Where is your heart? Does it line up with your actions? I believe that our heart is visible by our actions. In James 2 we see that our faith and our actions work together.
Let’s take a look at examples of how we can stay pure in our actions-outwardly and inwardly.
Outward Actions
- The way we dress. I am pretty passionate about this subject. I am not a legalist by any means, but I do verge on the side of caution when it comes to modesty. Dare I even say that how you dress, shows a lot about the purity of your heart. We all know how immodesty affects guys, but we never focus on how it effects us girls. Dressing immodestly around our girlfriends can be just as dangerous, if not more dangerous than dressing immodestly in front of guys. If you are like me, being around a friend with minimal clothing on is when I go into my “judgmental, poor self-esteem, comparison” mode. We ladies are usually harder on ourselves when we see a good lookin girl with a great body. We ladies are more judgmental of ourselves and others when we are around someone who is dressed immodestly. And we ladies are more likely to compare everything about the other person we are looking at…to ourselves…negatively. Bottom line, just cover up. If you desire a pure heart within…start by looking pure without. My rule: If you question whether it is modest or not, just assume it’s not. (2 Thess 5:21-22)
- The way we move. Ladies, let’s be blunt. Dressing immodestly is one thing, but acting immodestly is a totally different thing. Someone can be fully clothed and still come across as impure by their body language. Be aware of how you move, flirt, and touch. This is so important. Also, our facial expressions can tell a lot about what is going on inside our hearts. i.e. rolling of the eyes, being unengaged in conversation, etc. Be aware of yourself. People are watching.
Inward Actions
- Our viewing choices. I am a sucker for a good story. But lately, I’ve had to just say no to several “good stories”. That is why I am having to say no to Save Haven. I am sure it is a great story, just like all of Nicolas Spark’s stories. But for me, I just can’t. Not this year. Not right now. My heart is too vulnerable. Thankfully the Lord has really convicted me recently in this area. I have realized that my purity is compromised if I allow myself to get wrapped up into someone else’s romantic life. They take over my dreams, (literally and figuratively), and they take over my thought life and my time. This is exactly why I’m not watching the Bachelor…and why this year I couldn’t watch my favorite Valentines Day movie of all time, An Affair to Remember…and why I can’t read romance novels…and why I avoided all Hallmark Christmas movies. Please hear me, I am not condemning or judging anyone who does these things. Now you may think, “This girl has some issues.” And maybe I do. All I know is that I am not in a place right now to compromise my inward purity.
- Our thought Life. Did you know that we have 70,000 thoughts in one day?! That’s unbelievable! I can tell you that the majority of my thoughts during the day are worthless. The majority of thoughts I have aren’t being filtered by God’s Word. Which basically tells me, they are not pure thoughts. I want us to be mindful. Being mindful means, “to be attentive, conscious, aware, heedful.” If I am mindful during the day, I am going to be intentionally attentive, conscious, aware, and heedful about using the filter of God’s Word-it has been given to us so we can produce pure thoughts!
I have only listed 4 ways that we can stay pure in our actions. If we were all to sit in my room together and brainstorm different ways we could stay pure in our actions–we would be here for weeks! How else can we stay pure? Leave me a comment for more ideas!
Marlana Kaye
