Growing up, people around me made me believe that modesty is all about clothing, people in my community are quick to judge people based on their appearance even my mother belongs to this school of thought especially when a girl wore a short skirt or a sleeveless top, people would start to give her different names like a prostitute or the likes and they believe it is immodest but If a lady wore long skirts and covered her body it is called modest.
At first, when I hear the word modesty all I think about is just dressing, how you wear something good that is not revealing, I think it is all about what you put on but now I see beyond dressing, modesty goes a long way than just putting on cloth to cover our nakedness, now I have come to believe that modesty is not just one thing, It is a combination of what is inside and what shows on the outside.
I remember a woman in our church, she always dresses so good, she would cover her body both in church and outside the church but this woman is very wicked, she has a borehole in her compound and she would never allow anyone to fetch from it no matter how thirsty you are, this woman is very wicked and does not have any atom of forgiveness, but when you see her in church singing praises you would think the angels are coming down to worship, though she has a good sense of dressing but her heart is full of evil. Her behavior taught me that modesty cannot be judged only by what we wear.
Also I once lived with a lady in my compound when I was in school, she can dress anyhow she feels comfortable but this lady has a good heart, she can cook for the whole compound, I called her a problem solver because she has a good heart, I didn't judge her based on what she wearing but when I see a good person I know one, she can never leave you when you are in distress, I always respect her sense of humor.
There is an adage that says the way you dress is the way you will be addressed, we know modesty plays a big role in our society especially in Africa, no one would want to associate with immodesty, it would be rare for any one to dress anyhow to an interview and you will be granted the interview, we take modesty so paramount in my country but modest doesn't define cloth alone, it defines who you are both inside and outside. I believe modesty in appearance is about balance. You do not have to look dull to be modest, but you also do not have to expose everything just to prove confidence
What is modesty? To me, it is not just about clothes, and not just about the heart. It is about both. The heart gives life to real modesty, and the outside is only a reflection. The modern world may define it differently, but I believe true modesty never goes out of style.
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This is my entry to this episode of #hiveghana community prompt