Sunday best?
Sunday best?
I'm still very disturbed by what I saw a few Sundays ago at the church service. A lady wearing a spaghetti strap top (without a cardigan at all) walking in when the service had already started about 15 minutes - and that caught my attention. And I saw another one with a low cut neckline. I don't think they are new-comers because we were on the Mezzanite floor, not on the sanctuary level. And no, don't get me wrong, I'm not the super conservative type when it comes to dressing - I believe in fashion and trends, and dressing appropriately. What surprised me and got me thinking was the kind of dressing we clad ourselves with when we attend our regular church services on Sundays.
I've been on a number of mission trips and each time when we have to attend Sunday services at the local churches, we were told "Put on something more formal and nice - the locals always wear their best for church." Isn't it interesting that in a country that is usually not as rich as ours, and having probably limited wardrobe, the locals chose to put on their very best when they make their way to God's house to worship the God that they love. Perhaps we can "argue" that the locals usually put on simple clothings when they are out for work on weekdays, so when Sunday comes, they can afford to put on their very best; whereas for us, most of us put on our workclothes for weekdays, and by Sunday we want to dress down somewhat and be comfortable and casual.
Point noted, and point taken - but does dressing comfortably and casually means putting NO thoughts or LITTLE thoughts into what we wear for church? Imagine getting all the attention from others onto yourself (instead of directing them to the Lord) because of your sloppy dressing ... imagine seeing someone who looks like he or she is headed for the marketplace instead of the church with their flip-fops ... imagine seeing someone who seems headed for the beach for fun and picnic with their short berms and/or shorts ... imagine seeing someone who makes you feel that what was worn is more appropriate for a shopping experience than a church worship. No, I don't mean to be judgmental about them, I just want to raise an awareness of how much some of these "little things" in our lives reveal about ourselves, and about our love for the Lord.
A few of my classmates were talking about ladies' dressing during moments of our free-time some weeks ago, and a friend said, "Oh, I have a friend who said wearing spaghetti straps or clothes that are sexy is fine - her boyfriend (or was it husband) don't feel there's anything wrong". Sad case, isn't it? when your gauge is a human, and you rest your moral sense and propriety onto a changeable/movable benchmark.
The world tells us, "You've got to be in otherwise you're out" ... the media blasts at us, "Your body belongs to yourself, use it for your own pleasure" ... and the advertisement bombards us, "You have the assets, flaunt it!" ... and the Lord silently whisper to us, "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge", which gives wisdom - wisdom that is needed for all things and everything. Who do we choose to listen to?
Maybe we should begin to put some thoughts into how we are treating God when we come into His house on Sundays. I'm not saying we should overdress and end up on the other extreme, but what is right and respectful towards Him, and what sort of respect in the area of dressing does He deserve from us ... think about it ...
I'm still very disturbed by what I saw a few Sundays ago at the church service. A lady wearing a spaghetti strap top (without a cardigan at all) walking in when the service had already started about 15 minutes - and that caught my attention. And I saw another one with a low cut neckline. I don't think they are new-comers because we were on the Mezzanite floor, not on the sanctuary level. And no, don't get me wrong, I'm not the super conservative type when it comes to dressing - I believe in fashion and trends, and dressing appropriately. What surprised me and got me thinking was the kind of dressing we clad ourselves with when we attend our regular church services on Sundays.
I've been on a number of mission trips and each time when we have to attend Sunday services at the local churches, we were told "Put on something more formal and nice - the locals always wear their best for church." Isn't it interesting that in a country that is usually not as rich as ours, and having probably limited wardrobe, the locals chose to put on their very best when they make their way to God's house to worship the God that they love. Perhaps we can "argue" that the locals usually put on simple clothings when they are out for work on weekdays, so when Sunday comes, they can afford to put on their very best; whereas for us, most of us put on our workclothes for weekdays, and by Sunday we want to dress down somewhat and be comfortable and casual.
Point noted, and point taken - but does dressing comfortably and casually means putting NO thoughts or LITTLE thoughts into what we wear for church? Imagine getting all the attention from others onto yourself (instead of directing them to the Lord) because of your sloppy dressing ... imagine seeing someone who looks like he or she is headed for the marketplace instead of the church with their flip-fops ... imagine seeing someone who seems headed for the beach for fun and picnic with their short berms and/or shorts ... imagine seeing someone who makes you feel that what was worn is more appropriate for a shopping experience than a church worship. No, I don't mean to be judgmental about them, I just want to raise an awareness of how much some of these "little things" in our lives reveal about ourselves, and about our love for the Lord.
A few of my classmates were talking about ladies' dressing during moments of our free-time some weeks ago, and a friend said, "Oh, I have a friend who said wearing spaghetti straps or clothes that are sexy is fine - her boyfriend (or was it husband) don't feel there's anything wrong". Sad case, isn't it? when your gauge is a human, and you rest your moral sense and propriety onto a changeable/movable benchmark.
The world tells us, "You've got to be in otherwise you're out" ... the media blasts at us, "Your body belongs to yourself, use it for your own pleasure" ... and the advertisement bombards us, "You have the assets, flaunt it!" ... and the Lord silently whisper to us, "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge", which gives wisdom - wisdom that is needed for all things and everything. Who do we choose to listen to?
Maybe we should begin to put some thoughts into how we are treating God when we come into His house on Sundays. I'm not saying we should overdress and end up on the other extreme, but what is right and respectful towards Him, and what sort of respect in the area of dressing does He deserve from us ... think about it ...
Comments
I think what our friend said was that if it's husband than no go for anything low cut and sexy but if its bf then it's ok.
But we all agree that your standards should not be based on whether you are married or not, or as what you mentioned, a movable object. Standards should be based on what God's standards are for us.
Someone shared this with me before - with regards to dating. Often the question is asked - how far is too far.
The answer is simple - as far as you think you can be comfortable in front of your father.
I think that speaks volumes, not just about dating, but about everything that we choose to do or not to do...=)