What is the proper way for a Christian to dress? Throughout the history of the church different groups have expressed different ideas about what is “proper” Christian attire. One summer we visited the Amish and Mennonite towns in Ohio and Pennsylvania. They still wear dull colored clothes, and a lot of them.
At one point in church history it was considered “worldly” for a Christian man to shave his beard or for a woman to cut her hair. No more than 50 years ago, right here in the south, most Christians felt it was just not “right” for a Christian man to have a beard or for a Christian woman to wear pants to church.
Some people try to “dress” themselves as Christians by wearing a cross, the sign of the fish, or some other Christian symbol. There is nothing wrong with this, in fact I have heard of conversations a necklace helped start, which led to an opportunity to share our faith.
The real issue is how can we be recognizable as one of Christ’s disciples? 1 Peter 3:3-4 tells the ladies…
“…Let not your adornment be external only, braiding the hair, and wearing gold jewelry, or fine clothing; but let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God.”
Before husbands start the “amen chorus” let me hurry and point you to 1 Peter 4:5. There Peter adds…
“…All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble”.
Obviously a Christian cannot allow the fashion world to just tell them how they should dress anymore than we should allow the lost world to tell us much of anything else. Our appearance, to the best of our ability, should reflect what {or rather who} is in our heart. We seek to reflect those “imperishable” qualities of the Spirit and not the world.
Bro. Dennis