The general abandonment of decorum in society over a couple of generations has obviously had its impact on the Lord’s people—especially observable in our worship assemblies. I preached in a Gospel meeting several years ago before which the local preacher told me that the brethren were “laid back” in the way they dressed for worship. He was trying to prepare me for the fact that those who would be leading in worship would likely be “casually” dressed. Some of them didn't even make that “grade.”Another congregation used varied song leaders, some of whom wore neither coat nor tie. One poor fellow wore jeans, an ugly open collared shirt, and sneakers and sported a distracting, obviously unkempt beard. Had he worn hunting boots he could have been mistaken for “Jeremiah Jones,” just down from his mountain cabin (never mind that he could hardly carry a tune). If such attire represented the best these men could do, they would have received no criticism from me. This hardly seemed to be the case, however. Rather, such behavior had thoughtless, careless, sloppy, I don’t care, and/or lazy (to say nothing of irreverent) written all over it.
Whether we (male or female) “dress up” or “dress down” indicates an attitude toward the
activity or function in which we are participating. Yet, men all too often, representing the most important cause on earth, come before the King of kings, saying by their shoddy appearance that the occasion was not even worth dressing up for. Many of the grandfathers of my generation wore bib overalls to worship on Sunday, but these were the best they had. The one day in the week they wore a white shirt (if they had one) was the Lord’s day. They perceived that going to worship was worth dressing up for—and I believe they got it right.
Yes, God is more concerned with the inside, rather than merely with the outside, of men (1 Samuel 16:7). However, we may indicate what is inside by what we do with the “outside.” The Lord said that “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh” (Matthew 12:34), and we may “talk” with our attire. Have we forgotten the simple, but important, principle of doing all things “decently and in order”?(1 Corinthians 14:40). I am not suggesting that we turn our worship assemblies into fashion shows. I am rather urging that we (especially those who lead in worship), dress in such a way as to indicate how important they believe the worship of Almighty God and His Son is. ---Dub McClish, The Scripturecache.com
---Mike Riley, Gospel Snippets
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