Jun 9, 2009 by desiringvirtue
Summer is here!!!!!! And of course that means the dreaded swimsuit shopping. Do they even make swimsuits that aren’t comprised by itty bitty strings any more? OK, so that may be an overstatement, but not by much. If you’ve been to Target lately you may have noticed the swimsuit selection was quite slim. It seems you either go with a revealing two piece or a skirted grandma bathing suit. Last year while on the hunt for an acceptable suit I wound up at Dick’s Sporting Goods where I finally found a “modest” tankini! Needless to say it was not very cute, much less trendy.
I put “modest” in quotes because I debate frequently in my mind what a modest bathing suit really looks like. Can a bathing suit even be modest in the first place? Obviously the safest course of action would be to never swim in a coed pool or hang out at a coed beach. Seeing as that would be impossible there are only two options: swim in areas where there are people of the opposite sex, or don’t swim at all. I was born in California where trips to the beach were very common. They were some of the best memories I have from my childhood; catching waves on my boogie board, eating hamburgers tainted by sand, and of course trying to swim farther out to sea than my mom would allow. Trust me, it was a lot of fun! I would hate to have to give up this tradition with my children (though the beaches in Texas are less than ideal). The ocean is a beautiful part of creation and hanging out at the beach is a great way to enjoy it. But how do you do that and still maintain a high level of integrity in your dress?
I believe that first and foremost, this is an issue of the heart. What is my motivation for buying a particular bathing suit? Is it in an effort to be sufficiently covered so that I can enjoy the sun and water without causing my brothers to sin? Or am I desiring to draw attention to myself and my body? Am I trying to fit into the culture? Am I afraid that I will look like a dork at the pool? We are daughters of the Living God. We don’t need to worry about what the world thinks of us; we need to worry about what the Lord thinks about us. So I think the ultimate question we should ask ourselves when bathing suit shopping is, “What would my savior say about this suit?” He is the one who knows our hearts.
I don’t know if there is a certain line that can be drawn between modest and immodest suits, but I do know that some are more modest than others. If you are single I think it is helpful to think about your future spouse. One day your body is going to be his. Would he want you to be revealing it to all the world? As wives, our bodies are our gifts to our husbands. They are for their eyes only and for their enjoyment alone. Are you offering your body up to everyone who has eyes and a lustful mind? The same thing applies to us married women. My body is a beautiful secret between my husband and I. Why ruin that by revealing it to other men?
So, it all comes down to the conscience. For some that means a tankini that doesn’t reveal your mid drift, for others it is a one-piece, and still for others it is a t-shirt and shorts over a bathing suit. Someone I love once told me that when it comes to sin we should not see how close we can get to it, but try our hardest to stay as far away from it as possible. So what is your motivation? Are you trying to get as close to revealing as possible, or are you making every effort to not be a temptation to others?
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“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” (Genesis 1:27 ESV)
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