The Skin of a Woman :: Deeper Devotion

By Amber Lehman

What is the big deal about showing a little skin?

In our culture, showing some skin is actually promoted in young girls as well as grown women. The problem with this is that God has not intended for his beautiful creatures to be exploited for their own or another’s pleasure.

When ladies show skin, they have a motive, which ultimately involves gaining power, control, and a feeling of worth. If a woman shows a little skin, then she can pretty much get whatever she wants from a guy because she appeals to his most basic instinct in order to get his attention. When a woman gains the attention of a man, it not only gets her what she wants but it also gives her a sense of worth. So, the remaining question is what is the root of this behavior?

Well, in short, the root of this behavior is sin; the sin of lusting for things and attention, and the sin of not seeking God’s glory in all things. The root of this big mess of sin is a misunderstanding of one’s identity in Christ.

Your behavior is controlled by your heart, by your deepest longings. When you come to know Christ as your Savior and surrender your entire heart and life to Him, your desires change and you can begin to understand that Christ gives you a new identity and a new purpose in life.

Your identity is as a daughter of the King, which means that you are a princess. You are royalty! As royalty, you have privileges of knowing the King personally, of having His source of power, and of having His righteousness given to you. With this position of royalty, you receive a place of great responsibility and receive a greater purpose in life than just living for fleshly desires. Your purpose and responsibility is to glorify your Savior and King!

Ladies, if you seek to know Christ and to know who you are because of His love, then you won’t seek your identity through your looks. This is so hard to do in a culture where people, magazines, and television tell you that you are valued if you are pretty, skinny, and you perform well in various categories (sports, school, work, etc).

What our culture teaches is wrong! God gives every person value when He creates them in His image (Genesis 1: 26-27). He created every woman to have different looks, shapes, and personalities. Therefore, you don’t have to compare yourself to other ladies, you don’t have to starve yourself or work out for crazy amounts of time, and you don’t have to show off your body to get attention and to feel wanted and worthy.

God is enough to satisfy the longings of your heart, so seek Him in Scripture and in prayer. Let the Scriptures tell you who you are and don’t let this culture dictate what you think and what you do! God creates each lady to use her body in ways that glorify God!

When you live for your lustful desires then you sin against God and against the guys around you. This is not a harmless, little sin to just look over! When you misuse the body that God gives to you then you sin against a Holy God! You are as guilty as the guy when you have participated in his lust for you. Don’t exploit yourself. Instead, you should carry yourself as royalty; this is the way that you will glorify your King and receive respect from the people around you.

Getting a momentary high from the attention, power, and control that you experience by showing a little skin is not worth the sin that you commit against a Holy God! The Holy God of the universe is jealously pursuing your heart, your life, and your affections! Give all of yourself to Jesus Christ and you will find that you have more than enough love, attention, and value coming from Him.

Examine your heart and your motives whenever you get dressed and when you interact with your friends and family. Ask yourself if you are choosing to glorify God or to glorify yourself. If you are choosing to glorify God then you are successfully worshipping your Savior King! If you are choosing to glorify yourself then simply confess this sin to God and then choose to glorify Him instead! It is simple but not always easy, and yet choosing to glorify God will provide a joy and satisfaction that lasts a lifetime!

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