To My Daughter:

Dear Daughter,

I know you're too young to understand this letter.  In fact, you are not even born yet, but I write it knowing that one day you will be alive and able to comprehend its meaning. 

I specifically want to warn you of the dangers of adorning your body without adorning your soul.  I'm not sure what will be fashionable as you grow older, but these days American women, even professing Christian women, love to decorate the outside, often to the neglect of their internal and eternal selves.  Not only should you guard against the riches of this world that would provoke you to dress in clothes more expensive than they need to be--to impress others--but I'm sure the temptation will come to wear clothes that also show off your body in an immodest way.

I pray now for you sweetie that your heart will not be carried away by these lures of the devil.  God made you for so much more.  If you dress provocatively, to impress other women and to catch the eyes of men, you'll only be inviting sorrow into your life.  I hope you will cherish God's Word and hunger after his righteousness, and that you will reject the worldly system which says you're only as significant as your fashionable clothing. 

I pray that, by the grace of Christ, your mother and I will instill within you that your true significance can only be found as you find yourself helpless and humble before God, confessing your sin and begging for his mercy.  May you be an embodiment of the Scripture that says, "I also want women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God" (1 Timothy 2:9-10).  Your clothes, like the words out of your mouth, will almost always be an expression of what's going on in your heart.  If your heart is pure, as you submit to Christ, then your dress and speech will also be Christ centered. 

Reject this worldly culture that seeks to undress you in public, to make your body an object a man longs after.  "Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes.  Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight" (1 Peter 3:3-4).  Fully embrace all that God wants to be for you in Christ Jesus.  Find your worth and significance in God as you worship him.  Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.  Taste and see that he is good--more savory and satisfying than what the world dangles before you. 

The morsels the world offers will leave you hungering for more, and, in the end, miserable.  Don't adorn your body in such a way that makes it a spectacle for lustful men or in a way that shows off an expensive taste in clothes.  Instead, adorn your body so people will not ultimately look at you, but see the glory of Christ as he shines upon you.

Your loving dad,

T