It is good for us to ponder why we wear what we do. Genesis 35:1-3 may shed some light on the subject. “Then God said to Jacob, ‘Go up to Bethel and settle there. Build an altar there to honor Me. That’s where I appeared to you when you were running away from your brother Esau.’ So Jacob spoke to his family and to everyone who was with him. He said, ‘Get rid of the strange gods you have with you. Make yourselves pure, and change your clothes. Come, let’s go up to Bethel. There I’ll build an altar to honor God. He answered me when I was in trouble. He’s been with me everywhere I’ve gone.'”

It is possible that as Jacob began this faith-journey to Bethel with God, he recognized how much God had done for him, and how much he needed God! His response was to take everyone with him on this faith-journey, so they could experience God for themselves. “Get rid of the strange gods you have with you. Make yourselves pure” implies the need to be united in “coming clean” before God. “For all have sinned…” (Romans 3:23). Many then had “household idols” with them that they depended on, as well as God. They did not trust God alone. “Change your clothes” implies a change of heart toward sin. It was to be a reflection of what had taken place on the “inside.”

We would all benefit from a “spiritual bath” to confess and get rid of sin before we go to church. This is making ourselves pure. For some people, clean is their “best.” For others, their heart tells them that wearing their best is showing God His value to them. For still others, there needs to be a caution that their best isn’t merely showing off.

It is always the heart God is looking at, rather than the exterior. However, what we wear to worship our holy, pure God may be an indication of where our hearts are. If you have never considered it before, ask yourself, “Does it matter to me how I look when I am going to worship the King of Kings and Lord of Lords? More importantly, does it matter to Him?” We must all be the judge of that for ourselves. It’s a personal choice, keeping in mind that having a proper attitude toward God Himself is important preparation for worship at church.

 

 

A biblical look at this issue reveals two important things. First, God looks at the heart rather than at one’s clothing. In 1 Samuel 16:7 God said, “For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.”

Second, an emphasis on nice clothing can sometimes reveal a sinful, prideful attitude. James 2:2-4 teaches, “For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, ‘You sit here in a good place,’ while you say to the poor man, ‘You stand over there,’ or, ‘Sit down at my feet,’ have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?” First Timothy 2:9-10 adds, “women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire, but with what is proper for women who profess godliness—with good works.”

In today’s culture, there are many perspectives regarding what is appropriate to wear to a church service. The Bible, however, emphasizes modesty and wearing something that does not cause discrimination within the church. In other words, believers are taught to dress appropriately and to treat one another without favoritism regardless of how well one can afford to dress.

A good guideline for when a person has the choice is to dress to fit what is appropriate to the context of the congregation. For example, the apostle Paul sought to remove any barrier to the message of Christ (Romans 14). He also wrote, “I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some” (1 Corinthians 9:22). His concern was not on his clothing, but rather in living in a way that best allowed him to make disciples among those he served.