Transformation Tuesday: Dressing with Humility, Not Pride
Clothing is highly symbolic and one of the easiest and most obvious ways to communicate who you are and what you believe about yourself. In this week’s sermon from 1 Corinthians 11, we saw that God created male and female, and he wants those gender distinctions to be embraced in the way we dress. One of the most counter-cultural and loving things we can do for this city right now is to love and display our gender distinctions.
Our cultural confusions all stem from the desire for autonomy. We want to throw off God’s design and do whatever we want, be whatever imaginary thing we want to be, and dress to show off our individuality. If we’ve learned anything from 1 Corinthians, it’s that our liberty is not for ourselves; it’s for God and others. This article from Megan Hill is written to women, but the principles can apply to men and women. The main points are:
You are not your own. Our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit! This rules out slovenly dress, ostentatious dress, and dress that identifies us with ungodliness.
You are a woman. If you are a woman, love and celebrate that reality. God designed you this way, and you can be joyful and grateful. If you are a man, dress like one. The world attacks biblical manhood; you need to embrace it because it’s good.
You are part of a community. Do we dress to get attention? To make others envious? Our dress displays clearly our commitment to the community of which we are a part.
You are called to serve. Our clothes should be functional and practical.
You are under authority. Your dress should respect all the authorities that God has put in your life.
In summary, the way we dress is an important part of our discipleship and our worship. It sends a loud message about what we believe and can be a force for good or bad in our community.