By Alvin Mlambo
Growing up we
were always taught that our “street clothes” were not good enough to go and
worship in. My parents made sure that every Christmas, (it was an unwritten law
that was the only time we received new clothes) we would receive our sets of street
clothes, school uniforms and church attire. Each Sunday, my brother and I would
be dressed in our flawlessly ironed 2 pleated polyester pants with crinkle free
button-up shirts usually topped with bow ties on really special occasions. And
not to forget the white socks and shiny reflective dress shoes we would’ve
spent the previous night polishing. It was strictly prohibited by blood written
law for us to wear our Sunday best on any other occasion apart from church and
violation of said law was punishable by death. Well that is a slight exaggeration
but having been on the receiving end of a couple of my mother’s disciplinary
processes, a level close to death is an apt description.
All through to
early adulthood, I was of the firm belief that how we dressed when we entered and
worshipped in the house of the Lord was inextricably linked to whether our
prayers and devotions would receive favourable responses. When I moved cities
for college, I not only joined a different church but a different denomination.
Much to my chagrin, my traditional beliefs on “Godly” apparel did not apply. T shirts, jeans and cartoonish
sweaters were commonplace. Shorts, which I had never seen being worn outside of
Sunday school were in style with not a single filthy look or judgemental murmur
passed. Through liaisons and fellowship with the members of my new family, I
realised that apart from our divergent views on what we considered to be pious
clothing there was no difference in our dedication to the Christian faith. So
then I had to ask myself, does God
really care what you wear?
To better
understand the practice, I decided to delve into the history. The phenomenon of
the Sunday Best or the practice of dressing up for church can be traced back to
the late-eighteenth century and mid-nineteenth century. Traditionally, fancy
attire was reserved for social events only amongst the aristocracy of that day
simply because only they had the means to afford it. As the wheels of progress
and invention turned, along came the bulk manufacturing of fabrics. Commoners
were now able to match the elegance once reserved for the upper crust of society.
They too were now able to dress up for special occasions and church fell into
this category.
However not all
Christian groups were as thrilled and embracing of the nouveau middle class’
ostentation when it came to church garb. John Wesley, the leader of the revival
movement within the Church of England and father of the Methodist church,
opposed the idea of special outfits. He wrote to believers, "Let your dress be cheap, as well as
plain," John Wesley frequently spoke out against fine beautification,
saying that gold and expensive apparel were sinful. In line with his teachings
that Christians “ought to dress plainly,
neatly, and simply.”, Methodists turned people away for wearing expensive
clothing in some instances. However, with the increasing affluence of the
middle class came a need for larger, more elaborate worship centres with extravagant
decorations. As a result of this progression, the elegant and formal worship
houses began to attract the prominent members of society. In an effort to
remain relevant, so to speak, congregations such as the Methodists had to
improve their own facilities. In 1843, Horace Bushnell an influential American
congregational minister and theologian, wrote an essay called “Taste and Refinement” about how
sophistication and refinement were attributes of God and that Christians should imitate them. Due to his mass
influence, soon dressing up for church became synonymous with the veneration of
God. Till today masses of Christians
all over the world continue to dress up for church.
So what does the bible say about dressing as a
Christian?
Though I had
concentrated on the origins of the “Sunday Best” or dressing up for church, the
same question can be posed to apply beyond Sunday to a Christian’s everyday
clothing. So what are God’s rules
and regulations with regards to what we should and shouldn’t wear? The best
place for us to start looking is the bible. In the Old Testament, the book of
Deuteronomy disallows dressing in clothing of the opposite sex. “A woman
must not wear men's clothing, nor a man wear women's clothing, for the LORD
your God detests anyone who does this.” (NIV,
Deuteronomy 22:5) Like many decrees at the
time, this regulation may have been required due to the pagan customs in the neighbouring
nations. The Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
Bible Commentary prepared by Robert Jamieson, Andrew Robert Fausset and David Brown states that “Disguises were assumed at
certain times in pagan temples.” “… a man attired in a coloured female dress,
in honour of Venus, Ashtaroth, or Astarte, and a woman equipped in armour,
worshipped at the shrine of the statue of Mars…” In the eyes of God, cross-dressing was thought as an insult to the difference
between the sexes as stated in Genesis 1:27. In contemporary society
however, some
have argued that the world keeps evolving, so there might be the need to re-evaluate
certain principles. Concerning trousers or pants specifically, women's trousers
are designed differently from those of men, so it cannot be said women are
putting on men’s clothing.
Another prohibition that exists is found in
Leviticus and Deuteronomy. This prohibition is against wearing clothes woven of
mixed fabrics. “Do not wear clothes of wool and linen woven together.” (NIV,
Deuteronomy 22:11) This restriction however, has no ostensible
application in modern times mainly because most Christians do not make their
own textiles today. Unless of course they happen to be in that industry as a
profession. Besides for those who are in the industry or clothes manufacturers
for that matter, none mix these two fabrics today anyway. The New International
version of Leviticus 19:19 says “Do not wear clothing woven of two
kinds of material.”
However, the “New Covenant” introduced
by Jesus frees us from stringent compliance of Old Testament statutes. Two
passages in the New Testament speak on appropriate attire for women though. I
also want women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, not with braided
hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, but with good deeds, appropriate
for women who profess to worship God. (NIV, 1 Timothy 2:9-10)
Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair
and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of
your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of
great worth in God's sight. For this is the way the holy women of the past who
put their hope in God used to make themselves beautiful. (NIV, 1 Peter
3:2-5) Both
of these inserts make emphasise that a Christian’s true beauty derives from the
inner person and is appropriately conveyed by virtuous activities. Simply put, dressing
modestly and tastefully is the way to go.
So does what we wear really matter as contemporary Christians?
The biggest
snare we must avoid falling into as Christians is using our clothing as masks
to hide our authentic natures. Sometimes we use clothes and outward appearances
to portray a godly image to the outside world while God looks in a totally
different direction. In
1 Samuel 16:7, the word says,
“For the LORD does not see as man sees;
for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” In addition 1 Peter 3:3-4 says “Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate
hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewellery or fine clothes. Rather, it
should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and
quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.”
We also need to
be wary that our activities are not simply conforming to man’s customs. Mark
7:13 says “Thus you nullify the word of God by
your tradition that you have handed down.” Though this word was spoken
to the Pharisees it applies to the modern Christian. The warning Jesus was
presenting was for them and by extension us, not to replace the word of God
with our own time honoured traditions. Romans
12:2 ESV says “Do not be conformed to this world, but be
transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what
is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect”. In
conclusion, whether we believe in the concept of the “Sunday Best” or fine
seemingly Godly clothing every other day, our attention need constantly be on God. In John 4:24 we are told “For God is Spirit, so those who worship him
must worship in spirit and in truth.” Instead of concentrating on the
outward worldly appearance of righteousness, we as Christians must instead endeavour
to don the whole armour of God as described in Ephesians 6:10-18