[Note: This article was written in reaction to a lawsuit filed by Philadelphia Eagles cheerleaders against the NFL. A hole in their locker room wall allowed some players to view them while showering and dressing.]

Now, don't get me wrong here. I'm not excusing these grown men who insist upon acting like hormone-charged teenagers. It is inexcusable to invade someone's privacy in the way that is alleged to have happened in the Philadelphia Eagles locker room. Multi-millionaire athletes who can't find any better outlet for their sexual urges than ogling unsuspecting women in the shower, that's pretty sad.

But that's not what I want to write about here. I want to write about cheerleaders.

And don't get me wrong. I'm not blaming the cheerleaders for this problem any more than I'm saying a rape victim "got what she asked for". These men went out of their way to exploit unsuspecting women, and they alone are responsible for the problem at Veteran's Stadium. But I do wish that women would look at sexual exploitation from the male perspective from time to time.

Cheerleaders can be horrible hypocrites about the way they are viewed. After all, the entire point of their activity, whether it is at the professional, college or high school level, is to turn women into sex objects. They dress in provocative outfits, learn provocative dance moves, and do their dead-level best to catch the attention of every red-blooded male in the audience. And then they have the nerve to act offended when it works.

The same principle applies, of course, to any woman who dresses herself in clothing that is designed (by the manufacturer if not the wearer) to stimulate the sexual urges of men. Whether it's by lowering the neckline, lifting the hemline, or in any other creative way displaying more of a woman's body than is appropriate, designers try to sell clothes that appeal to the basest, crudest elements of men's minds.

Trust us, ladies - these clothes work.

Now, if you are trying to attract the kind of man who will be attracted to that kind of woman, you quite likely will succeed - perhaps with little or no effort. But if you are trying to find a man who is drawn to your character and your mind, you muddy the waters with unqualified applicants when you show off your other "attributes". And you quite likely will run off the very ones for whom you claim to be searching.

And to a lesser extent, the same point is true for men. Although women are not as prone to judging the opposite sex simply on the basis of appearances, they have their impulses, too. And men can try to capitalize on them by wearing tight pants or not wearing shirts. A godly man has better characteristics to display. And a woman who would be drawn by such tactics is not a woman with whom a godly man should want to be involved.

It's natural to want to look your best, and certainly there is nothing wrong with trying to put your best foot forward, whether for a person of the opposite sex or for any other reason. But a person can choose attractive clothing and still be discreet. The main point of 1 Timothy 2:9-10 is not that it is sinful to wear expensive clothing, but rather that our outward adornments should not be the main way we present ourselves to the world. And if our clothes or jewelry or hairstyle interferes with the message of "good works" we are trying to send, we need to make an adjustment.

Consider these rules of thumb for choosing clothes. If you are wearing an article of clothing that is intended to draw attention to your physical attributes, wear something else. If you are wearing an article of clothing that gaps when you walk, bend, sit or reach, wear something else. If you are wearing an article of clothing that is tight to the point of stretching, wear something else. If you find yourself consciously working to make sure your clothes cover everything that needs to be covered, wear something else.

Choosing clothes is the easiest part of modesty to address. A tougher, and probably more important, issue is behavior. We say more about ourselves with the things we say and the way we say them, with the things we do and the places we go, than we do with the clothes we wear. This is especially important for a woman, since women tend to be the passive parties in the courtship ritual and therefore rely greatly on nonverbal communication. For example, a woman who takes the lead in initiating physical, romantic contact sends certain signals. They may not be a true reflection of what is on her mind, but she needs to realize that she likely will put it into the man's mind all the same.

I sympathize with the Eagles' cheerleaders. But they should accept responsibility for encouraging a mentality that made their situation possible.   (Hal Hammons, 2002)