Tuesday, 02 December 2008
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Does Jesus Care About How We Dress?
Guest post by AshleyKnows
This Christmas, my mother bought me a few outfits. She showed me two out of excitement at having acquired her purchases at relatively good prices. One of the outfits include a gold cap and matching scarf, shoes that are cute but clownish, and a bag that is really a designer label advertisement.
It makes me feel a little funny to imagine myself walking around like this. I might stand out too much like a golden calf, but I appreciate my mother's taste, and if she sees me in yellow, I may be able to see it too.
I've been thinking about this, and I wonder if Jesus really cares how we dress. Would he care if we were slovenly, unaware of how we present ourselves to our fellow churchgoers or to the world? Or would he cast a disapproving eye at the well-dressed?
Appearance appears to be a big deal in our society, and people are often judged by how they present themselves, especially people in entertainment and the media. Do you think Jesus, if he were truly us, would approve of the big diamond crosses with his body hanging on them in platinum gold, next to the guns and money signs?
I wonder what Jesus would do if he were presented a gold cap and matching scarf.
Would he return the gift for money and give it to the poor? Or would he happily accept his mother's gift and wear it right away?
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Comments (54)
Proverbs 7:10 And, behold, there met him a woman [with] the attire of an harlot, and subtil of heart.
The harlot dresses a certain way and is agressive a certain way. May it never be in the church.
God nor Jesus does not care what we wear because God is not about the superficiality of this world. It is this society that makes it such a big deal. Yet, keep in mind that this society is influenced by Satan, ruler of this earth.
I think your post brings up a couple of issues I've been dealing with. I don't think Jesus really cares what we wear on the outside as far as luxury items versus clothes from Kmart. I think he wants us to be compassionate and use our money on the poor and those that don't have clothes on their back. I struggle with this a lot but lately my heart has been really excited to give away the things I have and save money for an orphanage my church is helping to build.
I think you should happily accept the gifts from your mom. I think Jesus would take the gifts and later if he met someone in need he'd have given them away and blessed them with the items. I think all the things we own are for that purpose- we're stewards of those possessions and should try and use them to bless others.
Thanks for the this post, it blessed me and brought great questions to mind. =)
He cares to a point...
the only reason God would truly care about what one wears is if it is immodest and directly causes lust in a person...
He doesn't care WHAT we wear... He cares about the intention of why we're wearing it... if it draws attention to ourselves then yes He would care... if it's being worn to be worn (high end or thrifty) then wear it...
If you want to look your best for Jesus, why not?
But He is more concerned with the heart. "Come as you are," yes?
Annie
I think so, to an extent (you know what I mean?). I don't Jesus would turn you away because you're wearing a brand name shirt. But I think he would be rather disappointed if that shirt showed a ton of skin or had a "bad" message on it. But in general, I don't think it would matter. Like Annie said, "Come as you are, yes?"
I think Jesus does care what we wear, to a point. On the one hand, as Samuel found out when he was choosing King Saul's successor, David got the nod, although no human expected David to get it. ("Man looks on outward appearance, but God looks at the heart.") On the other hand, there is the parable in which the guests that were originally invited to a king's feast didn't show up, and then one of the ones that did got kicked out for not having the right attire on. I still dress up (no blue jeans) when I go to church-I'd say "know the context" and be as consistent as possible.
I think that He does, for many reasons.
Firstly: If it's too revealing or suggestive, so as to make others lust after us. In that case we're actually helping Satan to tempt people. Not a good thing.
Second: How much money should we spend on clothes? It's fine to not buy only really cheap stuff, but does God really want us to spend several hundred dollars on a outfit? Could not that money go to better use?
Third: Is it ego talking? When we wear something, do we feel like we're better than everyone else? Find ourselves flaunting? Looking down on those who do not dress as "classy" as we do? Don't get me wrong, He doesn't want us to dress in a way that we hate or that makes us feel ugly -- but there needs to be a balance. You can love that dress you just bought because it's so pretty, but so long as it's Jesus' character that you are letting shine through more than your looks.
I believe that we are to dress respectively, in a way that does not make us stand out too much for simply appearance. A nice suit on a man, or blouse and skirt on a girl? Wonderful! There's nothing wrong with dressing how your culture normally does, as long as it's respectable. :)
Easy way to judge what we should or shouldn't wear:
Think to yourself, when trying it on: "Would I wear this if I was going to meet Jesus in person today? If it was Him I was going to the mall with?".
We had this discussion in Bible study recently, and my pastor said that if you're with a believer, what you should come away with is his or her love for God and not with an image of what he is wearing. Those who dress to impress are easy to spot, so as long as the focus is not on us but rather Jesus, I don't think it matters much what we wear, as long as it's not provocative.Â
Jesus would do what he thought pleased his Father. Man looks on the outward appearance, God looks at the heart.
Appearance is important, because wearing something inappropriate causes people to make impressions of us...that's always the way it's been. Aside from that, as far as what style of clothing we wear, I would say it's mostly up to personal opinions. We just have to keep in mind that people WILL judge us by how we look, everyone does it, whether they intend to or not, we make impressions in our minds by how we see someone.
I think appearances are important though, we want to make a good impression if we are followers of Jesus because He's the one we should be trying to be like. Just my 2 cents.
1 Samuel 16:7
But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."
But I do believe God cares if you intentionally provoke someone to lust because of what you wear. Maybe it's like "an accessory to sinning" :)
@GodArt@xanga - I agree with you!
Our inward "appearance" is more important than clothes we wear, as long as it's not something provocative as you said.
I don't think that God cares what we wear unless it's immodest. He's more interested in our "inside apparel" as I like to call it, what our hearts are wearing when we worship him.
I think this is an exceptionally good post dealing at this topic. : )
As long as we do not make clothing an idol (i.e. worshipping brand names and fashion trendsd), I do believe that He does not care how we dress, if we have the whole of our hearts towards Him.
I think it's important to be respectful in how we dress. If we are going to see a King, you would probably dress nicely... I don't think you would choose the fashionista type clothes, but modest and well presentable. I don't think you would go sloppy and dressed like you were too lazy to put on a better shirt or pants. Is sloppy the way to show respect to a king? However, if you were poor and it was all that you could wear, I'm sure the king would understand... and we all know who the real King is... but on this point most people brush me off as out of touch.
I feel like this issue comes up every month or so...and the answer is always the same: Wear what you think you should wear but use good judgement about it.
I will be working in fashion and photography, and I am about 100% sure God is a-okay with my direction, b/c he is all up in it. Anything you replace in front of God is not to his approval. As long as you aren't worshiping it then it's okay (idol). Its who we are, not what we wear. ;)
@IntoTheCrimsonSky - Nice note, but what if the day when our
father comes, and your sleeping in bed naked? lol. Not saying you do this,but I am saying God accepts us for who we are, so when he sees us its gonna be in whatever were wearing, whatever were thinking-basically whatever is happening in that moment. I think in everything you do you should dress respectively anyways. What he will really be checking out is
what were wearing on the inside, the place no one can see. ;) And I
have worn a Hugh sweatshirt, and sweat pants, hair all over to a store,
and guys have still lusted, and harassed me, so...Its all about self-control with that one.
@memo2662 - Very true. :) But there are certainly some outfits that make the lust a lot worse.
As for sleeping naked..lol! I didn't mean it quite so literal. I meant to pretend of Jesus was alive, as another human right now and you were going to go shopping (or wherever) with Him personally. How would that change what you might wear, knowing you'd be seen in public with Jesus? ;) Not to mention what Jesus would think if he arrived at your door to go out with you, and you were wearing something maybe inappropriate (and how you'd feel showing yourself to Him in that way).
Afterall, that's what Christians really are doing, isn't it? Except we're walking with Jesus spiritually. People still look at us for examples of what He wants from us. :)
Jesus cares about everything we do, including how we dress! I don't think Jesus much worries about whether or not our scarf matches our shoes...but I believe He wants us to glorify His name in all that we do. 1 Timothy 2:9 says women are to dress modestly. (Boy do women have a real problem with that these days!) Anyway - it says to dress modestly...not to wear matching scarves and hats!
Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God. - 1 Corinthians 10:31
@IntoTheCrimsonSky - tRUE :)
I think maybe accepting the gift from your mother is a good way to say thank you!
I also feel that Jesus would not consider clothing to be of great importance...Enjoy, and continued Blessings!
Is God going to base his love for you on what you are wearing? No. Does God notice what you are wearing? I think so. Especially if you are wearing something for the wrong reasons, such as to show off or trying to be sexy for someone other than your spouse. I would have to say though, in my opinion, if Mary gave Jesus something beautiful to wear, he would graciously accept it as long as it was for the right reasons. Remember the woman with the exspensive perfume? She wanted to give it to Jesus, to put it on him, as a way of loving and worshipping him. Jesus saw what was in her heart. But the men who saw this said, "Pssh, look at this woman! We could sell this perfume and give the money to the poor!" But Jesus responded by telling them that they would always have the poor, but they would only have him for a short time, and accepted this woman's gift. So I think it is okay to accept those types of gifts, unless you feel in your heart that they were given to you for the wrong reasons, such as maybe trying to buy your love. If you don't accept a gift that is given out of love, you might end up hurting the feelings of someone who truly loves and cares about you.
Yes, we should be modest in all dress.