The Sunday News
Peter Matika
IT appears the issue of dressing up for church and religious jewellery has sparked a lot of debate. The response I got this past week was overwhelming and intriguing.
I can’t remember when I wrote the piece, but I am quite certain I did emphasise that church was a place of worship and not a place to show off your latest skin revealing outfit.
Dressing appropriately for a good cause will definitely add to your blessings from the Lord.
I mean He is your Creator, show some respect, it’s just a few hours of your day. Why would you want to abuse and lure other congregants into temptation.
Back in the day women wore long dresses that covered the knees, men wore suits and ties, kids wore, well they were neat. It was pretty simple and it did work for a long time as the church had influence on the norms of decent clothing.
Nowadays there are casual dress codes for different situations and institutions. Dress down Friday and business casual. Of course casual exists in the church, but it doesn’t have to be skimpy — ladies, you are the number one culprits in this case.
Who would wear a mini-dress to church? It’s not just the ladies, guys you are also turning the church into a thug gathering in those baggy jeans and oversized t-shirts.
More formal organised churches really don’t have this problem, as they observe and uplift values and culture while, as I wouldn’t really want to create a war, Pentecostal church rules are dormant and people take advantage of that.
Church is not a place to show off your clothing nor is it a pageant, get that embedded into your system.
It is up to the people to decide how to dress, obviously revealing outfits are extreme and we are a culture-based nation and people need to get that into their heads. We are still not ready for outrageous dressing. But if we go back into time we would realise that ancient people either were half-dressed or totally naked. Anyway that’s just an idea and food for thought.
Now the issue of jewellery, I did mention that some churches were using this as a method of raising funds. It is also up to you who wear the trinket to have a reason why you wear it.
Feedback:
Let’s see what the word of the Lord says about dressing, particularly about women.
Long back when I was at the age of five if a girl child’s underwear was worn out the elders could take the boys underwear and give the girl child to show that the woman’s private parts should not be shown publicly. I don’t know these days what has taken place of our proper resemblance. Some always say where in the Bible is it written that we have to dress this way. Sin means going against the perfect will of the LORD GOD JEHOVAH. Sexual immorality is now being mostly fuelled by improper dressing. In describing the mode of dress appropriate for women in church, the Apostle Paul exhorts them to dress “modestly” with “decency and propriety” then goes on to contrast immodest dress with the good deeds which are appropriate for those who profess to be true worshipers of God (1 Timothy 2: 9-10).
Modesty in the way we dress is not just for church; it is to be the standard for all Christians at all times. The key to understanding what constitutes modesty in dress is to examine the attitudes and intents of the heart. Those whose hearts are inclined toward God will make every effort to dress modestly, decently, and appropriately. Those whose hearts are included toward self will dress in a manner designed to draw attention to themselves with little or no regard for the consequences to themselves or others.
A Godly woman endeavours to do everything with a “God-ward” perspective. She knows that God wants His people to be concerned for His glory and the spiritual state of their brothers and sisters in Christ. If a woman professes to be a Christian and yet she dresses in a way that will unduly draw attention to her body, she is a poor witness of the One who bought her soul by dying for her on the cross. She is forgetting that her body has been redeemed by Christ and is now the temple of the Holy Spirit (1Corinthians 6: 19-20).
She is telling the world that she sees her own worth as purely physical and that her attractiveness to others depends on how much of her body she reveals to them. Further, by dressing in an immodest fashion, displaying her body for men to lust after, she causes her brothers in Christ to sin, something condemned by God (Mathew 5: 27-29). Proverbs 7: 10 mentions that a woman “dressed like a prostitute and with crafty intent.” Here we see the description of one whose heart condition is displayed by her manner of dress.
The Scripture says that a woman is to dress modestly, but what exactly does that mean in modern society? Does a woman have to be covered from head to toe? There are cults and religions in the world that demand this of women. But is that the Biblical meaning of modesty? Again, we have to go back to the matter of the attitudes of the heart. If a woman’s heart is inclined toward godliness, she will wear clothing that is neither provocative nor revealing in public, clothing that does not reflect negatively upon her personal testimony as a child of God. Even when everyone else in her circle is dressing immodestly, she resists the temptation to go along with the crowd. She knows these types of clothes are designed to draw attention to her body and cause men to lust, but she is wise enough to know that type of attention only cheapens her. The idea of causing men to sin against God because of her dress is abhorrent to her because she seeks to love and honour God and wants others to do the same. Modesty in dress reveals a modesty and godliness of the heart, attitudes that should be the desire of all women who live to please and honour God.
Till next week let’s link via sms or WhatsApp only on 0772337433, you can also drop me an email on [email protected]
