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I saw a sign the other day “Looking for heaven in 2007”, it’s catchy and it some ways I think we should be following that; our minds should be set on heavenly things. Yet at the same time I’m reminded of an old saying, “Don’t be so heavenly minded that you are no earthly good”. Our calling as Christians is to find balance and that is often like walking a tight rope, it’s hard!

I’ve noticed in recent years that there are things that can quickly escalate into disharmony when they begin to be discussed; hair/appearance/dress. If you want to draw a line in the sand quickly start a discussion on this with a group of SGM artists and/or fans.

In one corner you find the traditionalists, who believe everyone should be in suits for men and dresses for women. They are convinced this is the only way to honor God. In the other corner you find those who believe it doesn’t matter what you wear or how you look because God looks at the heart, not your appearance.

Now let’s ask ourselves, is either of these totally right; I hear even as I type, proponents from each side scream “YES, we are right!” But let’s look at the facts for a few minutes, shall we?

Is there direction in the Bible for how we are to dress? Yes, the New Testament tells us to dress modestly. Other than that, there isn’t a lot said about our dress in the Bible. There is no mention of everyone in a group being dressed alike or wearing certain apparel.

Also, for those of the ‘whatever you want’ side of the argument, they say that Jesus went about with sinners and that to reach them you have to become like them. You don’t find that in the Bible either. He did sit with sinners and He did reach out to them. However, you find everywhere He went, He stood out, He did not seek to blend in and be part of what they were doing. He brought them the message of deliverance, not a message of I’m just like you.

We have taken bits and pieces of what the Bible says and tried to make everyone fit the mold we want them to fit. It’s just not there. I know that we are under grace not under law, yet the Bible tells us that if eating meat offends a brother, we should not eat meat. Paul had a lot to say about how we should act, what our bodies really are and what our attitudes should be.

Paul teaches we are to abstain from “FROM ALL APPEARANCE OF EVIL”. Now if the world is evil by nature – “we all have sinned”, “in sin did my mother conceive me”, “there is none righteous, no, not one” then it’s not a big leap to say we should not strive to look and act like the world. Yet we do, it happens in churches, Christian schools and at gospel concerts – we want to reach the world by looking like them.

The Bible also teaches us to “go out and compel them to come in”. It doesn’t say go out and mingle with them. Before someone thinks or says I’m one of those folks that believe in going out and pushing someone one’s sin down their throat and condemning them, let me make something very clear, compel means to draw not push and that is what I believe. If you see someone sinking in quicksand, you aren’t going to get in there with them to try to get them out – you are going to reach find something to reach out to them with and try to pull them out. The same is true with our Christian walk.

Paul also tells us that our bodies are the temple of the Lord. Have you ever been driving down the road and see an old church that obviously hasn’t been kept up? What is your first thought? Usually it is something like ‘wow, what a shame – that was once a beautiful church building but they have let it run down’. Do you think that people look at us as Christians and think the same thing?

Or have you been to a church that is clearly ‘over-done’? The ornamentation is a bit much, instead of being beautiful; it looks tacky, almost cheap. The same can be said of Christians as well.

In reality there is appropriate dress for different occasions, but if we come across as ‘run down’ or ‘over-done’ we possibly will cause offence rather than be a blessing. As Paul noted there are weaker brothers and sisters, who do look at us and just as with eating meat, our actions can cause them to stumble. If we are truly the stronger brothers and sisters, we want to avoid this rather than argue for our ‘right’ to do this under grace.

And if we are stronger in the faith, we should be looking for the message, not analyzing the messenger every time. As Christians we have many responsibilities and one of those is to share the gospel. But nowhere in the Bible do I see that we are to be dress inspectors.

If our body is the temple of the Lord and the Bible teaches that it is, it should be presented in a manner that is pleasing to God. It should be dressed appropriately for each occasion, in a modest manner.

For those still saying ‘God looks on the heart’, know that I whole-heartedly agree, He does and He knows your intentions. But also know that if you are in a ministry to reach other people – they are not God and they do not know your heart; they only know what they see. When what we do becomes more about ministering and not causing others to stumble than it is about being right, we will see less arguments on each side of this. We will no longer be in separate corners slugging for our ‘right’ or our perception of what is righteous, we will be working together for the common goal – reaching the lost with the gospel of Christ!

D. Ann Bailey
http://www.deeannbailey.com

Reader Comments

Preach it, Dee!!!
Great article

God is good - all the time
All the time - God is good

Shayne, first Paul is talking to Christians in when speaks of offending a brother (or sister), not the world that takes offense at anything. Second, offending there isn't the same as the 'I don't like what you are doing' it is speaking of causing a weaker brother or sister to stumble.

That isn't the same context as causing a judgmental person to critize. It is fine to change only for God, we are not to seek men's direction but God's. But He has (through Paul) given us the direction - we should be mindful that our actions can cause someone weaker to fall.

DeeAnn
TGIF Today God Is First
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