I recently asked a dear and godly friend of mine, “Do you feel ‘uncool’ compared to girls in the world?”
And what I meant by this was simply that Christian girls who are serious about their walk with God and desire to please Him and honor/glorify God by their decisions and lifestyle (including speech and attire) are often unaware of what is considered “cool” in the world…as fun times and being cool from a worldly view is quite different than the true beauty and freedom of being a child of God and serving Him from a willing, whole, and repentant heart.
Here are portions of how she responded in the form of a letter (I truly pray that people’s eyes will be opened to what she explains and really ponder the truths presented and consider them valid and worth applying!):
“ …Yeah, the girls of this world engage in many things that cause their minds to set on things below here on the earth that will soon pass away. They are only interested in doing things that will advance them in the eyes of the world and their peers; they are definitely not interested in the attributes of God or how to grow in holiness. They are surprised when Christians don't know who “the latest person that is in” is, or the most recent popular show, or when we haven't seen the movie that everyone is talking about, but do they know today's devotional by Oswald Chambers? Do they know about Jesus and His words that are eternal life? Most of them don't, and we don't look down on them as in, "Oh my goodness, you don't know that!" Well hopefully most Christians would not be like that, I know that there are some that are. But for the most part, it is sad to us that they are perishing, but if we don't know what is in, then we are "uncool" because we don't know what's up. And thank God we don't. If we knew everything that is in and hip and popular, we would have no time to pray or read the Bible or listen to sermons and have godly talks or anything about God because in order to know all the latest popular music and movies and shows and people, we would have to be glued to the television most nights, with a magazine near by, and listening to the radio on our way to and back from anywhere. We just don't have that time. We have a life and it is Christ.
Most do drink and go to clubs and bars and parties, the latest concerts, Hollywood and the Sunset strip and Vegas, and where ever else the party's at. And yoga, yes it's "cool", and it's understandable if Madonna or any on the A-list women in Hollywood would practice yoga, but no girl who professes to be Christian should join their groups. Even if they are nice, it is not just stretching in "their" eyes. I say "their" because of the ones that really know the truth. Most of them are into the New Age Movement, and I have met a lot of people that practiced yoga and are really nice. Even friends and loved ones. It could get into a heated discussion so I leave them alone if they get offended. I do tell them the truth with kindness, and usually I'm able to sense if they are interested in knowing the truth or if they are like, "Oh my gosh, shut up! I don't even care about the spiritual stuff of it, I only want to stretch." The thing is, the very word yoga means to yoke, and it ain't the Christian God. I do not judge them, because I myself was really deep into the New Age Movement, and all while trying to hold on to Christ. But it is very popular and "cool”. They even have "Christian yoga" which is really an oxymoron.
They are not living in light of eternity, but only for the here and now. Of course they are responsible for their choices and where they are and what they choose, but I really believe the mass media and the elite engineering behind it has a lot to do with it. I'm not blaming them as in, "It's all their fault", for surely everyone is responsible for their own choices, but truly the wicked will pay for what they are doing. It would be better for them to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around their neck than to cause one of these little ones to stumble.
…
To answer your question, I do not feel uncool AT ALL compared to the girls in the world. There have been times over the last five years where there were some areas of my life that I felt were not fair compared to the girls in the world, and even more the girls in the Church- I'm mainly speaking of the issue of modesty.
This was mainly in the beginning years of my marriage because right before I met my husband, I was engaging in the world and "having the time of my life" with dressing however I wanted and actually feeling beautiful and good about myself… Then when I came into the world for the first time as a true Christian, although I was a Christian in every area of my life-more than I'm now-, I did not know what to watch out for and so I got sucked into that world and it stuck for a while. I felt that it was unfair that I as a Christian had to be modest, but the girls in the world "get" to be sexy, while we Christian girls have to cover up and purposely look unappealing because if we are attractive, then we will cause our brothers to stumble.
This view was wrong in my thinking because I thought that being modest meant that I had to dress dreadfully in black, not black as in the elegant kind, but dreadful looking, with a big, huge dress that has no cut or shape from my clavicle to my ankles, grandma shoes, a plain hair style that is a very low pony tail right behind my neck and my hair slicked with a part in the middle, and no make up, and on top of all this, have a smile on my face like I love it and show everyone how I so don't want to be or feel sexy.
This entire view was warped… I did not know of girls like Anna Sofia and Elizabeth Botkin (Visionarydaughters.com), and all the many other resources I know of now.
Even before I watched the Beauty Webinar though, God began to really teach me about this area. …My focus now is to be as modest and beautiful as I can be, to learn more about modesty and femininity and to let girls know the truth in regard to this subject because modesty-true modesty- is not being unappealing or dreadful looking, but being the most beautiful we can be, in what God calls beauty, and not just outwardly, but in our hearts, serving and helping others instead of being consumed with ourselves; having “no self-esteem”, that is, a high confidence in God and in who we are in Christ, and having no estimation of self. Because of these reasons, my confidence in who God is and that He CAN be trusted and I belong to Him, and who I am in Christ, I do not feel uncool compared to the girls in this world because really, I am the cool one. Not in a conceited type of way, but the fact is that I am the cool one! I'm the one who knows the truth, I'm the one who knows what true beauty is, I'm the one who has God in Christ, I'm the one that has God's eternal word hidden in my heart, I'm the one that has my sins forgiven and has eternal life in Christ Jesus, and I'm the one, that when all this is over, this life and time itself, I'm the one that is going to heaven.
And the fact is, that beautiful girls like you, like my two other godly friends, the Botkin sisters, the beautiful Duggar girls and Michelle Duggar, they ARE the cool ones, they are making history and changing the world because of who they are, and WHOSE they are. We are not going to conform to the image of this world, but we are reforming it by the way we live, carry ourselves because of the way that we think, because our minds have been renewed and therefore we have been transformed, to be able to be ambassadors of Christ and conquer and teach transgressors and sinners His ways so that they can turn from idols to the Living God.
We as beautiful Christian girls should never feel uncool compared to the girls of this world. The way the enemy can play games with our head is really cunningly evil. And aside from that, all the beliefs we have accumulated over the years can still come back to attack us and make us feel "less than". But those thoughts MUST be taken captive and renounced and our minds must be renewed with the truth of God's word, taking every thought that is a lie and replacing it with God's holy word.
Girls in the world may dress in the latest fashion to get all the attention, wear make up to seduce and allure, wear their hair in such a way as to say, "Notice me, look at me, yes I demand your attention so give it to me", they may get breast implants and then go show them off, they may wear the tight, low-rise jeans to show their flat hard stomachs they've been working on and their belly piercings, they may swing their hips side to side and walk proudly with their breasts and back side sticking out so that it's obvious to everyone and call it self-confidence and self-assurance, but WE have something greater! HE is the Great I AM and He is coming back to take us home! We do not place our confidence in ourselves, for the heart is deceitful above all, WHO can know it? Only God. We do not even understand ourselves. The things we don't want to do, we do, and the things we want to do, that we don't do. Who will save us from this body of death? Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior who has redeemed us, who has come to save us from death, hell and the grave, from the wrath to come. Who has come to give us life abundant and reconcile us to God in Himself.
For what will it profit a girl if she gains all the beauty in the world but loses her own soul? Only hell which is a poor profit. We have Christ and He IS beauty because He is holy. To be holy is to be beautiful.
...
We may not be on the cover of People's Most Beautiful, and we may not win Miss America or Miss Universe in our life time. We may not come out on MTV's most sexiest list nor on VH1's, but like the quote you sent said, "I would rather be a Proverbs 31 woman than a Victoria's Secret model." The truth is that the fashions and trends of this culture will pass away in a few months to some years from now, even the body parts that may be “in” right now. Some years it's big breasts with a tiny waist, other years it's been a big butt with a tiny waist, and they said, "Who cares about breast these days, I just care about her back side", vanity of vanities, a grasping after the wind. Fashions, trends, trophies, crowns, medals, power, money, beauty, it will ALL pass away, but the woman who fears the LORD IS to be praised. We may not be praised in this life time by the secular world, but surely He will give us the reward He has reserved for us for our steadfastness.
The world may think it strange that we do not run with them, but we do not run aimlessly with the flow of this sinful and adulterous generation. We run in such a way as to receive the prize. The world's crowns and medals and trophies are temporary, fleeting and perishable, but the crown that we will obtain is imperishable. Thus we fight, not as one who beats the air, but as one who disciplines their body and brings it into subjection, and we crucify our flesh with its evil passions or any desire that does not seek to glorify God or advance His Kingdom, lest we should become disqualified and the world blasphemes our Lord. We are not of this world, we are only passing by, and soon we shall put this earthly tent away. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who has begotten us to a living hope, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled, one that does not fade away, reserved FOR US in heaven! Glory be to God that we are being kept by His power alone through faith, for fullness of our salvation, our glorified bodies, ready to be revealed in the last days.
May we not be distracted by what the world says is "cool", not in outer influence, and not in the secret parts of our hearts and minds, but may we remember like Oswald Chambers, "My utmost for His highest, my best for His glory."
And what I meant by this was simply that Christian girls who are serious about their walk with God and desire to please Him and honor/glorify God by their decisions and lifestyle (including speech and attire) are often unaware of what is considered “cool” in the world…as fun times and being cool from a worldly view is quite different than the true beauty and freedom of being a child of God and serving Him from a willing, whole, and repentant heart.
Here are portions of how she responded in the form of a letter (I truly pray that people’s eyes will be opened to what she explains and really ponder the truths presented and consider them valid and worth applying!):
“ …Yeah, the girls of this world engage in many things that cause their minds to set on things below here on the earth that will soon pass away. They are only interested in doing things that will advance them in the eyes of the world and their peers; they are definitely not interested in the attributes of God or how to grow in holiness. They are surprised when Christians don't know who “the latest person that is in” is, or the most recent popular show, or when we haven't seen the movie that everyone is talking about, but do they know today's devotional by Oswald Chambers? Do they know about Jesus and His words that are eternal life? Most of them don't, and we don't look down on them as in, "Oh my goodness, you don't know that!" Well hopefully most Christians would not be like that, I know that there are some that are. But for the most part, it is sad to us that they are perishing, but if we don't know what is in, then we are "uncool" because we don't know what's up. And thank God we don't. If we knew everything that is in and hip and popular, we would have no time to pray or read the Bible or listen to sermons and have godly talks or anything about God because in order to know all the latest popular music and movies and shows and people, we would have to be glued to the television most nights, with a magazine near by, and listening to the radio on our way to and back from anywhere. We just don't have that time. We have a life and it is Christ.
Most do drink and go to clubs and bars and parties, the latest concerts, Hollywood and the Sunset strip and Vegas, and where ever else the party's at. And yoga, yes it's "cool", and it's understandable if Madonna or any on the A-list women in Hollywood would practice yoga, but no girl who professes to be Christian should join their groups. Even if they are nice, it is not just stretching in "their" eyes. I say "their" because of the ones that really know the truth. Most of them are into the New Age Movement, and I have met a lot of people that practiced yoga and are really nice. Even friends and loved ones. It could get into a heated discussion so I leave them alone if they get offended. I do tell them the truth with kindness, and usually I'm able to sense if they are interested in knowing the truth or if they are like, "Oh my gosh, shut up! I don't even care about the spiritual stuff of it, I only want to stretch." The thing is, the very word yoga means to yoke, and it ain't the Christian God. I do not judge them, because I myself was really deep into the New Age Movement, and all while trying to hold on to Christ. But it is very popular and "cool”. They even have "Christian yoga" which is really an oxymoron.
They are not living in light of eternity, but only for the here and now. Of course they are responsible for their choices and where they are and what they choose, but I really believe the mass media and the elite engineering behind it has a lot to do with it. I'm not blaming them as in, "It's all their fault", for surely everyone is responsible for their own choices, but truly the wicked will pay for what they are doing. It would be better for them to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around their neck than to cause one of these little ones to stumble.
…
To answer your question, I do not feel uncool AT ALL compared to the girls in the world. There have been times over the last five years where there were some areas of my life that I felt were not fair compared to the girls in the world, and even more the girls in the Church- I'm mainly speaking of the issue of modesty.
This was mainly in the beginning years of my marriage because right before I met my husband, I was engaging in the world and "having the time of my life" with dressing however I wanted and actually feeling beautiful and good about myself… Then when I came into the world for the first time as a true Christian, although I was a Christian in every area of my life-more than I'm now-, I did not know what to watch out for and so I got sucked into that world and it stuck for a while. I felt that it was unfair that I as a Christian had to be modest, but the girls in the world "get" to be sexy, while we Christian girls have to cover up and purposely look unappealing because if we are attractive, then we will cause our brothers to stumble.
This view was wrong in my thinking because I thought that being modest meant that I had to dress dreadfully in black, not black as in the elegant kind, but dreadful looking, with a big, huge dress that has no cut or shape from my clavicle to my ankles, grandma shoes, a plain hair style that is a very low pony tail right behind my neck and my hair slicked with a part in the middle, and no make up, and on top of all this, have a smile on my face like I love it and show everyone how I so don't want to be or feel sexy.
This entire view was warped… I did not know of girls like Anna Sofia and Elizabeth Botkin (Visionarydaughters.com), and all the many other resources I know of now.
Even before I watched the Beauty Webinar though, God began to really teach me about this area. …My focus now is to be as modest and beautiful as I can be, to learn more about modesty and femininity and to let girls know the truth in regard to this subject because modesty-true modesty- is not being unappealing or dreadful looking, but being the most beautiful we can be, in what God calls beauty, and not just outwardly, but in our hearts, serving and helping others instead of being consumed with ourselves; having “no self-esteem”, that is, a high confidence in God and in who we are in Christ, and having no estimation of self. Because of these reasons, my confidence in who God is and that He CAN be trusted and I belong to Him, and who I am in Christ, I do not feel uncool compared to the girls in this world because really, I am the cool one. Not in a conceited type of way, but the fact is that I am the cool one! I'm the one who knows the truth, I'm the one who knows what true beauty is, I'm the one who has God in Christ, I'm the one that has God's eternal word hidden in my heart, I'm the one that has my sins forgiven and has eternal life in Christ Jesus, and I'm the one, that when all this is over, this life and time itself, I'm the one that is going to heaven.
And the fact is, that beautiful girls like you, like my two other godly friends, the Botkin sisters, the beautiful Duggar girls and Michelle Duggar, they ARE the cool ones, they are making history and changing the world because of who they are, and WHOSE they are. We are not going to conform to the image of this world, but we are reforming it by the way we live, carry ourselves because of the way that we think, because our minds have been renewed and therefore we have been transformed, to be able to be ambassadors of Christ and conquer and teach transgressors and sinners His ways so that they can turn from idols to the Living God.
We as beautiful Christian girls should never feel uncool compared to the girls of this world. The way the enemy can play games with our head is really cunningly evil. And aside from that, all the beliefs we have accumulated over the years can still come back to attack us and make us feel "less than". But those thoughts MUST be taken captive and renounced and our minds must be renewed with the truth of God's word, taking every thought that is a lie and replacing it with God's holy word.
Girls in the world may dress in the latest fashion to get all the attention, wear make up to seduce and allure, wear their hair in such a way as to say, "Notice me, look at me, yes I demand your attention so give it to me", they may get breast implants and then go show them off, they may wear the tight, low-rise jeans to show their flat hard stomachs they've been working on and their belly piercings, they may swing their hips side to side and walk proudly with their breasts and back side sticking out so that it's obvious to everyone and call it self-confidence and self-assurance, but WE have something greater! HE is the Great I AM and He is coming back to take us home! We do not place our confidence in ourselves, for the heart is deceitful above all, WHO can know it? Only God. We do not even understand ourselves. The things we don't want to do, we do, and the things we want to do, that we don't do. Who will save us from this body of death? Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior who has redeemed us, who has come to save us from death, hell and the grave, from the wrath to come. Who has come to give us life abundant and reconcile us to God in Himself.
For what will it profit a girl if she gains all the beauty in the world but loses her own soul? Only hell which is a poor profit. We have Christ and He IS beauty because He is holy. To be holy is to be beautiful.
...
We may not be on the cover of People's Most Beautiful, and we may not win Miss America or Miss Universe in our life time. We may not come out on MTV's most sexiest list nor on VH1's, but like the quote you sent said, "I would rather be a Proverbs 31 woman than a Victoria's Secret model." The truth is that the fashions and trends of this culture will pass away in a few months to some years from now, even the body parts that may be “in” right now. Some years it's big breasts with a tiny waist, other years it's been a big butt with a tiny waist, and they said, "Who cares about breast these days, I just care about her back side", vanity of vanities, a grasping after the wind. Fashions, trends, trophies, crowns, medals, power, money, beauty, it will ALL pass away, but the woman who fears the LORD IS to be praised. We may not be praised in this life time by the secular world, but surely He will give us the reward He has reserved for us for our steadfastness.
The world may think it strange that we do not run with them, but we do not run aimlessly with the flow of this sinful and adulterous generation. We run in such a way as to receive the prize. The world's crowns and medals and trophies are temporary, fleeting and perishable, but the crown that we will obtain is imperishable. Thus we fight, not as one who beats the air, but as one who disciplines their body and brings it into subjection, and we crucify our flesh with its evil passions or any desire that does not seek to glorify God or advance His Kingdom, lest we should become disqualified and the world blasphemes our Lord. We are not of this world, we are only passing by, and soon we shall put this earthly tent away. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who has begotten us to a living hope, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled, one that does not fade away, reserved FOR US in heaven! Glory be to God that we are being kept by His power alone through faith, for fullness of our salvation, our glorified bodies, ready to be revealed in the last days.
May we not be distracted by what the world says is "cool", not in outer influence, and not in the secret parts of our hearts and minds, but may we remember like Oswald Chambers, "My utmost for His highest, my best for His glory."
"And when Christ Who IS our life appears, we too shall appear with Him in glory." (Colossians 3:4) "
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