What not to Wear

I came across the latest edition of the Denver Catholic Register. The headline across the top read, "Does God care what I wear to Mass?" Now, I am not Catholic, but I know that the topic of dress has been an issue in both Catholic and Protestant circles for years. My initial response to this question is "God doesn't care about what a person wears." Now, don't get me wrong, I am not encouraging Christians to not take any care in how they present themselves. Nor am I trying to say, as one Christian in the article puts it, that "God doesn't care what I wear to church as long as I'm there." My point is that we have to ask ourselves why are you dressed a certain way or do you think your dress is consistent with how a child of God should dress? We have to ask these types of questions because it is too easy to judge people for their dress. When we look at others we most often come to one of two possible conclusions. We either are better than they are, which is pride, or we are worse then they are, which is condemnation. Both of which come from the pit of Hell. Furthermore, both are attitudes that arise from subjecting ourselves to law.

"We do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves. When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise (2 Corinthians 10:12)." In the article mentioned above, Denver Archbishop Charles Chaput is quoted as saying, "I think the Lord is always displeased if we dress immodestly." What is this based on? I think the ones who are displeased are those around a particular person more so than God. While I understand what the Archbishop is saying, one must ask, "How does one dress in order to please God?" You see how we can get into the putting ourselves back under law? Besides, if the Lord is displeased with immodest dress the opposite must be true as well. He must be pleased with modest dress. First, what is immodest and modest dress. Secondly, doesn't this tend to make each of us compare ourselves to one another by how we dress? Of course it does. We have all heard the term "Sunday Best" to describe those people who wear their best outfits to church. In my experience, this was not something motivated by the Holy Spirit, but something originating from the flesh and the desire to be "recognized" by others.

Think about it. If I wear a 3-piece suit to church is the attention going to be on me or God? If a woman wears a stunning outfit, capped off with a flamboyant hat to match, is the attention on her or on God? And who decides what is acceptable to God and what is not acceptable? As a man, I have attended church where some of the women have dressed in a manner that they served to be more of a stumbling block to the men in attendance than they were edifying God or the Body of Christ. Yet, on the flip side, I have seen people dressing as though they were the one that we all came to church to see. In general, I have no problem with a pastor, or in this case an Archbishop, addressing the issue of dress. However, it all needs to be put in its proper context. The Apostle Paul talked about submission to the basic principles of this world which is what can happen when we venture into topics like what one wears to church. However, Paul's response was quite telling. "Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence (Colossians 2:23)."

I don't think Paul was encouraging Christians to not take into consideration how they dress. Most everything we do as Christians should be filtered through our identity in Christ. This will help us to decide if what we are doing will cause attention to be directed to me or to God. I believe that the answer to how one dresses is directly tied to their understanding of the Gospel message and how God sees us. So, when a pastor or laymen brings up the subject of what to wear it should not be in the context of condemnation as seems to be the case in this article and in my own personal experience. It should be in light of who we are as children of God. As mentioned earlier, we need to ask ourselves if what we are wearing is a reflection of who we are in Christ. Honestly, I wouldn't tell someone to not wear a suit, but I would question why someone would wear a mini-skirt or sloppy, baggy jeans to church as well. But, we should look at it as a teaching opportunity. Thank God that these people have found their way into your midst and allow the Lord to work through you to show them compassion and love. And pray that He gives you the opportunity and the words to talk to them in a caring, but instructive manner. Remember, the best teacher is experience. And we all, at one time or another, did something, be it how we dressed or something else we did, that wasn't a reflection of our status as God's children. The way we dress is the byproduct of who we are and what we believe inside. It isn't about changing someones clothes as much as it is about getting God inside them to change their heart. That will lead to outward changes which will automatically start to take place in their life.