As I've recently pointed out, research indicates that when most men see a woman's cleavage, that's what they want. And the more cleavage men see, the more they want it.

Women will read this and say that men ought to grow up. But to do that men need all the help they can get from women because, as I've also noted here, men are motivated by what they see. It's the way guys' brains are wired. The choice to not look is inspired by God, and most guys don't want that kind of inspiration.

Advertising and entertainment executives know this, and they do all they can to drown out God's voice. That means conning women into believing it's fashionable to reveal too much. Some women obey like lemmings. Others say they're free to do whatever they want, regardless of the consequences. Still others do so despite reservations because they fear they will be rejected as unfashionable or prudes if they don't. If you doubt me, click to read the recent article in Christianity Today.

One group among us stands apart. Devout Muslim women are covered from head to foot because they recognize their bodies are meant to be seen only by their husbands. They shop, laugh, talk on their cell phones and are otherwise thoroughly normal but they make a clothing choice that ignores the demands of fashion because they want respect and are willing to show it.

Christian women can show respect, too – if they want to. Too often they don't. For example, an article I wrote years ago for the Waterbury Republican went national because it was about a Catholic priest who refused to let women be married in his church if they didn't cover it up. No bare shoulders, no cleavage, fashion be damned.

The Bible contains several appeals for women to choose modesty over fashion. Modesty provides rewards in a relationship, such as trust and respect, that fashion never will. God, in other words, says modesty is in our best long-term interest. That's always been His goal for us.

My question: How important are those rewards to you? (Before answering, consider the consequences of living without them.)