Good morning. It is Sunday, a day of prayer, praise, and worship! I would like to ask you a personal question: what is appropriate dress for worship? In this era of social distancing and concern about infection, many people have chosen to worship from their home. That may well mean that jammies and fuzzy slippers are the garments of the day. Many of us will be meeting together today in a masked & 6 foot apart style of worship. What is the appropriate way to dress for the occasion? For some, their idea of the height of style may be as fashionable as a pair of bowling shoes to someone else. Which is right and which is wrong?
There was a time when the “uniform” for preachers in evangelical churches was a suit, white shirt, and a somber tie. Today, younger preachers are in jeans and tee-shirts, and may or may not be wearing shoes. Which is right and which is wrong?
May I suggest…that’s right…here it comes…wear whatever feels right to you, on the outside. I don’t think that what we wear on the outside, as long as it is respectful of others and not contrary to rules of modesty and weather-wise good sense, matters much to God. I think that what we are wearing in worship on the inside is far more important.
There is a passage of scripture that tells us quite clearly how we are to be dressed, for worship and for life in general: Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all. Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Colossians 3:9-12
There you have it, the guide to proper attire for Christians of every age is as it is explained in Galatians 3:27: For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.
To be clothed in Christ is to be clothed in all the ways described in Colossians 3:12.
Whether you will enjoy worship from your home or enjoy worship in a physical gathering of the Lord’s kids, dress well…on the inside!
And by the way, who said that bowling shoes weren’t stylish?
Vern