I woke up this Sunday morning, excited about the prospect of spending time in the house of the Lord. At times, my work week can be so mentally, physically and emotionally draining, that a bit of quiet time in God’s house is just the thing that’s needed to keep myself centered.
As I slipped on my Sunday’s finest, I was reminded that my clothes — a light brown polo shirt and relaxed Levi’s denim — looked eerily similar to the kind of attire that I wear Monday through Saturday. You see, at my church (Impact Church in Atlanta) and at churches across the nation, three-piece suits and oversized hats are now being replaced with polo shirts, sundresses and jeans.
While some would argue that the loosened restrictions on church dress point to a lower reverence to God and to worship, I would actually argue the opposite. To me, a person’s reverence to God has more to do with their inner disposition than the clothes on their back. It also equals the playing field so that all people — no matter the economic class — can feel comfortable in a setting where income is not supposed to matter.
Scripture supports this position.
James 2:1-4: “Show no partiality as you adhere to the faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ. For if a man with gold rings on his fingers and in fine clothes comes into your assembly, and a poor person in shabby clothes also comes in, and you pay attention to the one wearing fine clothes and say ‘Sit here, please,’ while you say to the poor one ‘Stand there,’ or ‘Sit at my feet,’ have you not made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil designs?” (New American Bible)
I’m sure that there are some who will continue to hold on to the long-standing traditions of dressing up when attending church … to them, I tip my hat and encourage them to follow their heart on the matter. As for me, I am happy to have found a church home that embraces a belief that I hold near and dear.
As a child, I used to always ask my mom, “Why do we have to dress up? I thought that God said ‘come as you are.'” And while she quickly dismissed my inquiry as a kid just being a kid, I now know that is was more than that …
It was the early formations of my core beliefs.
