It might be my imagination, but it seems that the high school where my kids attend gets more vocal every year about what constitutes appropriate dress. Boyz in the ‘hood wear their pants halfway down their butts, proudly displaying the designs on their boxers. My sources say that this style comes from prisons, where belts of any kind are thought too dangerous to allow, and so the inmates walk around all day with their drawers drooping. At our high school, belts are mandatory. Girls are warned about shortness of skirts, bare midriffs, and low-cut tops.
Should there be a dress code for worship services? Does God accept us and our worship as we are (pretty much all of us would say “Of course,”) or do Christians have obligations to be different from the “world” and step up the level of dress (pretty much all of us would say “Of course.”)
The magazine Christianity Today recently posted an article online in which a pastor asked that his female members have mercy on his vulnerability to sexual temptation and cover up their curves. Some applauded his plea. One guy wrote,
“Dressing up” somehow equates to “sexing up” and, as a vulnerable male, myself, I wish I could worship without having to keep my eyes closed. I don’t want to encourage legalism, which is the other end of the fashion extreme, but I do wish modesty wasn’t thought of as “frumpy” or “dowdy.” We can be modestly attired and still be beautiful or handsome.
Some women resented having male weakness restrict their fashion options. One wrote:
“As I think about it, it would seem that women are supposed to go to church as if the congregation is full of lusting, drooling wolves who see a well-turned ankle and immediately fall into sin. This sort of thinking is going to be the death of the church. The rest of the world is not going to turn back the clock to 1820. Yes, Christian women have a duty to be modest (as do the men), but I’m about fed up with carrying the blame for every sex-crazed man that walks through my church’s doors.”
OK—here’s my question. Is it possible in the 21st century to project beauty but not sexuality in church? How can women tell the difference between appropriate and inappropriate dress? (If you need some guidelines, I and other guys stand ready to offer some suggestions).
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Straight talk. Real hope.
11/18/2009 - Posted by DBUMMN
both,men and women. Church is a special place, God's house, and if we dress" worldly" I think it shows disrespect to others and mainly isn't appropriate for God's house. The Bible says to dress modestly-you aren't going to the beach! Common sense involved here--which seems to be in short supply these days.
8/24/2009 - Posted by S
In addition, with the way wedding dresses are being designed and worn by brides, I feel very sorry for pastors who have to spend the entire marriage ceremony looking at what should probably only be seen by the groom. I thought the whole idea of the white wedding dress was purity and modesty. I'm not sure that young women these days even know how they should be dressing in church or in general! It makes me sad that we ladies, as a gender, have lost our decorum.
