Just this (Sunday) morning, as I was preparing to leave the house for church when I was pondering over what clothing I should wear to church- a weekly 'problem' which I'm sure most of you can relate to. Soon, the questions came racing into my mind, "What should I wear to church...? What should I wear to church...? What should I wear to church so that others will think that what I'm wearing is acceptable and pleasing to the eye?"
I stopped to consider for a moment, and realised that after all it was just going to church. And the basic purpose of going to church every Sunday is to gather in the presence of God as a congregation and to praise and worship Him in spirit and in truth. I wasn't going to some fashion show or anything. It then dawned on me, it's true that many people say others cannot afford to wear designer labels, and that does not make them less of a nice person or in any way reflect their personality. Or that they do not normally "judge a book by its cover", clothes being just a person's cover. If you saw someone dressed in rugged clothes stepping into church wearing, say jeans with a tear and a beat up t-shirt?
What would you really think of that person? "Gee, I'm sure he hasn't had a bath for a pretty long time" or "Why is he/she wearing that to church? Is that even legal?" - Sounds familiar? Did you know that judging other people, or judgementalism is a sin? Yes it's true and I cannot think of a single problem that has brought more heartache, dissension, disease and destruction upon the Church than this sin!
Jesus speaks clearly on this point. "Do not judge," (Matt 7:1). He said even the Father does not judge anyone, but that He has committed all judgment to the Son (John 5:22). Later, He lets it be known that He Himself does not judge. It is the words He speaks that will judge in the last day (John 12:47-48).So the next time you're having trouble thinking of what to wear to church, think twice and wear what pleases God. Go with your conscience. dress down because your heart should be dressed with the presence of God and the fruit of the Spirit when you go to church. What is on the outside is trvial.
Comments (5)
@life_musings - hello life! haha yea you've brought up a good point about acceptance. We all do crave for it sometimes and hey, who in this would doesn't want to be loved and accepted?
I always wear Hawaiian shirts.
haha after so many days of not checking your blog, i realised that i missed out alot. I think i almost went blind reading all your new posts (: missed your writings alot.
@eskimobryan - hahaha hey bryan thanks! OMG BRYAN just found out that this post is now on the front page of revelife!!!!!!!
HERE HERE: http://www.revelife.com/705872383/do-you-judge-people-by-what-they-wear-to-church/