Guest LadyC Posted April 20, 2006 Share Posted April 20, 2006 in the old days, people wore to "church" the cultural garb of their era. i don't recall any scriptures where people wore fancier robes and sandals to worship or learn about God... although there are many references about dressing up for wedding feasts. today's cultural dress code is full of diversity. one person's closet may be full of designer clothes while the next person's closet is full of jeans. our housemate has a friend who is not a christian. one sunday we came home from church and he was outside waiting for our housemate to get home from wherever he was. he told us of his one and only visit to a church. he'd been coaching some kids in football for a church affiliated school. i guess it was a wednesday evening, or maybe a sunday evening, i'm not sure. what i do know is that when practice was over, he felt drawn for the first time to actually attend church. and in he went, wearing his football gear, a little grungy, a little sweaty, and with those big shoulder pad things and tight uniform pants. he entered the church and took a seat near the back, and then a church elder approached him and asked him to step out into the foyer for a moment. he followed, and was told that he needed to leave the church until he could come appropriately dressed. he never has entered a church again. we tried inviting him to our church where we promised he would not be judged based on what he was wearing, but he declined saying he would rather go to hell than ever be caught associating with people who passed judgement on others and made them feel unwelcome. it really grieved my heart that his perception of christianity was so horribly scarred that day. i don't believe God looks at what a person's outer adornment is. He looks at the heart. for those that KNOW Jesus, i believe they should refrain from wearing daisy dukes and low cut halters, but not everyone that walks into church is going to know Jesus. as for flipflops, or for that matter, getting up on stage to worship barefoot, who cares? God doesn't, i'm sure! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nebula Posted April 20, 2006 Group: Royal Member Followers: 10 Topic Count: 5,823 Topics Per Day: 0.75 Content Count: 45,870 Content Per Day: 5.94 Reputation: 1,897 Days Won: 83 Joined: 03/22/2003 Status: Offline Birthday: 11/19/1970 Share Posted April 20, 2006 When he came he was dressed in jeans and a dress shirt. Dressed perhaps like 30-40% of the congregation gathered on a Sunday morning in our church. However he was wearing flip flops for shoes, and when it came time to perform he did so barefooted. That reminds me so much of Rich Mullins! Richard Wayne Mullins (October 21, 1955 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Posted April 21, 2006 Group: Royal Member Followers: 1 Topic Count: 733 Topics Per Day: 0.10 Content Count: 3,017 Content Per Day: 0.43 Reputation: 128 Days Won: 1 Joined: 01/01/2005 Status: Offline Birthday: 04/09/1966 Share Posted April 21, 2006 My thoughts, without having read any of the previous posts, is this... Ask yourself, "Does is matter how I look when I meet with the family to worship the Creator of the Universe and the King of Kings, Lord of Lords? Does it matter to Him?" We must all be the judge of that for ourselves. It's a personal choice, keeping in mind that having a proper attitude toward God Himself is important preparation for worship at church. In Genesis, before Jacob left for Bethel to worship the Lord, he said to purify yourselves and change your clothes. For me, if we are instructed to give our best to God (in all things), that includes the clothes I wear to when I go to worship Him corporately. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apothanein kerdos Posted April 21, 2006 Group: Royal Member Followers: 1 Topic Count: 331 Topics Per Day: 0.05 Content Count: 8,713 Content Per Day: 1.21 Reputation: 21 Days Won: 0 Joined: 07/28/2004 Status: Offline Share Posted April 21, 2006 Attire will only matter do the materialist. Both James and Paul speak about fairness in the heart and not about attire. James speaks about how it is common for those who look poor and those who look rich to gather together. If our clothing mattesr, it is not a biblical truth backing it, it is instead a materialistic stance that we are taking which is inherently against the Bible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kabowd Posted April 21, 2006 Group: Royal Member Followers: 0 Topic Count: 112 Topics Per Day: 0.02 Content Count: 3,489 Content Per Day: 0.48 Reputation: 13 Days Won: 0 Joined: 07/28/2004 Status: Offline Share Posted April 21, 2006 Worship isn't an event you attend. Worship is a lifestyle, made-up of consistently laying your life down in service and sacrifice to the Lord (Romans 12:1-2). Thus, whatever you wear daily, is the proper attire. People who serve the poor, feeding them, clothing them, building houses, etc....they are worshipping when they do this. If they're wearing shorts and t-shirts, it's proper attire. People who visit the sick in the hospital, they are worshipping...so whatever they're wearing is proper attire. People who mow lawns for widows and do odd jobs to help them out...whatever they're wearing while doing so is proper attire. You get the idea. Of course, modesty should always be a concern. But if a person's heart is set towards God and on serving Him and others, it'll be proper and God will be pleased (even when judgmental, pious pharisees aren't ). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nebula Posted April 21, 2006 Group: Royal Member Followers: 10 Topic Count: 5,823 Topics Per Day: 0.75 Content Count: 45,870 Content Per Day: 5.94 Reputation: 1,897 Days Won: 83 Joined: 03/22/2003 Status: Offline Birthday: 11/19/1970 Share Posted April 21, 2006 Worship isn't an event you attend. Worship is a lifestyle, made-up of consistently laying your life down in service and sacrifice to the Lord (Romans 12:1-2). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaniJ87 Posted April 21, 2006 Group: Advanced Member Followers: 1 Topic Count: 15 Topics Per Day: 0.00 Content Count: 265 Content Per Day: 0.04 Reputation: 1 Days Won: 0 Joined: 10/15/2004 Status: Offline Birthday: 12/30/1987 Share Posted April 21, 2006 My thoughts, without having read any of the previous posts, is this... Ask yourself, "Does is matter how I look when I meet with the family to worship the Creator of the Universe and the King of Kings, Lord of Lords? Does it matter to Him?" We must all be the judge of that for ourselves. It's a personal choice, keeping in mind that having a proper attitude toward God Himself is important preparation for worship at church. In Genesis, before Jacob left for Bethel to worship the Lord, he said to purify yourselves and change your clothes. For me, if we are instructed to give our best to God (in all things), that includes the clothes I wear to when I go to worship Him corporately. Worship isn't an event you attend. Worship is a lifestyle, made-up of consistently laying your life down in service and sacrifice to the Lord (Romans 12:1-2). Thus, whatever you wear daily, is the proper attire. People who serve the poor, feeding them, clothing them, building houses, etc....they are worshipping when they do this. If they're wearing shorts and t-shirts, it's proper attire. People who visit the sick in the hospital, they are worshipping...so whatever they're wearing is proper attire. People who mow lawns for widows and do odd jobs to help them out...whatever they're wearing while doing so is proper attire. You get the idea. Of course, modesty should always be a concern. But if a person's heart is set towards God and on serving Him and others, it'll be proper and God will be pleased (even when judgmental, pious pharisees aren't ). To me: first... God told Moses to take off his shoes because he was standing on holy ground... so why should bare feet bother us? God made them that way! Do I think it matters what I wear when I meet the King of Kings? No! He made me without clothes, and in the most perfect condition possible... While clothes are necessary because of our fallen state... How can I possibly manage to make myself look better with clothes? I am much better off meeting God in my every-day clothes, having worked hard all day, and have been praising God and talking to Him, than having dressed up on Sunday morning, put on makeup, (hiding my God-given face) and fussing at great length with my appearance, and going to church, where I then continue to bother about my lipstick, etc.... Many people turn church into a "Let's see who has the best fashion sense" contest.... Some people say "what about tradition?".... I doubt that any of the dress traditions came from God. Most likely, they came from the pharisees, who tried to look their best whenever people saw them, so that they would be praised.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LadyC Posted April 21, 2006 Share Posted April 21, 2006 nebula, i loved rich mullins! i was on my way home from church one day when i heard over the radio that he'd been killed. i had to pull off the road and cry. after all these years, his music is still among my favorites. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gerioke Posted April 21, 2006 Group: Royal Member Followers: 3 Topic Count: 97 Topics Per Day: 0.01 Content Count: 5,850 Content Per Day: 0.84 Reputation: 128 Days Won: 0 Joined: 03/19/2005 Status: Offline Birthday: 08/11/1911 Share Posted April 21, 2006 Matthew 23 25 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giaour Posted April 21, 2006 Group: Royal Member Followers: 1 Topic Count: 179 Topics Per Day: 0.03 Content Count: 3,941 Content Per Day: 0.55 Reputation: 3 Days Won: 0 Joined: 10/28/2004 Status: Offline Birthday: 10/08/1964 Share Posted April 21, 2006 My sister and her husband were searching for a church home and on one of their searches, they heard a few of the members whispering about them and what they were wearing. The preacher happened to hear the members and preached a whole sermon on vanity and welcoming new people. The members almost crawled out of church that day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts