Day 76: Dress Up for Church?

Today I got to conduct a wedding ceremony, this is one of the few times that I wear a suit and tie. It was funny because a mom that I have known since I was a teenager told me, “Pastor Bob….you look hot! However, I prefer the way you dress for Sunday service.” She was referring to the way our staff dresses for church…usually blue jeans and a nice shirt, okay sometimes the occasional POD t-shirt as well. This conversation got me thinking about the issue of “Why do some dress up for church?” After reading some non-flattering reasons and scripture being used way out of context, I thought I would post the most reasonable….still not the best.

It is always the heart God is looking at, rather than the exterior. However, what we wear to worship our holy, pure God may be an indication of where our hearts are. If you have never considered it before, ask yourself, "Does it matter to me how I look when I am going to worship the King of Kings and Lord of Lords? More importantly, does it matter to Him?" We must all be the judge of that for ourselves. It's a personal choice, keeping in mind that having a proper attitude toward God Himself is important preparation for worship at church. We take this point from Genesis 35:1-3.

In my humble opinion this is how legalism in church begins. Take for example the issue of standing in church for worship. I am not sure where in the bible it talks about standing makes a song any more spiritual. If a congregation is sitting in a church and the worship team begins to play “How Great Thou Art”, I can guarantee you that there will be people who will begin to stand whether they are asked to or not. What happens is that those who are still sitting feel kind of goofy because the others are standing. I have seen it to the point where those who did not stand are kind of looked down on as if there is some higher level of worship if you stand instead of sit for worship. This is just like "the sinners sit in the back rows of church" mentality.

Honestly, I have been a part of churches where it seemed like a fashion show. Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with wanting to look nice. I would just humbly submit that we should not look down on people or churches that don’t care to go down that road and would rather just be themselves. Now…where is my Living Sacrifice t-shirt for church tomorrow?