1st Corinthians 7:33 But he that is married careth for the things that are of the world, how he may please his wife. 34 "The unmarried woman careth for the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit: but she that is married careth for the things of the world, how she may please her husband.
The Bible teaches us first and foremost, that as married individuals, we should seek to please God first in all that we do, and when the vertical relationship is intact, then we should seek to please our spouses, for this is the written will of God for husbands and wives. But never should popular opinion, or third parties be allowed to interfere or intervene in the attempts of wives and husbands to please each other, for the marriage vow was take between the two, and as the saying goes, three is a crowd.
For instance, on the issue of dress and outward adornment, the wife or husband may find themselves the subjects of societal pressure to dress in a certain manner, so as to be socially acceptable with the multitudes, and this may then lead to a compromise of godly principles and instructions given on this issue. There are certain businesses which require some of their employees to dress in a certain provocative manner, and it has become quite popular in our modern culture to indulge indecent exposure, so as to blend in with the multitudes who see this as the fad or standard of the day.
But while as Christians we are not to dress in a distasteful manner, yet we are to observe the godly standards set forth in the scriptures, and these principles should never be subject to the fashions of the day, merely to please others or to be socially acceptable, but rather to first please God and then each other. Let's read:
1st Peter 3:3 Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning".... "of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; 4 But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price. 5 For after this manner in the old time the holy women also, who trusted in God, adorned themselves"....
[The Adventist Home pp. 253] "Some wives and mothers seem to think it is no matter how they look when about their work and when they are seen only by their husbands and children, but they are very particular to dress in taste for the eyes of those who have no special claims upon them. Is not the esteem and love of husband and children more to be prized than that of strangers or common friends? The happiness of husband and children should be more sacred to every wife and mother than that of all others.
Living to please God and each other will call for the exercise of self-denial, and a mind that is not shackled by the customs and cultures of the day, but one which is held captive to the word of God alone, ever seeking to deepen and cultivate the tender cords of love between husband and wife, whilst steadfastly refusing any incursions by fad, fashion, or culture to the contrary. We therefore end with a passage of scripture which reiterates God's ideal for married men and women, and it is His will that we work steadfastly towards this end, being strengthened and enabled by His Spirit. Let's read:
Ephesians 5:28 So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. 29 For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church.
May The Lord add His blessing to the study and practice of His every word. God bless!