Godless China vs Christian USA

The Olympics are here.  I have always been fascinated with the Olympics.  It is amazing what all those people from all over the world can train their bodies to do.  On thing I’ve always wondered is how each sport chooses the type of clothing they will wear. 

Why, for instance, does the men’s volleyball team wear shorts that almost touch the knee and a shirt while the women’s volleyball team wears short short shorts and skin-tight tops that only cover what is absolutely necessary.   

Why does the men’s gymnastic team wear long pants with their tank top while the women wear a bathing suit?

Why, all of a sudden, are the swimmers wearing more clothing than most of the other sports?

 I’ve heard discussions about sports in clothing.  I hear people say that they need to make sure that they don’t wear anything that will cause them to lose speed, strength, momentum etc.   If this were true, then aren’t the men’s volleyball teams and the men’s gymnastic teams giving themselves a disadvantage by wearing too much clothing?  It must be something else.  There must be some other reason they all dress as they do. 

I’m straying from the topic in my title.  I was watching the women’s volleyball the other day.  There was the US team in their "barely there" shorts and skin-tight, skimpy tops, bouncing all around the court.  The reporter began discussing the fact that China was pretty new to the sport of volleyball.  He went on to say that China was having the most trouble adjusting to the dress of the sport.  The screen then switched to the Chinese team.  Now, keep in mind, these people do not claim to be God-fearing.  They do not even try to pretend to be Christians.  What were they wearing?  They had shorts that went just past their knees and a tops that not only looked more comfortable but covered up everything.  There was a short clip of a Chinese girl saying that she would not even think about wearing the clothing the other teams were wearing.  It was too immodest.

Hmmm…..

Godless China wearing modest clothing vs Christian USA dressed in nothing more than colorful underwear.  I am ashamed of our Olympic teams for their lack of dress.

Back to the men vs women clothing issue.  Why would they choose to dress the way they do?  Is it because the men can compete better when they have more clothing that might hinder their strength, speed or momentum?  Are the women really at an advantage with the clothing they wear?  Or is it all about sexual appeal.  Our society expects women to flaunt their bodies.  There is no reason why the women gymnasts can’t wear proper modest clothing like the men.  There is no reason why the women’s volleyball team can’t wear proper modest clothing like the men. 

What about the swimmers?  Why are they all of a sudden more modest this year than in years gone by?  In the past I’ve been afraid that the suits the men were wearing were going to come right off?  Remember Mark Spitz?  Scientists have now discovered that more covering is better than less in the water.  In fact, the swimmers are breaking world records right and left because of the new swim suit.  Of course, they aren’t dressing more modestly for modesty’s sake but it is nice to watch the swim team compete without seeing so much bare skin.

Just a side note:  I’ve read a discussion recently online about modesty that states we should dress according to the dress of all those around us.  If we are at a ball park and everyone is wearing shorts, it is perfectly acceptable to wear shorts.  If we are at a swimming pool and everyone has on swim suits, it is perfectly acceptable to wear swim suits.  The Chinese girls’ volleyball team didn’t go along with this way of thinking.  They stood out a little at the Olympics.  In fact, they got world-wide TV coverage because of their modest dress.  Some would say that was immodest of them to stand out that way.  I don’t think so.  If our modest dress makes us stand out in the crowd, so be it.  We are to be different from the world.  We are to be a peculiar people.