“For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.”
(Galatians 3:27)
I was invited to a friend’s wedding party…my first question to them was “what is the dress for that night?” They said that it was shorts & a nice “polo” type shirt. The party was being held at a Doctor’s home & I knew that my friend’s family & a lot of their friends would be dressed up; most of them are very well off. Now me, you say shorts & I’m in, but in back of my mind, I couldn’t help but see everyone there in khakis & a nice shirt, & myself all goofy strutting around in shorts, looking like Cousin Eddie from Christmas Vacation.(Galatians 3:27)
I know this situation shouldn’t have bothered me… but it did. I was thinking the whole way there, that I would probably be the only one wearing shorts & that I was going to look stupid & sure enough as soon as we pulled up to the end of the drive, everyone was outside dressed up & waiting on ol' Cousin Eddie.
Again, it shouldn’t have bothered me…but…it did. I got out slowly, feeling everyone looking at me (even though, I don’t think they were) I strolled over toward the sitting area where our friends were. Man did I feel like a real goof…but what I saw next made everything that I felt go away…walking out of the house was my friends dad, who at that time I referred to a savior…yes, you guessed it, he was in shorts…Hallelujah!!!! I felt so much better, I was no longer worried about my clothes.
This sounds so stupid, but I felt like I fit in…see, told yea it sounded stupid…but that’s the way I felt. I felt like I fit in, no longer an outcast, no longer the shorts wearing leper shunned to the outermost parts of the doc’s yard. In the immortal words of William Wallace was pure “FREEDOM”! I belonged.
That night as we all stood around talking, a thought came to my mind “What does a person, who doesn’t have nice clothes like suits, ties & such, feel like when they come & visit a church?” I thought about that for a while, do they feel like they fit in? Do they want to come back? Did they get starred at or receive a snotty look?
The more I though about it the more I realized that dressing up at church isn’t always good. Now don’t get me wrong, if someone wants to were a suit & tie there is nothing at all wrong with that…but in the same instance, I don’t believe it is at all wrong for someone to wear shorts & flip flops. As most know I’m a minister at the county jail & have been for about eight years. I thought about some of those men or women who may be released from jail & maybe they don’t have a lot, but they want to come to church & when they walk in they feel very uncomfortable, everyone they see is all dressed up, so they feel like they don’t belong…but wait, there’s a guy over there in a t-shirt & blue jeans…they think to themselves…I do fit in. Some would say, “They should come to worship God, not worry about how everyone is dressed!” But usually the one that would make that statement would be the first to look down their noses at someone who came in, in ragged clothes.
In James 2, we are told not to show favoritism to people because they seem to be well off. It talks about a well-dressed man entering your church & you walk with him up to the front & show him the best seat. Then the man who comes in wearing ragged clothing or maybe underdressed, well you just tell him to find a seat in the back or sit at your feet, or in our day you just look at him funny, like you don’t approve of his meager attire.
So the question is “Should you dress up for church?” Well, that I can’t answer for you, that’s between you & God. I don’t believe that God is as concerned about the clothes we were to church as He is about whom we clothe ourselves with.
That night as we all stood around talking, a thought came to my mind “What does a person, who doesn’t have nice clothes like suits, ties & such, feel like when they come & visit a church?” I thought about that for a while, do they feel like they fit in? Do they want to come back? Did they get starred at or receive a snotty look?
The more I though about it the more I realized that dressing up at church isn’t always good. Now don’t get me wrong, if someone wants to were a suit & tie there is nothing at all wrong with that…but in the same instance, I don’t believe it is at all wrong for someone to wear shorts & flip flops. As most know I’m a minister at the county jail & have been for about eight years. I thought about some of those men or women who may be released from jail & maybe they don’t have a lot, but they want to come to church & when they walk in they feel very uncomfortable, everyone they see is all dressed up, so they feel like they don’t belong…but wait, there’s a guy over there in a t-shirt & blue jeans…they think to themselves…I do fit in. Some would say, “They should come to worship God, not worry about how everyone is dressed!” But usually the one that would make that statement would be the first to look down their noses at someone who came in, in ragged clothes.
In James 2, we are told not to show favoritism to people because they seem to be well off. It talks about a well-dressed man entering your church & you walk with him up to the front & show him the best seat. Then the man who comes in wearing ragged clothing or maybe underdressed, well you just tell him to find a seat in the back or sit at your feet, or in our day you just look at him funny, like you don’t approve of his meager attire.
So the question is “Should you dress up for church?” Well, that I can’t answer for you, that’s between you & God. I don’t believe that God is as concerned about the clothes we were to church as He is about whom we clothe ourselves with.
“My brethren, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of personal favoritism.”
(James 2:1)
(James 2:1)
Vern
1 comment:
Vern, I get great joy in seeing visitors that don't fit the "norm" for church attire. I'd rather see that and have them there. It makes much more of an impression on me than the very well dressed, made up, well to do folks.
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