|
|
Modesty And Worship (Kent Heaton) In every society the problem of modesty has been a challenge for the people of God. The influence of the world slowly creeps into the minds of God’s children and draws them away to sensual things of the world. It is no different today when defense is made for how we dress and the manner of apparel at worship becomes less concerned with respect for God. Admittedly the obvious question is how do we determine a level of modesty. Is respect measured by wearing a $500 suit or should there be any judgments made of what we wear in the first place? It is clear that we cannot use the moral fashion conscience of society to govern our decisions. The truth of the matter has never been about the clothing but about the mind. We dress in the manner of our mind-set and how we dress says a lot about us. In the work place there is a “casual dress day” which allows people in the business world to wear a different type of clothing. Some churches even offer worship services called “contemporary” or “casual” services. What that says is we believe that worship to God can be a casual thing because God is our “good-buddy” or “fishing buddy” or “just one of the guys.” Nadab and Abihu did that and paid with their lives. “:And Moses said to Aaron, ‘This is what the Lord spoke, saying: 'By those who come near Me I must be regarded as holy; and before all the people I must be glorified.’” (Leviticus 10:3). We should dress in worship regarding God as HOLY! When women wear revealing clothes either with low front exposing cleavage; tight fitting dresses; sun-dresses exposing shoulders and half the upper back; etc; we dishonor our Lord as holy. If we come dressed like a day at the beach in sloppy, unkempt, flip-flopping apparel we treat the Lord with disrespect. If we dress for show (as happens every Easter) we defame the character of our holy worship to Jesus Christ. Worship is a time of honor given to our Heavenly Father. Taking time to worship God demands our humble hearts clothed with the modesty of our bodies. “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? (1 Corinthians 6:19).
|