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So how are
we to dress? If I can't become a street grunge or gangbanger
or whatever the current fad is then what? By the way I do
not profess to be current on what is proper slang nowadays.
I will start with a familiar passage. This passage is
speaking specifically of tongues, but applies well to what
we are discussing. I Corinthians 14:7-8, "And
even things without life giving sound, whether pipe or harp,
except they give a distinction in sounds, how shall it be
known what is piped or harped? For if the trumpet give
an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle?"
So what can we say, if we do not sound and look different
then who would know that we are different. Who would
know that the words we speak give life, and who would know
that we are different and separated to the Lord? What
does the bible say about dress? Job 40:10, "Adorn
yourself with eminence and dignity; and clothe yourself with
honor and majesty." It doesn't sound like anyone's underwear
is hanging out in this verse. How much dignity is there in
exposing ones underwear? How much dignity is there in
a woman that will show everyone everything that only a husband
should see? Lets start with the first dress code ever.
Genesis 3:7-11, No need to quote it all here, suffice
it to say that when Adam and Eve sinned they knew they were
naked and became embarrassed and ashamed. They tried
the fig leave thing and God made clothes even more unrevealing
for them. Adam and Eve said we shall cover ourselves
with these skimpy little fig leaves and God said oh no you
don't, as sinners you need to cover yourselves completely.
We'll use animals skins top to bottom. God said
you are sinners now and you need to cover all of yourself
not just your loins. Read it, that is one of the things
it is saying.
So where are we
now that we've come to the 21st century? We still have
some very explicit directions from the Lord. Deuteronomy
22:5, "The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth
unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman's garment:
for all that do so are abomination unto the Lord thy God."
Now you may say what makes up a man's clothing and what makes
up a woman's? We may be confused today, but yesterday
we were not. When I was a kid we were taught what
was what. Some things are obvious even today, but because
we have lost our way some things are not. So I'll be real
point blank about it. When I was young, a woman of any character
did not wear t-shirts, shorts or pants. Why? Because
they reveal too much about a woman. So any blouse that
was to tight and to revealing was not worn. When I was
a boy women would not wear shorts much less hot pants. Why
do you think they are called hot pants? The general
rule was that if it aroused the passions of a man that should
be reserved for marriage then our young ladies did not wear
it. In biblical times a woman who showed her leg and
thigh was a harlot. Why? Because it inflamed the passions
of a man that were and are reserved for marriage. It
inflames men to sin. Any woman that provokes a man to sin
is a harlot. If what you wear invokes sin in a man's
body or mind then you should not wear it. And the same
is true for men.
But you say, "I
need fashion it would make me look silly if I did not keep
up with fashion." Lets see what Jesus Christ said about clothing
and fashion. Matthew 6:25-34, "For this reason I say
to you, do not be anxious for your life, as to what you shall
eat, or what you shall drink; nor for your body, as to what
you shall put on. Is not life more than food, and the
body than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, that they
do not sow, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns, and
yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much
more than they? And which of you being anxious can add
a single cubit to his life span? And why are you anxious
about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field
grow; they do not toil nor do they spin; yet I say to you
that even Solomon in all his glory did not clothe himself
like one of these. But if God so arrays the grass of
the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into
the furnace, will He not much more do so for you, O men of
little faith? Do not be anxious then, saying, 'What
shall we eat?' Or 'What shall we drink?' Or 'With
what shall we clothe ourselves?' For all these things
the Gentiles (unsaved) eagerly seek; for your heavenly Father
knows that you need all these things. But seek first
His kingdom and His righteousness; and all these things shall
be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious for tomorrow;
for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough
troubles of its own." In a nutshell, Christ has said don't
worry about all the things that the unbelievers worry about.
Don't get caught with the unbelievers who seek after
fashion and the "good life" that they will never have.
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