Dressing for Church
An article in the “Living” section of The Orlando
Sentinel (September 1998) grabbed my attention. The gist of the
article, “‘Church’ Clothes Losing Pious Devotion to Style” is the
debate over whether one should dress up for church services or “come
as you are.” One of the arguments for dressing up was, “When you go
out and meet a very important person, we all dress up. It’s a sign
of respect and admiration.” There was also the implication that
someone’s dress reflected that person’s spiritual preparation for
Sunday services.
Just like prayer, I feel this is another one of
those areas in which “man” has made the rules and guidelines of what
is appropriate, then has attempted to spiritualize it and say it’s
godly by sprinkling in spiritual-sounding adjectives and adverbs.
This just drives me crazy.
For the first argument of “dressing up” to have any
merit, one would have to interpret the statement to mean that one
can meet with God only at church, and should be dressed up whenever
He is met. If this had any truth to it, I would be in big trouble
because I have met God in just about every location and every dress
that can be imagined. I’ve worshiped Him in the car, sitting at my
office desk, on the beach and on a mountaintop. More than even in
the church building, I’ve worshiped Him in the privacy of my home in
such places as the kitchen, on the couch, in the bedroom, in the
bed, and even in the shower! That means I could’ve been in jeans, in
a night shirt, or even wearing nothing!
Scripture is clear that “man looks on the outward
appearance, but God looks on the heart.” Why is it we tend to
believe God’s Word until it conflicts with our own attitudes? I’ve
never read anywhere that God has a dress code, so why do churches?
As the article implies, I, too, have been in churches where style
and quality of clothing divide the members into a type of caste
system. I hardly think Jesus would care what someone is wearing if
his/her heart attitude was truly one of worship. While I do agree
with wearing what’s appropriate when attending a formal church
service, the question has become, “what is appropriate?” If I go to
the beach or to a pool, the appropriate clothing is a bathing suit.
Common sense tells me that wearing a bathing suit to church is not
appropriate because my intent in going to church is not to swim.
Some churches have gone too far in saying that the expected clothing
for a man is a suit and tie, or a dress for a woman. If I am
properly covered, what’s the difference if I wear jeans or a fancy
dress?
The purpose of gathering together as a body of
believers, whether it be on a Sunday morning, a Sunday night, a
Wednesday night, or any other time of the week, is to encourage each
other, to come together in one accord to build each other up and
strengthen each other in the Lord. We’re not meeting for the Lord’s
sake, but for ourselves. So the bottom line question really is, for
whom are we really dressing?
If the church is supposed to be a reflection of
Christ, then it should be reacting to people as Jesus would react –
loving, caring, forgiving, open-armed, accepting all colors and
types alike. Instead, too many churches have become social entities,
much like the local country club. In order to be accepted as a
member in good standing, one must have a certain place in society,
make a certain amount of money and dress a certain way. Shame on us!
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