Bulletin Articles: Full Article for Record Number 1081
What Your Dress Says About You
by Larry Ray Hafley
(If your reaction to the title of this article is, "I don’t care," it is likely your dress reflects that, too.)
No, one need not be a "slave to fashion" to be a Christian. There are no "wardrobe police" in the kingdom of God. Modest clothing, coupled with a sincere heart, is acceptable before God and all right thinking men (1 Tim. 2:9).
Your clothing may signal your honor or dishonor of another. When Joseph was told he was to meet with Pharaoh, "he shaved himself and changed his clothes" (Gen. 41:14). How would you dress to meet the president of the United States? How would you dress if you knew Jesus were going to be at services this Lord’s day? (He will be there-Matthew 18:20; Heb. 2:12!)
Your apparel may show whether you are mourning or rejoicing. That was so in the case of David. His servants knew the difference in his behavior after he changed his clothes, went to worship God, and then ate (2 Sam. 12:20, 21). Note that how he was dressed while he mourned and prayed for his ailing child was different from that which he wore to go to worship. He "changed his apparel , and came into the house of the Lord, and worshipped." How do you dress to worship God?
Your attire may reveal your moral character. "And there a woman met him, with the attire of a harlot" (Prov. 7:10). "What," you ask, "is the attire of a harlot?" If a movie or a television show were going to portray an undercover police operation to catch men who solicit prostitutes, can you picture in your mind how the ladies would be dressed? You just answered your own question!
Men need not go to the beach to see undressed women. All they have to do is go to Wal-Mart or the mall. Our society, in general, has lost any sense of modesty and decorum. Sexual enticement is the dress of the day. "Look at me and lust" is the purposed array of many. They have no shame, neither can they blush (Jer. 6:15).
Your adornment may show your level in social and civil affairs. Haman knew how to arrange the finery of one worthy of respect and honor (Est. 6:8, 9). When the wandering, squandering, prodigal son returned home, they put a ring on his hand, shoes on his feet, and covered him with "best robe," the finest garment (Lk. 15:22).
Ever heard the statement, "He dresses like a bum?" Ever have any trouble figuring out what was meant by that question? I didn’t think so. Today, it seems that dressing like a bum has become a national obsession. Many dress like a rumbled, shabby hobo when they go to a funeral visitation or a rehearsal dinner. Even some churches are beset by dingy, scruffy looking folks who apparently have never been schooled in how to "dress for the occasion." (Yes, I know James 2:1-5 is in the Bible, and if that is your lot in life, we are honored to have you with us.)
Your dress, or lack thereof, may show that you are out of your mind. Luke 8:26-36 tells us of a wild, crazed man, possessed by demons, who wore no clothes, neither abode in any house, but lived in the graveyard. Later, after Jesus healed him, he was seen "sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed, and in his right mind."
Does the way you dress say that you may be "out of your mind"? If so, sober up! Do not give us an immature, flippant, indolent glare. Come to your senses and see that you are desecrating yourself before godly people, before those who love you and who want you to succeed in the joy and honor of being a child of God, "sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed, and in his right mind."
