Have We Become Too Casual? Why I Dress My Kids Up for Church

funny thing is the people complaining about others dress code obviously havent read/paid attention bc God kicked his very first worshipers out of the Garden for being overdressed!

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I agree. This is the dilemma. I get that God does not care what we look like on the outside. Having said that He does care about what we have in our heart. Church is not just another "to do" for the week. If you truly believe that is who He says He is, giving Him our best when we go to church is an expression of that. Dressing up for church is a expression that God deserves the best of us. Most of us dress up for a nice dinner, or any other night out, but show up for Church looking like we just woke up, wrinkled clothes, girls wearing revealing clothes, etc. Jesus IS our friend and cares for us, taking care of us. How could we give Him any less than our best?

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The writer is correct. And this casualness has extended into everything we do.

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I don't go to church to learn about prosperity. My hope is not in paid for houses and paid for apartments. Those things can be lost tomorrow, then what will you do? I go to church because the Lord has saved me and I now have a desire to worship him but hearing the Word of God anytime the church door is open, not just on Sunday. BTW, I have a mansion that is paid for that will outshine anything man can build. God offers it to all through the gift of salvation. God loves you.

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My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, of glory, with respect of persons.

For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment;

And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool:

Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts?

Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?

But ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats?

Do not they blaspheme that worthy name by the which ye are called?

If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well:

But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors.

For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.

James 2:2-10

Now, theologically I know full well this is talking about more than clothe choice. (social status, ability to dress better, and using that status to give higher prominence within the church)

Yet still, the Kingdom of Heaven is not food or drink. Gold and silver will tarnish away, and cloth; even the cloth on the backs of the writer and those her inspired this artcile will be consumed by moth.

In keeping with Romans 10, one man believes he may eat all things and another only herbs; do not despise him that eats all or despise him that only eats the herb. One man feels he may wear his daily apparel and another feels compelled to adorn his back in his best cloth. Let both of them be fully persuaded of himself.

We should be our best for God. Not only on Sabbath --not only on sunday. He is God of every day and so we attain to righteousness every day after the inner man and not the outter shell.

The prophets "wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins;" and wore sackloth.

Yes, we should not think little of God in dressing poorly, but God doesnt care about what we wear. He sees through to the soul.

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Hey, Glorious. I think you meant to say "alter" and not "stage". That's unless you go to church somewhere in a tent! Seriously, though, I think that places that hold religious ceremonies are too grateful to have a congregation to complain about how people dress.

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I'm a 3rd grade public school teacher. The children who walk through my door each day may not have had a bath for a week or brushed their teeth. Their hair may be disheveled. The outfit may be the same on he/she had on yesterday. It doesn't matter. The smile, willingness to learn, the desire to be there is all that matters. Those who teach see only the heart and mind. Those who complain about the latter are there for the wrong reasons.
No one knows of the true struggles of others nor should feel the need to judge based on appearance. Kudos to Rachel for having priorities and living up to her own expectations of how she represents her family on Sunday. Shame, shame to Rachel for looking around and noticing the ones who are "not like her" and her needing to point that out.

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Think of how they dressed going into temple in Old Testament I respect my GOD/JESUS CHRIST enough to dress up for HIM.
Afterall, HE suffered the Cross for me.

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I lived in a town that had a large Catholic church and school.
What amused me the most was the kids who attended Catholic school wore navy blue dress slack but when they went to attend mass they wore blue jeans.

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I go to service every sunday, and I make it my business to dress appropriatley when I come in to the house of worship. I understand the concept of "come as you are" but I think a lot of people don't understand that saying. It implies your heart (the insides).Not your outward appearance. But with that being said, I think that the same effort you put into getting dressed up for the world ( jobs, weddings, parties and what have you)you should be able to do the same (and then some) for God. Its a matter of respect to the Alpha and Omega. He is not common like the world is. But yet people tend to put God on the lowest spot of the totem pole. He should get the uttmost honor and respect. God gives you HIs best 100% of the time, why can't we at least meet Him half way?

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long ago ...a lot of people had only church as a dress up occasion...times have changed...people dress up daily for work, school, etc....i do not think....that it matters...what you wear, as long as it is decent...is not important to me....just an opinion...we had a good friend that did not attend a wedding because of lack of clothes....this hurt me when i found out.....

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When I wasn't a christian I looked at the christian community and thought I would not fit in. I am a hairstylist, so my hair hair is funky and I have tattoos. I wear jeans and t shirts.
As a christian of 20+ years, I can tell you that the invisible God is visible to non-believers through our love for others.
Respect for God, for Gods' house, and others is very important. Modesty is important. But really, loving people no matter how they are dressed... that's keeping the main thing, the main thing.

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If you're focusing so much attention on attire, how much attention are you actually focusing on God. While I don't doubt some people feel they should "dress up" for God when they attend church, there are an equal number of people who see church as a fashion show and God is nowhere in the their thought process when they are deciding how to dress for church. The best example is Easter when people spend inordinate amounts of money on clothes, shoes, and hats trying to be the best looking family at church...it's ridiculous.

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Lets see:
If I go to a job interview I would put on my best. Not because I would consider the boss to look inside me and see my best but, as the old saying goes "First impressions are lasting impressions."
Also, there are places like Goodwill and Salvation Army that have stores where you can get a pair of Deicent Jeans for about 2 bucks, and a shirt for a quaarter. There is no excuse to wear sloppy clothes to church.
This NEW generation needs to get back to basics and set standards for our young people that you go to church to give your best, because He did.

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Baggy jeans and spikey hair??....How about coming to church dressing like an all out SKANK??!! I am appalled by the irreverant attire of some of the young ppl in church these days....mainly young teenage girls...dressing in DAISY DUKE shorts no less!! Church is God's house and it is disrespectful to God and other ppl who are worshipping to dress so immodestly in church. Schools have dress codes for young ppl - why not churches? I wouldn't let my daughters walk out of the house with some of the clothes these mothers are allowing their daughters to wear and if their daughters end up as unwed mothers whose to blame?! Sounds too old fashioned?? Oh well, we are overdue for some old fashioned values... as far as I am concerned kids need character building and dressing modestly in church is an excellent place to start!

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I often argued with my best friend, growing up because he said thet the clothes mad ethe man. He bought and dressed in $500+ suits to go to church.

Caring about what we wear to church isn't so much about respect for God as it it often is about keeping up with the Jones'. Like it or not, there are a lot of people out there who are like that. But if you're so worried about what you look like, your more likely to miss the point of going to church anyway. "Whereever there are two or more gathered in His name..."

You're there to worship our Lord, who died for us. He died on the cross wearing nothing more than a loin cloth. The author is right, God is not Lucky we're there. He's ecstatic! We're lucky He allowed us to wake to another day of His creation. So we should go to church, no matter what we look like. It's what's in the hearts of the congregation or leadership that counts, not what label they are wearing.

I was the music minister at a tiny church and they wouldn't have cared if I had worn flip flops and shorts to lead our music on Sundays. I didn't wear shirts and ties at the time, having left a job where a 3-piece suit was my uniform. But I always wore a pressed button-down or a polo shirt with my slacks. I never wore jeans.

But it still is a very materialistic thing to think God cares what you wear. Not to mention the idea that some people just can't afford to buy "Sunday Finest". Should we ban them from God's house because they can't afford nice clothes or can't tithe as well as teh next guy?

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Our appearance is a reflection of who we are on the inside. We should come in the presence of God in our cleanest and best. That shows respect for God and the institution of church.

I grew up in the church and was raised to always dress. We dressed, showed up on time, would never think of brining our "Starbucks" in with us, and did not leave before the Benediction. I had a parish priest who would stop the mass and ask you your reason for walking late. That changed some people's tendencies. Get in your seat on time or don't come.

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If your god is dead then why would he care? Or maybe you meant to say that Jesus died for you and God resurrected him. Anyway, I agree that people have lost respect for the Almighty God who allowed his son Jesus to die for all mankind as a ransom sacrifice for imperfect humans by showing such disrespect in their casual dress while attending a religious service. Their casual dress represents their casual approach to their religious beliefs. Maybe that is because most people just make a show for others that they are religious. It really doesn't mean anything to them. Which is obvious in the way that people are treating each other today. It's a sad, sad world. Maybe if they made the effort to dress appropriately for a religious service, they may teach their children to have more respect for what God has given us.

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