True Woman - Reflecting God's Glory

Reflecting God’s Glory

Your outward appearance can reveal the inward desires of your heart. Do you want to glorify yourself or reflect God’s glory?*

• Your physical appearance gives an impression of God to people who can’t see Him.
• When you buy clothing, check your motives. Are you trying to draw attention to yourself? Are you putting people in a position where you may set them up to sin by being seductive or distracting?
• When you extend yourself, your heart, and your hands in good works, you’re adorning the gospel and making Jesus believable.

ooh...now this teaser interests me. Ever since I learned that God created us to for HIS glory....it's been a thought that just sits there in my brain and often influences what I do. Am I showing God's glory in thus and such action?

The rest of Nancy Leigh DeMoss's message can be found over here.

Once again for this study, Nancy is using 1 Timothy 2:9-10, I've included the whole paragraph to help with context.

8I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling; 9likewise also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire, 10 but with what is proper for women who profess godliness—with good works. 11Let a woman learn quietly with all submissiveness. 12 I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet. 13 For Adam was formed first, then Eve; 14and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor. 15Yet she will be saved through childbearing—if they continue in faith and love and holiness, with self-control.

What her whole post comes down to is....are you drawing attention to God or to yourself by the clothes that you wear? Just who is being seen in your actions, your clothing, your behaviour? You or God?

If it is yourself...then you're not bringing glory to God are you?

I like how she put it here (not just Nancy, but the person she quoted).

There was a fourth century church father—some of you are familiar with the name of Chrysostom—and here’s what he wrote:

What then is modest apparel? Such as covers them completely and decently, and not with superfluous ornaments, for the one is decent and the other is not.

What? Do you approach God to pray with broidered hair and ornaments of gold? Are you come to a ball? To a carnival? There such costly things might have been seasonable. Here, not one of them is wanted.

You are come to pray, to ask pardon for your sins, to plead for your offenses, beseeching the Lord and hoping to render Him propitious or merciful to you. Away with such hypocrisy.

In other words, he’s saying, “Let your external appearance reflect why you’ve come to church.” And why did you come to church?

• Was it to get attention?
• Was it to be the center of attraction?
• What is your heart motive?
• What is your heart attitude?
• Is it humble?
• Is it modest?
• Or are you trying to flaunt your wealth, flaunt your beauty, or even worse, to allure men sexually?

Where is your focus?
Do know that you are showing it by how you dress, how you act and so forth.

If you are a believer your focus should be on God and showing forth HIS glory.