Why wear our "Sunday best" to church?

[Guest Biblicist]

If that's the case, let's all go to church naked.

You go first.

I always get dressed up to go to church. Why wouldn't you?? What you wear shows a lot about what your attitude is. To me, taking time to get "dressed up" speaks volumes about what you think of G-d's house. It has nothing to do with "outward shows," but rather showing respect in Whose honor you are assembling.

Ditto Marnie,

People get dressed up for what's important to them.

Think of the hours and $$ spent on wedding gowns. Fancy clothes for parties. I've known girls who get dressed up more to head to the Mall!! What is important to you?

[Floatingaxe]

If that's the case, let's all go to church naked.

You go first.

I always get dressed up to go to church. Why wouldn't you?? What you wear shows a lot about what your attitude is. To me, taking time to get "dressed up" speaks volumes about what you think of G-d's house. It has nothing to do with "outward shows," but rather showing respect in Whose honor you are assembling.

Ditto Marnie,

People get dressed up for what's important to them.

Think of the hours and $$ spent on wedding gowns. Fancy clothes for parties. I've known girls who get dressed up more to head to the Mall!! What is important to you?

Amen! People get dressed up for the most mundane of reasons, and they'd even dress up to visit the Queen! why not the King of Kings? He deserves clean hearts and hands! that includes clean clothes...he deserves our very best. In this country we have been blessed with abundance and affluence. Let's honour Him with it!

[Emily~Anne]

Amazing how scripture isn't being addressed:

1 Timothy 2:9-10 - Likewise, I want women to adorn themselves with proper clothing, modestly and discreetly, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly garments, but rather by means of good works, as is proper for women making a claim to godliness.

James 2: 2-4 - For if a man comes into your assembly with a gold ring and dressed in fine clothes, and there also comes in a poor man in dirty clothes, and you pay special attention to the one who is wearing the fine clothes, and say, "You sit here in a good place," and you say to the poor man, "You stand over there, or sit down by my footstool," have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil motives?

Now, find me a verse that says we are to "dress for respect" when we gather together.

Nobody said we should wear designer clothes, just simply put forth an effort out of respect.

Most of the dressing you see in church is people playing the status game anyway. This one's got a $300 suit, that one's got a $500 one, and that guy over there is wearing a $1000 suit, and its sickening.

This post has bothered me alot. I have been wondering, is this the case in your church? If so, I highly reccomend you look for another church, that is HORRIBLE and yes, very sickening. I couldn't stand to be in a church like this! I have lived in many states and loved all the churches I have been a member of.

I remember a church I went to in Idaho, and there was this family that was obviously very very poor, and yet they were some of the happiest people I have ever met. Their light really shined, and they were such a close family with such sweet children. They drove a very beat up van and their clothes were very obviously second hand and they often wore the same thing over and over, yet, every Sunday they sat up in the front row in their Sunday best for God's house with smiles on their faces. They were so happy to be there and fellowship and worship and hear the word of God and give Glory to God and rejoice!

Expensive clothes are totally unnecessary. You can actually find some pretty nice clothes at the local Salvation Army. Dressing to show off your wealth is totally unbiblical and immodest in a way. It is also being poor stewards of the money God gives us. Remember, everything we have is from God. Does God want us to use what we have with the intent in our heart to prove that we are better than others? NO! This is why heart is more important than what we wear, however, does this mean we should not bother to dress up at all? It is optional yes, but as for me and my family, we choose to give God our best in all areas of our life, and that includes how we dress. For us it is out of gratitude and worship and reverence to God. We have never been rich and never tried to pass ourselves off as rich. I have been looked down on as being poor because my kids have to share a 9x10 bedroom and we only have one vehicle. But, like my sons says, "We are poor in money, but rich in Spirit."

Soon we will be moving again, and the thought of leaving our church breaks my heart. Especially as I read the threads here at worthy I worry what is happening to churches nowadays. So far we have been tremendously blessed to be able to find churches filled with truth, light and POSITIVE fellowship (and a sign language interpretor for me and is wheelchair accesible for my husband), and we pray that God will once again bless us with this when we move again. As far as dress in a church, I have no desire to be a part of a church where people dress to show off status, or a church where people are shunned for how they dress, yet we also have no desire to be a memeber of a church where the pastor has his boxers hanging out of his pants, a cigarette hanging out of his mouth, is covered in tattoos and has every body part imaginable pierced. I believe the pastor should be held to a higher standard than the rest of the church if he is to be truth and light to all. Extremist views on either end are not a good thing, and neither is glorifying to God at all.

[apothanein kerdos]

We don't need scripture to equate dressing nice to showing respect. Common sense should make that know to us. As I said in another post, if I were going to meet with a dignitary, out of respect, common sense would tell me I should wear my best.

The problem with this is it is highly subjective and the standard itself can lead to quite a few judgmental attitudes. For some, the best they can scrounge up is a torn pair of jeans and a worn out t-shirt. The reason is they are poor and instead of spending their money on items of vanity (which, let's be honest, this is an issue of vanity) they choose to spend their money on survival. Unfortunately, we are not going to know this when they first arrive at church, and thus judgments will be hurled.

Furthermore, what scripture dictates what is "respectful" in our dress code? In fact, what scripture even tells us to pay attention to our outer appearance in concern for respect? I could be mistaken, but I do believe there are a few verses that condemn men, or at least look down on them, because they judge outward. Congress is full of some of the most best dressed people in the world...yet some of the least respectable as well. A West Virginia mine is full of the dirtiest men in the world...yet some of the most respectable.

Honestly, I'm still waiting for scripture to support your point of view. You are essentially telling me to keep up my outer appearance...something scripture generally speaks against...so I'd be interested in this scripture that you say you don't need.

As to your other question about dressing nice for God on days other than Sunday, who is to say we shouldn't? In reality, we have become a nation of slobs which is not really a good thing. Maybe we should show more respect when we enter into our prayer closet, and maybe we should be more aware of how we present ourselves on a day to day basis as ambassadors for Christ.

Ah yes, because Christ left us a plethora of scripture dealing with how we look, correct? If you could, could you please give me these scriptures, just as a refresher.

By the way, how often do you worship God in the shower? What we are speaking of here is a designated time where people come together to worship. It can hardly be compared to showering, using the bathroom if you want to get that crude, working in the garden, or on the car, etc. It is a silly argument, and I imagine that is why nobody responded.

Every day. It is some of the best alone time. Therefore, I ask again, shall I wear my suit and tie into the shower?

[Emily~Anne]

You know what? I believe God provides. If a person does desire to dress nicely for church, God will somehow provide for that. Know what else? Many who dress immodestly or goth, care a great deal about how they look, and are quite willing to spend the bucks to get the look they want. So do those who dress to prove their financial status. Those who desire to go the extra mile simply to give God their best in how they dress also are usually satisfied with a skirt or dress from the Salvation Army. You'd be surprised what nice things can be found in second hand shops. Also, when I was a punk and had nothing to wear, people from church started to donate me clothes. Though they dressed nicely, they did not pass judgement, rather they did what they could to help me. THAT is letting your light shine! Any way we can let our light shine is a good thing! Either by making everyone feel welcome in our church regardless of how they dress or/and also by choosing to dress up for church, or by donating nice clothes to someone who would appreciate them very much. (These ideas are pertaining to the theme of the thread, there are endless ways to let your light shine! )

[quieth3art]

Just last night, my son's best friend stayed over with us. We invited him to church with us this morning. He declined because the last time he went to church with a friend, he was asked to leave for not being dressed properly. I've known this boy a long time and he doesn't dress "poorly" on any day. But, he does usually wears nice blue jeans.

Nothing I said could convince him that he would be accepted just as he was at our church. We will keep inviting him, though. We won't give up.

Have you condemned someone's soul to Hell because you judged them by their clothes?

[Emily~Anne]

Just last night, my son's best friend stayed over with us. We invited him to church with us this morning. He declined because the last time he went to church with a friend, he was asked to leave for not being dressed properly. I've known this boy a long time and he doesn't dress "poorly" on any day. But, he does usually wears nice blue jeans.

Nothing I said could convince him that he would be accepted just as he was at our church. We will keep inviting him, though. We won't give up.

Have you condemned someone's soul to Hell because you judged them by their clothes?

That is very unfortunate. If someone in my church was asked to leave based on how they looked, i would get up and leave with them to make a statement, and probably never come back to that church.

[WillingToDie]

You know what? I believe God provides. If a person does desire to dress nicely for church, God will somehow provide for that. Know what else? Many who dress immodestly or goth, care a great deal about how they look, and are quite willing to spend the bucks to get the look they want. So do those who dress to prove their financial status. Those who desire to go the extra mile simply to give God their best in how they dress also are usually satisfied with a skirt or dress from the Salvation Army. You'd be surprised what nice things can be found in second hand shops. Also, when I was a punk and had nothing to wear, people from church started to donate me clothes. Though they dressed nicely, they did not pass judgement, rather they did what they could to help me. THAT is letting your light shine! Any way we can let our light shine is a good thing! Either by making everyone feel welcome in our church regardless of how they dress or/and also by choosing to dress up for church, or by donating nice clothes to someone who would appreciate them very much. (These ideas are pertaining to the theme of the thread, there are endless ways to let your light shine! )

you have yet to show that dressing Goth is wrong. Additionally, what's wrong with a person coming to church dressed in goth clothes if they wear the best goth clothes they have? Or what if the Goth clothes are the best clothes they have period? That, I think, is what this tread is really about.

Regarding your church providing you with nice clothes, did you express a desire to dress in better, more "normal clothes"? If so, then I'm glad to hear that your church gave you nicer clothes. if not, then why could they not just accept you as you were?

You know what? I believe God provides. If a person does desire to dress nicely for church, God will somehow provide for that. Know what else? Many who dress immodestly or goth, care a great deal about how they look, and are quite willing to spend the bucks to get the look they want. So do those who dress to prove their financial status. Those who desire to go the extra mile simply to give God their best in how they dress also are usually satisfied with a skirt or dress from the Salvation Army. You'd be surprised what nice things can be found in second hand shops. Also, when I was a punk and had nothing to wear, people from church started to donate me clothes. Though they dressed nicely, they did not pass judgement, rather they did what they could to help me. THAT is letting your light shine! Any way we can let our light shine is a good thing! Either by making everyone feel welcome in our church regardless of how they dress or/and also by choosing to dress up for church, or by donating nice clothes to someone who would appreciate them very much. (These ideas are pertaining to the theme of the thread, there are endless ways to let your light shine! )

I really think that church members and Christians shoud dress Modest. Nice or sloppy I personally do not care. I think modest clothing that is not sexually provocative is a must for church, past that I am really neutral.

I agree, modest dress is preferable, if for no other reason than to try to prevent your brother from stumbling.

Just last night, my son's best friend stayed over with us. We invited him to church with us this morning. He declined because the last time he went to church with a friend, he was asked to leave for not being dressed properly. I've known this boy a long time and he doesn't dress "poorly" on any day. But, he does usually wears nice blue jeans.

Nothing I said could convince him that he would be accepted just as he was at our church. We will keep inviting him, though. We won't give up.

Have you condemned someone's soul to Hell because you judged them by their clothes?

That is very unfortunate. If someone in my church was asked to leave based on how they looked, i would get up and leave with them to make a statement, and probably never come back to that church.

I'm glad to hear you say that. The question, however, is would you make this person welcome? We have presented at least two stories of people who are ignored because they dress and look different, one of which was a one time event (XianGothDude's story), one of which happens every week (my friend Sarah).

[Giaour]

I was insulted when an older lady at church handed me some skirts she had outgrown.

She did it in front of everyone, I was so embarassed.

I didnt see anything wrong with what I was wearing. Sure it wasnt fancy but it was clean and modest.

[WillingToDie]

I was insulted when an older lady at church handed me some skirts she had outgrown.

She did it in front of everyone, I was so embarassed.

I didnt see anything wrong with what I was wearing. Sure it wasnt fancy but it was clean and modest.

Maybe she just thought you would like them?

Or was it a "here child, wear these" kind of thing?