Who thinks, really, about what it means to be “dignified?”

We associate such a word with old Victorian tea parties and stiff-necked grandmothers who fuss over things that “aren’t important anymore.” We don’t entertain the term as part of our daily lexicon, and we shove it under the bed, quietly filed away with other forgotten virtues that are eternally attached to women from “back in the olden days” (chastity, anyone?)

Despite our delusions, dignity is quite a godly attribute. In fact, it’s pretty important in the Scriptures.

Living out the truth that we are valued. Self-respect, because we are not our own and have been bought with a price. Character. Integrity. Psalm 1. Wisdom. Proverbs 4.

Proverbs 31:25-26 describes the woman  as being clothed with strength and dignity. In this passage, she is the end result of what happens when one follows the path of wisdom. A dignified woman. A “formidable, self-possessed woman of fully realized moral sensibility.” You may recall Abigail, who saved her household from her husband’s stupidity.

Who doesn’t want to be like that? Not just a face, but a three-dimensional human being who is loved and known and important because of her Creator, and she walks in this truth with her head held high, knowing that she has value. She recognizes that being a daughter of the King is a serious business that ought to change her perspective on everything. Because she knows her value in the eyes of her Father, she isn’t afraid (and is empowered by the Spirit) to be herself, to contribute, to live a pure life, to stand up for the Lord. 

I recently finished watching the fourth season of the TV series “Downton Abbey” and had the hardest time letting go of the show until the next round of episodes. Despite being a fictional series, the world of early-1900s England seemed like a magical realm of order, modesty, and subtlety. There is something enchanting about it all even though the time was rife with scandal and cover-ups. Yet, the cover-ups ensued one after another because the worst thing in the entire world was for a family to have its name tarnished. There’s something about dignity as a priority that we’ve apparently forgotten. 

How do you walk?

Yank your eyes off the ground. You are His child, and you have been made in His image. You are called to live in dignity: walking in the truth of your identity in Christ. May we all. 

Thanks, Dr. de Rosset, for your book that got me thinking and praying. Quote from Unseduced and Unshaken.