This morning, I was mad (with smoke billowing from my ears). I was frustrated because I didn't have a clean "dress" shirt, and my mom insisted on me wearing a dress shirt. I was content on wearing a nice pull over with slacks, but that wasn't going to be tolerated.
The sickening part of this whole situation is that it should not be. There shouldn't be any type of "church dress code" for God's people. Am I knocking the type of attire revealed in the New Testament letters? Absolutely not! Listen to what God said through two of His apostles:
women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire, but with what is proper for women who profess godliness—with good works
1 Timothy 2:9-10
Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious
1 Peter 3:3-5
Does God have a standard for our physical apparel? Yes. Do I have a right to bind a dress code on others simply because
I think that it is
appropriate for worship? Absolutely, not.
The idea of Christian modesty is one of inner beauty that reflects itself physically. When a person is clothed in righteousness and godliness, his clothing will "follow suit" (no pun intended). Much of the "church clothing" today is in fact, immodest. Is it too revealing? No. Is it a little excessive though? Yes.
Suits and hats and all of that jazz are simply overrated. Where did that concept of "your Sunday best" even come from? Out of the Bible? Yes....WAY OUT OF THE BIBLE! If anything, the idea of wearing expensive clothing for Sundays is condemned rather than condoned. James said,
if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, "You sit here in a good place," while you say to the poor man, "You stand over there," or, "Sit down at my feet," have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?
James 2:2-4
It does not shock me how many times friends of mine have rejected an invitation to worship with me. Their reason?
They don't have any church clothes. How ludacris! How crazy! How have we come to the point where people feel as if they won't be welcomed to our assemblies because they are lacking in the
FINE CLOTHING DEPARTMENT. That, my friend, should not be!
This idea of Sunday clothing hurts the cause of Christ in one major way:
It leaves people thinking that you can wear your costume on Sunday, and be who you really are the rest of the week. We send a message that you only have to "give God your best" on Sunday morning (not even Sunday evening), and that's all the service He requires. True devotion to Christ is an everyday process, though. We must bring glory to Him all day, everyday (cf. 1 Corinthians 10:31).
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What about giving God your best? Shouldn't you wear your best clothing when you worship Him on the Lord's day? Wouldn't you wear a suit if you were meeting the President of the United States?"
My response to such ridiculous questions as the ones offered above is very simple: Shouldn't you offer your best to Him daily? What makes Sunday any different from any other day of the week? Are we now observing some quasi-sabbath day? SOMEONE PLEASE FILL ME IN! I have been in the presence of the President of the United States, and when I saw him, I wore my Scout shirt and short pants, like the other 60,000 people present at the Jamboree in Caroline County, Virginia! I didn't wear a suit. HE didn't even wear a suit that day! That's simply why that argument is so preposterous!
May we ever wear compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, patience, and love! (Colossians 3:12-17).
