Today modesty seems like such a general term. Every congregation across the planet seems to have a different perspective on what it means to be, or in this case dress, modestly and discretely. Some are content with no less than full head to toe coverage at all times where others will be as liberal as to wear string bikinis in public. Further, we will look to the Greek as well as to the English language in order to narrow the margin in defining biblical modesty and discretion.

Let’s start with the Greek.

The word for modesty used in 1 Timothy is {ahee-doce’}. It means a shame or honor, modesty, reverence, respect or regard for others.

It’s obvious that it can mean modest as that is the word chosen by most translators for this verse, but this is an area where we can get a better understanding on the intent by studying the alternate implications of the word. For instance shame or honor.

…adorn themselves with proper clothing, with shame or honor…

This seems odd, but what it means is that the word goes either way. It’s saying that the subject, the clothing, can bring either shame or honor to the person wearing it. So will the clothing bring shame or honor? Well that all depends on the rest of the definition. What will bring reverence, respect or regard for others? The implication is that you are to conform to your surroundings. If there is a tradition of full coverage then that is how to dress modestly. Whether the tradition of dress is liberal or conservative, there are questions which should be asked in order to know if your dress is modest.

Will my attire…

…cause men to lust?
…cause women to envy?
…cause anyone to become prideful because of me?

The idea is that you will dress in a way that will prevent anyone from sinning because of you.

Now let’s look at the English language and how modesty is used. If I host a dinner party and more guests show up than expected, I may dish up modest proportions in order to make sure everyone can eat. In this case, modest means smaller, but has the connotation that it is still enough. So if I am concerned about what I am wearing, it should be enough, but not more than is required. This applies, as the passage states, to hair, jewelry and the wealthy appearance of the cloth itself.

Men, don’t think you are off the hook. This tends to be a problem for women, but it can be for men as well. Consider your attitude when you dress. Do you attempt to show off muscles in order to impress others? If you cause them to envy, then you have caused them to stumble into sin.

There is an additional application as well. In context, this is talking about modesty in worship service, however this closer analysis shows that the intent is to prevent others from sinful thoughts in order to focus on worship. Should we provoke others to sin outside of worship? Certainly we should not, so the concept of modesty can be applied to all aspects of life, attire, the car we drive, attitudes, to name a few.

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