God and clothes...shaken or stirred?
My mom drives me absolutely nuts with this: "Remember, it's not good to judge people. Only God is allowed to judge peo...oh my! Look over there, fourth pew from the front! Do you SEE what she's wearing? My goodness...you'd think she could dress a little nicer for church! I mean, what's wrong with people today. Don't you ever think of dressing like that for church...blah blah....jeans....blah....shoelaces untied..."
She tells me not to judge others, then rants for 20 minutes about how people shouldn't wear jeans to church. I can understand where she's coming from, but...come on. People have their reasons, and it isn't our job to nitpick said reasons. Give it a rest! I believe, if my memory serves, that the Bible says something about being clothed in righteousness and wearing the garment of praise. The New Testament says to dress modestly and not make a show of our appearance. If the people fit the above description, leave them alone! What was that verse about trying to remove the speck in someone else's eye while ignoring the log in our own eye?
Now, I'm not saying we shouldn't put some effort into getting ready for church - aka "Sunday best" - 'cuz there's definately something wrong if we spend more time and effort on going out than on God. But, I would far prefer to see someone in filthy clothes praising God with their whole heart than someone dressing up to go through the motions and nitpick everyone else in church. I personally don't think dressing up for church will "impress" God if our hearts are in the wrong place. I mean, really, do we dress up because we love God, or because someone will ram it down our throats if we don't wear a dress and heels or a suit and tie?
Think about it.
She tells me not to judge others, then rants for 20 minutes about how people shouldn't wear jeans to church. I can understand where she's coming from, but...come on. People have their reasons, and it isn't our job to nitpick said reasons. Give it a rest! I believe, if my memory serves, that the Bible says something about being clothed in righteousness and wearing the garment of praise. The New Testament says to dress modestly and not make a show of our appearance. If the people fit the above description, leave them alone! What was that verse about trying to remove the speck in someone else's eye while ignoring the log in our own eye?
Now, I'm not saying we shouldn't put some effort into getting ready for church - aka "Sunday best" - 'cuz there's definately something wrong if we spend more time and effort on going out than on God. But, I would far prefer to see someone in filthy clothes praising God with their whole heart than someone dressing up to go through the motions and nitpick everyone else in church. I personally don't think dressing up for church will "impress" God if our hearts are in the wrong place. I mean, really, do we dress up because we love God, or because someone will ram it down our throats if we don't wear a dress and heels or a suit and tie?
Think about it.