DRESS MATTERS: SORT OF

Exodus 28:1-2 (NIV)
"Have Aaron your brother brought to you from among the Israelites, along with his sons Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, so they may serve me as priests. Make sacred garments for your brother Aaron, to give him dignity and honor.

                We have all seen the signs in the window. No shoes, no shirt, no service. Who wants to eat a meal with a bare-chested man with dirty, bare feet sitting at the next table? It kind of makes me lose my appetite.

                The way we dress matters, not in some legalistic way, but it conveys a message. People look at use differently according to the way we dress. We can argue that it should not matter, but in reality it does. For example, two young men apply for the same job working in an office setting. One comes in dressed in a suit and tie. The other comes dressed in a T-shirt and low-hanging, baggy pants. Which young man has the better chance of getting hired? You may react to that, saying it is not fair, but it has nothing to do with fairness. They way we present ourselves to others gives them permission to evaluate us. It is hard to convince a potential employer that I am an organized, hard working person when I am dressed in mismatched, crumpled clothes and my hair is uncombed.

                There is a trend in Christian circles to dress down for church. I have heard people use the argument that they have to dress up all week, so on the weekend they want to relax. Others argue that God doesn’t care how a person dresses as long as they come to worship. Any mention of dressing appropriately for worship is met with accusations of legalism and Pharisaic showiness. I grew up in a church environment that expected people to dress a certain way to come to church. It was confining and restrictive. I am not advocating a return to that era. But shouldn’t we show at least as much respect for God as we do for a potential employer?

                The real issue is not how we dress, but the attitude behind how we dress. When we come to church in sloppy clothes we convey the message that we don’t really care about worship. You can argue that a person can worship no matter how they are dressed. I would agree, but if you can dress nicely and choose not to, what does that say about you?

                Let me put it in another context. You are invited to a formal wedding. The wedding party is dressed in tuxedos and formal gowns. The church is tastefully decorated and the reception hall is elegant. Would you show up wearing shorts, a t-shirt and flip-flops? You are invited to a banquet sponsored by your company. All of the top executives will be in attendance. Would you show up in a Hawaiian shirt and ripped blue jeans?

                Most of us know how to dress appropriately according to the occasion. We dress differently when we are going to a cook-out than when we are going out to dinner at a fancy restaurant. Yet, we seem to think that it doesn’t matter how we dress when we come to worship.  I believe the way we dress matters to God for a couple of reasons.

                The way we dress expresses our attitude toward our host. In the Old Testament, God ordained that the priests should dress in special clothes to serve at His alter and to come into his presence. God thought that was so important that when a priest entered His presence in an inappropriate manner it cost him his life. We dress appropriately when we are invited to someone’s home as a sign of respect for that family. Should we not show the same kind of respect when we come into God’s house?

                In Matthew 22 Jesus told a parable about a wedding feast. The point of the story is that those who had been originally invited (the Jews) refused to come, so the master opened the banquet to all (the Gentiles). But at the end of the parable there is an interesting addition. "But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. 'Friend,' he asked, 'how did you get in here without wedding clothes?' The man was speechless. "Then the king told the attendants, 'Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' Matthew 22:11-13 (NIV) I don’t want to make this verse say something it is not saying. It is talking about being clothed in the righteousness of Christ. At the same time, the image is striking. When you are invited to a wedding banquet, you show respect for your host by how you dress.

                The way that we dress can become a distraction for others who have come to worship. We can argue that other people’s opinion doesn’t matter when we are coming to worship God, but we would be wrong. If we do things that we know will offend or distract others, we are drawing attention to ourselves and away from Christ.

                Paul touches on this concept in several places in his letters. In Romans 14 he talked at length about eating meat sacrificed to idols. He used that issue to give us an overriding principle. Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother's way. As one who is in the Lord Jesus, I am fully convinced that no food is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for him it is unclean. If your brother is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy your brother for whom Christ died. Do not allow what you consider good to be spoken of as evil. Romans 14:13-16 (NIV) We could paraphrase the above verse to say, if your brother is distressed by how you dress, you are no longer acting in love.

                Paul came back to this idea of how our actions affect others in 1 Timothy 2:9-10. I also want women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God. His point is that dressing inappropriately distracts others from worship and draws undue attention to yourself.

                I am not advocating a legalistic dress code for worship. I am suggesting that we should consider the impact of how we dress before we come to worship.

1 Peter 2:16-17 (NIV)
Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God. Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king.