Why wear our "Sunday best" to church?

[Emily~Anne]

Romans 12:1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-this is your spiritual act of worship.

God gave us his very best, therefore he deserves our very best. We should be welcoming those less fortunate than us in our churches and homes, and one way we can show respect for God's house is by putting forth a little extra effort to look nice on the Lord's day in God's house. Designer clothes are not necessary, ties are not neccesary and neither are dresses. But I think putting forth a little extra effort on Sunday is always a good thing and it is amazing how that gets all twisted around.

[XianGothDude]

What of the prostitute who can't do alittle "extra" as you say, or the homeless man? You contridicted yourself really, if the Lord doesn't care what we wear, why do you?

[Emily~Anne]

What of the prostitute who can't do alittle "extra" as you say, or the homeless man? You contridicted yourself really, if the Lord doesn't care what we wear, why do you?

What do you mean? How did I contradict myself? Do you think it is impossible for a person to dress with respect for God's house on the Lord's day to open their churches and homes in love to the prostitute who can't do a little extra or the homeless man? Do we have to dress like a bum in order to love him?

[XianGothDude]

I didn't say that lol, I'm just saying what of those that can't dress alittle extra? Why should it matter? That's what I'm saying.

[Emily~Anne]

Never mind, I think some good is coming out of this thread after all! Everyone let's remember just because someone thinks it is a good thing to look nice for church does not mean they are an extremist about it. Like I said, my husband wears jeans to church!

[buckthesystem]

Many people wear a shirt and tie / nice dress and blouse to work 5 days out of the week for their employer's sake. What are we saying when we can't at least do the same for the Lord's sake?

Yeah well, some of us are "blue collar" workers. I wear raggy teeshirts and baggy shorts to work or in the winter it is raggy trousers and an old jersey. We change into overalls and boots to work anyway.

I don't think I even have a "nice dress and blouse". I don't like to break in new shoes and so get all my shoes from second-hand shops so they are comfortable (it is amazing how many people donate good quality shoes to second hand shops).

As for church I have a pair of shoes that have no scuff marks on them and I will wear a "good" pair of trousers or a skirt (all my shirts are short but fortunately I have the body to get away with it - I know it sounds like I'm boasting but I'm not) and a clean top with no tears in it. I have one "conservative" wool skirt that my husband calls my "old woman skirt" that is more befitting my age that I save for funerals and formal occasions).

I don't think God cares how we dress and nobody at church has complained, so I feel OK about it.

As for a "shirt and tie". I think when my husband left the navy he gave away all his ties, but he can "clean up well" when he wants to.

Young people are something different though. With my son and his friends, their idea of "dressing up" is to wear a teeshirt without writing on it, and something clean.

My daughter is a very fussy dresser and always wears make-up and good clothes, but everything she wears can be considered "revealing" because even if it isn't low cut or short, it is tight. She has a Christian friend who always dresses "nicely" but modestly. My daughter said: "Heather (the girl) looks great, but if I wore her clothes I'd look like a bag lady).

I guess we should all dress befitting what we are. God knows how we think and we can never pretend that we are something we are not.

[Floatingaxe]

D'ya think Jesus had a "Sunday best" tunic ???????

I believe that Jesus dressed well. He was a king, after all. He wasn't a destitute person. His needs were more than looked after by Himself, as He had a trade in His earlier years, and by the love gifts of others.

[Guest stevej]

Consider this..Did God give His very Best when Jesus died for us? If so, if we are obligated to do our best to honor God in our appearance. Just my opinion!

[Floatingaxe]

Consider this..Did God give His very Best when Jesus died for us? If so, if we are obligated to do our best to honor God in our appearance. Just my opinion!

He deserves our very best in every area!

[Guest shiloh357]

When you care enough to wear your best for someone, it shows them how you feel about them. We make statements about ourselves to other people in everything we do, whether it is how we dress or the way we carry ourselves in their presence. When we exercise good manners in the presence of others, it is a sign that we respect them, and that we feel honored to be in their company. It is no different with the Lord. He deserves even more consideration in this area than anyone else.

Wearing your "best" is different for every person depending on what their "best" is.

In the Scriptures, when you came before the Lord to bring an offering, it was to be "The BEST" of what you had. God did not want your diseased, undernourished, scarred, animal. He demanded the best of what you had. Your best might not be oxen, or a Lamb, it might be a pigeon. It simply had to YOUR best. God accepts nothing from us but our best.

We have become somewhat flippant in how we approach God. We seem to think that we come to God on our terms, and He is obligated to accept what we offer, and this is backwards. God has told us what he accepts, and it is nothing less than our best. This application bleeds over into every aspect of our lives, not only on Sunday. We should be the BEST employees our company has. A Christian needs to be the most dependable worker the boss/foreman has. The Christian ought to be the first one to get there, and the last one to leave and THE one who never whines or complains about overtime. We should be leaders at work, at school, in our conduct, our dress, our demeanor. We should treat problems like opportunities to shine for Christ. We should be in this world, conducting ourselves like kings and priests of our Lord.

We should be offering our best to the Lord everyday in every way. Sunday morning should be no different. Your "best" may not be a suit and tie, or a dress. Whatever it is, it should be your best. The Lord who gave His best for you, deserves your best, not only on Sunday but everyday of the week.