Hair stylists, dress shops, and tuxedo rentals all love this time of year because it is prom season. During the spring, most all juniors and seniors have their formal event where they dress up, take pictures, eat a meal, and dance. Schools encourage all eligible students to attend, parents want their children to have their big night, and peers find it strange when one does not desire to attend. Prom has become a rite of passage for teenagers. Society says one should attend, but as Christians, we must understand that our culture, our schools, our parents, or our peers are not our guides – God’s word is the guide by which we ought to live our lives. Therefore, it is God’s word to which we should turn to determine whether we as Christians should be supporting or attending the prom.
One thing to take into consideration is the dress that is most often associated with the prom. While above I mention that prom is a time to “dress up,” in all reality, prom is a time in which most actually dress down. The guys wear their tuxedos, but the girls almost always wear tight, revealing dresses. Many dresses that are in style today may reach the floor, but they have a slit that comes all the way up the leg, past the thigh, and reach the hip. Dresses might be covered in the front, but there is little fabric to be found on the back. Some dresses might be an appropriate length, but they are extremely low-cut. Even still, some dresses might fully cover the individual, but they are skin-tight, leaving little left to the imagination. Such clothing is intended to accentuate and highlight the body of the one wearing the dress which then leads to and promotes lust for others.
As Christians, our desire should not be for others to look at us and see us for our physical bodies or our physical beauty. The goal ought to be for others to see God in us (1 Tim. 2:9-10; 1 Pet. 3:3-4). If we are honest with ourselves, we will see what the typical prom attire promotes, and we will be left with the conclusion that such revealing clothing does not “promote godliness” (1 Tim. 2:9, NKJV) but rather promotes worldliness.
Lord willing, we will continue looking at this subject in part 2 next week.
By Preston McElyea