When I was a kid, it was my job to shine everyone’s shoes for church. It may have been payback for the Easter Sunday I walked through a huge mud puddle with my new Buster Brown oxfords just before church. I was only 3, but I’ve suspected the folks took it hard.
In the 1940’s and 50’s most everyone in our world (southern Pennsylvania) ‘dressed up’ for church, and especially on the holidays. Putting on ‘your best bib and tucker,’ as my Dad used to say, was taken for granted. The prevailing sentiment was that it somehow ‘respected’ God and the church house. Of course, back then one also dressed up to go out for dinner, get on an airplane, or attend most public functions.
In 1959 my family moved to Phoenix. We found a lot of folks still dressed up for church, though it was less prevalent; particularly in the 120 degree summer. Obviously, some southwestern saints felt God was somewhat ‘climate sensitive.’ In the 60’s my folks attended some home based Christian gatherings and there dress was more casual still, though generally neat and pressed. However, at the same time the ‘Jesus People’ were proliferating on the California coast, definitely ravaging the Evangelical ‘dress code,’ but most religious experts didn’t see them as a lasting threat to proper worship attire. Oops!
One of the really confounding variables we faced in Phoenix was attending a home prayer meeting (pretty casual) and afterward lots of those saints heading for the pool . . . . clearly pushing the envelope of not only ‘coverage,’ but also of ‘exposure.’ My folks tried hard to deal with it. And I have to say, providentially, it was at just such a meeting that I spied Jeanie Highfill on the diving board and got the immediate revelation I should be the one to drive her home!
Now that we’ve reached 21st century America, much of Christianity has taken a geometric leap toward the casual; occasionally drifting into the sloppy, un-kept, and even slutty. If you’re sufficiently interested, Google ‘dressing for church’ and you’ll find innumerable analyses of this trend, both positive and negative. Some traditionalists defend the honor and sacredness of God and the church, and others celebrate the freedom and inclusiveness of a casual and more diverse environment. Some want the Sabbath to be special; others want a setting more hospitable to ‘less affluent’ saints, and indeed the poor. So what are we to think?
The grossly oversimplified and completely unsatisfactory answer is for everyone to do what they think pleases God, and the others shouldn’t judge. Personally, I’m fine with dressed, and also with casual. The question is perhaps “who are we really dressing for?” I suspect it’s more for people, or ourselves, than God but I don’t really know. It appears there are enough choices in churches for folks to find one that suits their wishes and wardrobe.
In my view, God doesn’t look at any of it. His presence in the house makes ‘shabby’ anything that draws attention away from Jesus Christ, and His concerns are focused on the needs, the pains, the heartache, the desperation in the room . . . . . and whether or not He can find anyone who is sensitive to those things, to minister to them . . . . no matter how they’re dressed.
Be blessed today!