Lingerie and Legalism: Christian Cosmo

   
     Here's my expert opinion as an 18 year old girl who has never worn lingerie: lingerie is great and totally okay to wear (in the bedroom of course. I wouldn't advise chillin' in a bralette on the subway or trying out your french maid outfit in the office). The weird thing in my opinion is that there are plenty of Christians who think there's no appropriate place for lingerie, and heaven forbid if a new bride has a whole party centered around receiving lingerie. I just don't get that. Nowhere in the Bible does it say "Thou Shalt not wear pretty underwear." If there was such a passage, then I could see what the stink was about. But the only explanation I can think of for a disapproval of lingerie for a bride or married woman is plain and ugly legalism. If you think you're holier than thou because you never venture away from your Fruit-o-the-Looms, you're not more righteous. You're just missing out on the fun! And hey, maybe lingerie just isn't your thing. Maybe you're into cute pajamas or going commando or whatever else. But I see no Biblical evidence that lingerie is "bad", so I say go for it!

     In her upcoming book Christian Cosmo, Phylicia Masonheimer has more to say on the subject, and she's definitely a more credible source than little old me since she's, you know, married. Since I'm reading an advance copy of the book, I got to read all about her thoughts on the topic and I think she did a really great job. You can also read what she has to say in this post from her blog. When I read that post, I was honestly impressed and a little intrigued. I'd never really thought about lingerie all that much and I'd certainly not talked about it a whole lot. And why not? Like anything related to sex, we all love to keep it hush hush in church, which  makes little to no sense since God literally created sex. But going back to what I mentioned earlier, legalism has had a hand in distorting a lot of Biblical ideas. If you're unfamiliar with what exactly legalism is, it is the "excessive adherence to law or formula". The reason why legalism is such an unfortunate and sad problem in the Christian realm is because there are plenty of Christians who still believe that salvation can be obtained by adhering to a strict set of rules delineated by God. But the truth is that Jesus came and sacrificed himself for the express purpose of making it so that we don't have to break our backs and brains trying and failing to follow those laws! The only law we have to follow under the new covenant is to love the Lord your God with all you heart, soul and mind, and to love all mankind (which is obviously easier said than done, but that's where the whole grace of God thing comes into play). 

     Well, it just got real churchy up in here, so you're welcome. I guess my point is that lingerie is one of those things that plenty of people read too much into. And I definitely think that if you don't like the concept of it for your own life and marriage, then by all means, you do whatever you want. But I also don't see what purpose it serves to look down on those who think lingerie is totally acceptable, because for them, it is. It's like that verse in 1 Corinthians 6:12 that says "All things are permissible for me, but not all things are beneficial for me". I think it's really beautiful and really unique to my faith that God gives us the power to discern for ourselves what things are good and bad for our own individual lives. The same can be said for just about anything, like covering your head or not eating meat or refraining from alcohol. Those things are not sins in and of themselves-- it's bad motivation that turns innocent actions into sins.
     Now that I've just given a little Theology 101, hope you have a fantabulous evening, and don't forget to check out Phylicia's blog and learn more about Christian Cosmo!

-VaughnDL