Dress standards (honest, but kind, dialogue)

[rsc2a]

BC - socks with sandals and sweatpants isn't trendy. 

 

[Binaca Chugger]

BC - socks with sandals and sweatpants isn't trendy. 

I was referring to my Stacy Adams with white socks and a loud blazer that I can offer her when she gets chilled!

 

[The Rogue Tomato]

When I head to church, the world around me, who I have been left here to try and reach (I apologize Calvinists), are to see my good works (Mat. 5:16). Not to bring me glory, but to "glorify our Father which is in heaven." 

While it is true that "God looks on the heart" (I Sam. 16:7), it is equally true that "man looks on the outward appearance."

Well, there you go.  You dress up so that others can see you dressed up, because man looks on the outward appearance. 

That was easy, except for the part about glory.  You'd have to demonstrate how dressing up brings glory to our Father in heaven.

 

[rsc2a]

When I head to church, the world around me, who I have been left here to try and reach (I apologize Calvinists), are to see my good works (Mat. 5:16). Not to bring me glory, but to "glorify our Father which is in heaven." 

While it is true that "God looks on the heart" (I Sam. 16:7), it is equally true that "man looks on the outward appearance."

Well, there you go.  You dress up so that others can see you dressed up, because man looks on the outward appearance. 

That was easy, except for the part about glory.  You'd have to demonstrate how dressing up brings glory to our Father in heaven.

Because good works means wearing a tie!  Did you think it meant love of neighbor, pursuit of justice, and compassion for the broken?

 

[The Rogue Tomato]

When I head to church, the world around me, who I have been left here to try and reach (I apologize Calvinists), are to see my good works (Mat. 5:16). Not to bring me glory, but to "glorify our Father which is in heaven." 

While it is true that "God looks on the heart" (I Sam. 16:7), it is equally true that "man looks on the outward appearance."

Well, there you go.  You dress up so that others can see you dressed up, because man looks on the outward appearance. 

That was easy, except for the part about glory.  You'd have to demonstrate how dressing up brings glory to our Father in heaven.

Because good works means wearing a tie!  Did you think it meant love of neighbor, pursuit of justice, and compassion for the broken?

Nah, of course not.  And it's not just wearing a tie, it's wearing a tie for the explicit purpose of being SEEN wearing a tie. 

 

[Citadel of Truth]

When I head to church, the world around me, who I have been left here to try and reach (I apologize Calvinists), are to see my good works (Mat. 5:16). Not to bring me glory, but to "glorify our Father which is in heaven." 

While it is true that "God looks on the heart" (I Sam. 16:7), it is equally true that "man looks on the outward appearance."

Well, there you go.  You dress up so that others can see you dressed up, because man looks on the outward appearance. 

That was easy, except for the part about glory.  You'd have to demonstrate how dressing up brings glory to our Father in heaven.

Because good works means wearing a tie!  Did you think it meant love of neighbor, pursuit of justice, and compassion for the broken?

Nah, of course not.  And it's not just wearing a tie, it's wearing a tie for the explicit purpose of being SEEN wearing a tie.

 

[The Rogue Tomato]

Look!  He's wearing a suit and tie!  He must be a Godly man letting his light be seen! 

(For those who don't recognize the man, he's Richard Dawkins, famous anti-God atheist.)

 

[lnf]

My personal dress standards are as follows:

1.  Clean and neat, not too low, high or tight:  Appropriate for any occasion.

2.  Appropriate to the occasion: 

Pool or beach:  A one-piece bathing suit when actively swimming.  I add a cover up (might be shorts/t-shirt or something a bit more stylish like a sundress) when not actively swimming. 

Work Days:  Business attire, which might be a dress, skirt/blouse, or slacks/blouse.  For “dress down” days, I’ll wear jeans and a casual shirt or perhaps one of my special t-shirts with a Christian message. 

Weekend dress:  Jeans/special t-shirt or casual shirt.  I save my shorts for home, unless I am at the pool/beach.  Not because my shorts are immodest, but because I’m just not comfortable wearing them in most public places, such as the grocery store.

Church attire:  in the Sunday am service, I wear my standard business attire, because that is actually a work day for me.  I’m on church staff, teach a Sunday School class and serve as a media tech.  But in the Sunday pm and Wednesday services, I’m likely to dress down in jeans/casual shirt, unless I’m there in an official capacity, such as a business meeting. 

3.  In conclusion, I dress so as to not draw particular attention to my body, but I still have my own unique style…I am known for the sound of my shoes…tap, tap, tap…I usually wear heels during the work week and on Sunday mornings.  Although I choose my shoes for comfort first, (honestly, I’m not a slave to fashion), I prefer shoes that make that distinctive sound on our tile floors.  I call them my EWS System (Early Warning Shoes).  I can’t sneak up on anybody!  LOL

4.  So, even though I cannot give any scriptural support to my clothing preferences, I do believe that I honor both God and myself in my dress.  I don’t believe that there is anything about my dress that would make a less affluent person feel badly about their own clothing choices.  And I also think that, even in my middle age (54), I still serve as an example to our younger generation…you don’t have to dress “sexy” to be stylish!

 

[Walt]

Nobody dressed up for church until the early 19th century, because people generally only had one outfit to wear.  The industrial revolution created a middle class, where people could afford better clothes (and later mass production made clothes cheaper).  So some people started dressing up for Sunday services.  But it was resisted vigorously by some, especially the Methodists, I think, because dressing up was seen as worldly and prideful.  Wesley said, "Let your dress be cheap, as well as plain."  Some churches even resisted it so much that they refused to admit people who were dressed up. 

By the 1850s, people pretty much forgot about the whole pride/worldly issue and everyone started dressing up for Sunday services.  Regardless, you can see the concept of "dressing up for church" is a recent one.

I seem to recall the the book of James addresses the issue of treating people better worse depending upon how they were dressed.

So, people DID dress up in New Testament times - at least the wealthy did.

 

[The Rogue Tomato]

Nobody dressed up for church until the early 19th century, because people generally only had one outfit to wear.  The industrial revolution created a middle class, where people could afford better clothes (and later mass production made clothes cheaper).  So some people started dressing up for Sunday services.  But it was resisted vigorously by some, especially the Methodists, I think, because dressing up was seen as worldly and prideful.  Wesley said, "Let your dress be cheap, as well as plain."  Some churches even resisted it so much that they refused to admit people who were dressed up. 

By the 1850s, people pretty much forgot about the whole pride/worldly issue and everyone started dressing up for Sunday services.  Regardless, you can see the concept of "dressing up for church" is a recent one.

I seem to recall the the book of James addresses the issue of treating people better worse depending upon how they were dressed.

So, people DID dress up in New Testament times - at least the wealthy did.

Clearly, from context, it was the exception rather than the rule.  And the point is not to show favoritism to the wealthy. 

2 For if there should come into your assembly a man with gold rings, in fine apparel, and there should also come in a poor man in filthy clothes

Sounds very different from today's Sunday services. 

While we're quoting scripture...

9 in like manner also, that the women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with propriety and moderation, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly clothing, 10 but, which is proper for women professing godliness, with good works.

Huh?  I don't get it.  What's the problem here?  Isn't the woman with braided hair, gold, pearls and costly clothing simply showing respect for God?  Isn't that her way of letting her light shine before men because men judge by outward appearance? 

 

[Binaca Chugger]

I was at the store tonight when I saw a guy in cruddy old short, sandals and a t-shirt.  I started cracking up.  His t-shirt read "sunday best"  and I was just glad for him that he was not at the same clerks counter as all of us at once. 

 

[The Rogue Tomato]

I was at the store tonight when I saw a guy in cruddy old short, sandals and a t-shirt.  I started cracking up.  His t-shirt read "sunday best"  and I was just glad for him that he was not at the same clerks counter as all of us at once.

Sounds like a T-shirt I'd love to have. 

EDIT:  Awww... I just found out Sunday Best is the name of the company that makes the T-Shirts.  Disappointed. 

 

[JrChurch]

"I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars:  And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name's sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted."  Rev. 2:2,3

When it comes to personal standards in dress, I am probably as conservative as it gets, but that has little to do with the WORKS and PATIENCE and NOT BEARING THEM WHICH ARE EVIL which made the church of Ephesus commendable in the sight of the Lord.  But even with those things in correct order, they were headed toward God's chastisement because...

"Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love." v. 4

The right clothes, standards and works aren't enough.  Stay in love with the Lord.

 

[The Rogue Tomato]

"I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars:  And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name's sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted."  Rev. 2:2,3

When it comes to personal standards in dress, I am probably as conservative as it gets, but that has little to do with the WORKS and PATIENCE and NOT BEARING THEM WHICH ARE EVIL which made the church of Ephesus commendable in the sight of the Lord.  But even with those things in correct order, they were headed toward God's chastisement because...

"Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love." v. 4

The right clothes, standards and works aren't enough.  Stay in love with the Lord.

Unless you're deliberately trying to draw attention to yourself with what you wear, I don't see how what you wear matters. 

And it doesn't matter if you wear a suit and tie (or fancy dress) or a dirty t-shirt and shorts.  If you say you're doing it out of respect for God, you're a liar.  If you don't dress the same way when you pray alone, you're doing it so that other people will see you doing it, which means your focus is on yourself, not on God.  (Editorial "you" here.)

(When I raise the issue of praying alone, I'm trying to talk in terms the dresser-uppers can understand.  I pray alone all the time; in the car, at my desk, etc. -- it's not some special act in a closet.  So if I thought I should wear something out of respect for God, I'd have to wear it 24/7.)

 

[Binaca Chugger]

We had a new poster ask what seemed to be a serious question - Help me cut through the junk of man's philosophy to see guidelines in Truth for what I should wear today.  Somehow, this evolved into a debate about what you wear to church.

Hey Rogue, Aren't you home church?  Why do you care what someone wears to a place you won't go?

 

[subllibrm]

We had a new poster ask what seemed to be a serious question - Help me cut through the junk of man's philosophy to see guidelines in Truth for what I should wear today.  Somehow, this evolved into a debate about what you wear to church.

And mention listening to CCM in your car and the thread will jump to drums in church.  :

 

[The Rogue Tomato]

We had a new poster ask what seemed to be a serious question - Help me cut through the junk of man's philosophy to see guidelines in Truth for what I should wear today.  Somehow, this evolved into a debate about what you wear to church.

Hey Rogue, Aren't you home church?  Why do you care what someone wears to a place you won't go?

Yes, we had a serious question.  And I gave a serious answer on how it applies to what you wear to church.  I simply stated historical facts.  It could have stopped there.  The only reason it spun out of control from there is some people felt they had to defend dressing up for Sunday services. 

Hey Binaca, are you a man?  Then you couldn't possibly have any valid opinions about women. 

 

[Binaca Chugger]

We had a new poster ask what seemed to be a serious question - Help me cut through the junk of man's philosophy to see guidelines in Truth for what I should wear today.  Somehow, this evolved into a debate about what you wear to church.

Hey Rogue, Aren't you home church?  Why do you care what someone wears to a place you won't go?

Yes, we had a serious question.  And I gave a serious answer on how it applies to what you wear to church.  I simply stated historical facts.  It could have stopped there.  The only reason it spun out of control from there is some people felt they had to defend dressing up for Sunday services. 

Hey Binaca, are you a man?  Then you couldn't possibly have any valid opinions about women.

You funny, Rogue.  Nice comeback.  Besides, my post was more about what my wife wants me to wear. I must confess that I am having a hard time giving up my Stacy adams,  white socks and polyester blazer.

 

[Izdaari]

Unless you're deliberately trying to draw attention to yourself with what you wear, I don't see how what you wear matters. 

And it doesn't matter if you wear a suit and tie (or fancy dress) or a dirty t-shirt and shorts.  If you say you're doing it out of respect for God, you're a liar.  If you don't dress the same way when you pray alone, you're doing it so that other people will see you doing it, which means your focus is on yourself, not on God.  (Editorial "you" here.)

(When I raise the issue of praying alone, I'm trying to talk in terms the dresser-uppers can understand.  I pray alone all the time; in the car, at my desk, etc. -- it's not some special act in a closet.  So if I thought I should wear something out of respect for God, I'd have to wear it 24/7.)

I agree with the tomato.

And in case anyone doesn't remember, Paul's admonitions on "modest" dress in church were directed against people who offended by dressing up too much, thus drawing people's attention away from God and toward their superior social status.