Dress to Impress?

So the other day, I had a very interesting conversation with a teacher about her past church experiences and I was very perplexed at what she said. She claimed that she no longer attends church because of what students and adults are wearing to the church. She told me that she feels they are disrespecting God by just wearing jeans and a t-shirt or whatever. She continued saying that she grew up at a time where Sunday morning was a "big deal" when it comes to what you wore. She claimed that every Sunday morning her family would wear there nicest clothes to show honor and respect to God. However, what stuck out most to me was that she wasn't going to church because of what people were wearing. I thought to myself, "How is this come to be?" and , "Why does it matter what we wear to church?" After a little reading and a considerably large amount of thinking, This is what I came up with:

There is a song that immediately started playing in my head when I thought about this whole situation. It goes, "Come, now is the time to worship. Come, just as you are to worship." Did you catch that? Come, just as you are to worship? To me, this means: it doesn't matter who you are, what you do, where you've been, or what you are wearing, just come worship God. I feel as though we have taken a legalistic standpoint on this situation. I think what we are missing is the fact that God wants us for who we are, not for what we wear. What is important is that we are with God no matter what. When my teacher said she doesn't go to church because of what people are wearing, it deeply saddened me. To know that because of something as materialistic as clothes are preventing someone from having an active relationship with Christ is terrible.

On the contrary, I completely understand what my teacher was saying about wanting to honor God with her best attire. I feel as though whatever we do, as humans, we should do it with the best attitude and effort in an attempt to glorify God. And since we can honor God in a countless amount of ways, I think if we feel compelled to dress nicely, then go for it. However, the reason we wear clothes in the first place is because of sin. I know it sounds strange, but its the truth. When Adam and Eve betrayed and dishonored God through their actions, they realized they were naked and were ashamed. Thus, they began to wear clothes to cover their shame. So, why should we care about what we wear in the first place?

This is when I turn to Matthew for some words of wisdom. Matthew 6:25 states , "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?" Jesus clearly made the point that we don't need to worry about clothes because there are simply more important things in life such as life itself.

So where do we go from here? For those of us who want to dress nicely at church, go for it! For those who want to be casual, go for it! The truth of the matter is, is that God just wants 100% of our hearts. Not 10% of our clothes and 90% of our heart, but 100%. God wants worship, not our clothes. And whatever allows you personally to have a better worship experience and give more of yourself to the Father is what you should consider. Also, if you feel as though everyone should dress their best, but they don't...do not let it affect your walk with God. Keep your focus on Him and He will put you in the right direction.

Proverbs 3:6