a part in causing them to stumble? If not, shouldn’t we desire to be careful that we are not knowingly a source of temptation?

Bottom line, as we pray for the protection of our husbands…our sons…and yes, our daughters, can we do so with a clear conscience?

I realize this post may not be the most popular but that’s ok. To be perfectly honest, I wish someone had taken the time to set me down as a young lady and talk to me straight about this topic. Of course, even if someone had, it is highly unlikely that I would have listened to anyone at that particular time in my life. If heeded, though, it would have saved me from much heartache. That being said, even if we have never had someone teach us, as Christian women we have the Holy Spirit living within us. No matter our upbringing, if we truly desire to dress in a way that would not invite men to lust, I believe with all my heart that the Holy Spirit will help us. The question may be, do we want His guidance in this area?

Monday evening, we were driving home from taking Mom to a birthday party of one of her great grandson’s. Out of the blue, Mom began talking about how scantily-clothed girls are these days – completely out of the blue, folks. The girls and I just quietly listened. She ended her few comments with this:

“And girls…we can cause temptation.”

Amen, Mom. Amen. At over ninety-eight years of age, she is still concerned about this. I pray we are as well.