What we wear to worship

Alrighty. I have a question for today's post.

What do you think is appropriate to wear to church?

I have a few thoughts on the subject.

I've been reading my Bible and have come across a few things that speak to this issue.

1 Timothy 2:9-15 talks about how women should dress modestly. I know a lot of people have different ideas of what modesty is, but that's not super important right now. It goes on to say that an attitude of service and thankfulness is more important that fancy clothes or expensive jewelery. Basically, your heart is what matters, not what you're wearing. 

1 Peter 3:3-4 speaks to same issue.Your clothing, jewelery, and hairstyle aren't important. True worship is in your heart, in your deeds. Women should be in subjection to their husbands with a meek and quiet spirit; husbands should honor their wives. 

Deuteronomy 22:5 states that women should wear women's clothing; men should wear men's clothing. I don't think this means women can't wear pants; when it was written men and women all wore robes. The point is that men and women are very distinct. Your clothing should be modest, but make it clear that you are either a man or a woman. You can show your femininity and still remain modest.

Why only wear your best on Sunday? I think that's something we've learned from the world, not from the Bible. Romans 12 starts off by saying that our bodies are our living sacrifices and that is our act of worship. It continues to tell us not to conform to the world, but to renew our minds with the word of God. As humans, we want to show off the nice things we have and look the best when we are gathering with a group of people. But we all know the Bible demands humility. Proverbs 22:4 says that fear of the Lord is riches and honor and life. Not "wearing the most expensive outfit" or "looking better than your neighbor". Besides that, I worship God in far more places than in a sanctuary. My body is my living sacrifice. Last time I checked, my body is living ALL THE TIME. God doesn't care if I worship while I do the dishes in my PJs. I can worship just as successfully in my bathrobe while I make my bed in the morning. So if the idea is to wear your absolute best when you go to worship, the you're either wearing your fancy church clothes 24/7 (which makes them NOT fancy church clothes anymore), or you're only worshiping for that hour on sunday morning when you're at church.

I think we're focusing on the wrong aspect of worship. The whole idea of gathering on a particular day of the week was originally a time to present sacrifices to GOD, then to receive a message from the priest, who had received the message directly from God. Well, now our sacrifice is our body. Like I said, that's a daily occurrence, not just on Sundays. Not only that, but  because of Christ's salvation for us, we no longer need a priest to receive the word of God directly, then pass it on to us. We have the Holy spirit. We should be constantly living and receiving the word of God, which SHOULD translate into every action we perform being an act of worship. Our worship should be good deeds, obedience, service. That being said, what does clothing have to do with the state of our heart?

Lastly, we are called to model our lives after Christ. 1 John 2:6 says Whoever claims to live in Him must walk as Jesus did. Well, if you will recall, Jesus walked with shepherds and fishermen. Have you seen/smelled a shepherd or fisherman lately? Well, let me just go ahead fill you in. They're dirty, stinky, unhygienic, and who know how often they bathe?! Jesus didn't care if they smelled like fish or had sheep poop on their sandals; they were his disciples and were doing God's work. 

So my point is, I think people need to lay off the whole "Sunday best" concept. I mean, if you just like to dress up, that's fine, but I don't think it's a requirement. And it certainly doesn't have anything to do with your ability to worship.

What do you think?

Is God impressed with our nice clothes and fine jewelery?