Neal Pollard
Dan Williams sends out a very good daily email called “Preacher Stuff,” and today’s edition included an article by the Wall Street Journal entitled, “Why Do We Let Them Dress Like That?” It is incredible to find a secular, media source taking a decided stance on a moral issue. Jennifer Moses, a secular Jew, writes with her theory for why teen and pre-teen girls dress so immodestly these days. She cites the experience of her own generation, the generation currently raising children, as being the first “to have grown up with widely available birth control…the feminist and postfeminist and postpill generation…and now…scads of us don’t know how to teach our own sons and daughters not to give away their bodies so readily” (wsj.com). That girls today complain to their mothers that it is no big deal or just the style is no different from what other generations of teens have said to their parents, reminds Moses. Yet, saddled with guilt, struggling with denial, or longing to bond with their daughters, she thinks this contributes to the ever-lowering of modesty standards. And, with salacious, saturated sexuality on display everywhere you look, the pressure to conform mixed with parental baggage continues to trigger an increasing trend to take the foot off the brake and put both feet on the accelerator.
Christian parents are striving to raise godly daughters in the midst of this generation. Jesus called His day an adulterous and sinful generation (Mark 8:38), an unbelieving and perverse generation (Luke 9:41), and a wicked generation (Luke 11:29). From what we read of His day, surely our own qualifies as the same. Few with influence in society at large encourage our girls to cover up, minimize provocativeness, or hide their sexuality from public view. For that, Christians must heed the urging and instruction of Scripture. Certainly, Paul (1 Tim. 2:9) and Peter (1 Pet. 3:3) remind Christian women that their focus is not to be merely on the external but to be modest and discreet. The Lord does not want males or females accentuating their physical but rather their spiritual–the hidden person of the heart. Repeatedly, New Testament writers condemn “sensuality” (Mark 7:22; Rom. 13:13; 2 Cor. 12:21; Gal. 5:19; etc.). Immodest clothing–be it brief, form-fitting, or the like–is unquestionably sensual.
Having a rational, reasonable explanation for the current immodest trends of society might appeal to our minds, but the Lord wants to reach our hearts. We are here for the purpose of leading other people to heaven. Everything about us ought to be a force that attracts people’s hearts to the Lord, not lures them away from Him! Let us, men, women, boys and girls, be a source of light in a world of darkness (cf. Matt. 5:13-16)!
The Preacher Pollard Blog 
That was a pretty good article, including the interview. Do you think the WSJ link should go up?
It’s at the bottom. Thanks for the request. I forgot to include the exact link.
http://tinyurl.com/6fsz57d
Link to the WSJ article.