God’s Idea of Stylish Clothing
By Katherine N.

 

 

Clothing, hair-dos, make-up, jewelry, and girls—it all goes together! Most of us, I’m sure, would admit that we love looking through our closets deciding what to wear for that day. We like to look stylish, feel beautiful, and if someone complimented us on our outfit, whether it’s new or not, we’d like that too! We’re girls—it’s “born” in us.  Yet, we need to curve and cultivate our stylish ideas of beautiful clothing to God’s idea of stylish and beautiful clothing.

In I Timothy, Paul writes: “That women should adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety: not with braided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array; But, (which becometh women professing Godliness) with good works.”

Modest, according to The New Century Dictionary means, “having or showing a nice regard for the decencies of dress; also free from showy extravagance.” I believe that the standards of dress in our Christian churches are sadly slipping downward. It seems to be that as long as the blouse/dress is high at the neck, and the skirt is at the knee, it's okay. I believe that we need to look beyond that. Look at the style/pattern and ask questions—Is this too form fitting? Why are the stripes angled that way or the gathers there on this particular blouse? Do the colors compliment each other and blend pleasingly or are they bold, which would bring attention? Is that type of lace along the hemline of that skirt appropriate? Clothing talks about our character. The Bible says that our character should be “…the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God a great price.” (I Peter 3:4) and our clothing needs to reflect that spirit. What we wear on the outside, reflects what is on our heart.

Along the lines of clothing, I believe that our hair-style, make-up, and jewelry should be modest and reflect a meek and quiet spirit as well. We shouldn’t “hide” behind all the make-up available, and have our hair in our face. In I Timothy when Paul talked about braided hair, he was speaking of the Christian women in Ephesus who wore the latest styles. In saying that, those women were admonished not to wear the “latest style” and neither should we. Wearing the “latest-and-greatest” in clothing, hair-dos, make-up, and jewelry, brings attention to ourselves. The Bible says that we are to “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” (I John 1:15) As Christians we are a peculiar people—a chosen generation (I Peter 2:9). We are the light of the world (Mt. 5:14-16), and how can we be a bright shining light if we look and act like the world??

Also in I Timothy, it speaks of wearing “costly array”. This doesn’t mean that we have to dress in “house-cleaning” clothes all the time! J There needs to be a balance of spending too much time and money on the “latest-and greatest” style, but dressing sloppy isn’t acceptable either.

I appreciated what Edith Schaeffer had to say in her book, The Hidden Art of Homemaking: “The Christian should remember wherever he is placed by the Lord, that he is not meant to ‘put all his money on his back’, nor selfishly use his life to enhance his own looks and live in luxury, but he is a representative of a King—the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords.”

Above all, we need to remember that: “Favor is deceitful, and beauty is vain,
but those who feareth the Lord shall be praised.” (Proverbs 31:30)

Truly, it is what’s on the inside—a daughter of the King who is serving our Lord—is what matters the most. As we grow closer to the Lord through Bible study and prayer, we will develop a relationship that will cultivate God’s ideas of modesty and beauty. We shouldn’t be so wrapped up in ourselves—“Is my dress creased?” “What about my hair…just one more peek in the mirror.” “Oh! Did my lip-stick just smudge?”—that there wasn’t time for a quiet moment with the Lord that morning, or we were not able to help Mom or our younger siblings.

I’d like to close with an illustration I read years ago, and still think of quite often:
There were a group of girls talking before school examining one another’s delicate, white hands comparing whose was the most beautiful. The teacher arrived, and the girls gathered around asking her what she thought. The teacher mentioned to a young girl who stood a little off from the rest, and said: “her hands are the most beautiful”. One of the girls from the group spoke up “Hers? Why they are all dry, cracked and red!” The teacher responded, “I’ve seen those hands serving others, and they are the most beautiful.”

 

Our actions, attitude, and appearance reflect what is on our heart.
Where is your HEART?

 

 

 

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