The thing that most offended me about the Oval office rumpus last month was the fact that the President of Ukraine was berated in front of the world's media for not wearing a suit. He has never worn a suit, as Trump well knows. His attire has always been 'military casual' ( I just invented that - do you think it will catch on as a term? 😁) His khaki or black clothes identify him as a wartime leader. His not wearing a suit was in no way disrespectful to anyone and the fact that JD Vance chose to say it was, was shameful.
I had a conversation with a new church member about suits not long ago. And about respect. And the fact that what we wear says something about who we are. Its actually quite important. My friend had spent 30+ years as part of a very traditional church where he had worn a suit every single Sunday and felt good about that. Then he started coming to our very laid back, t-shirt and jeans sort of church where nobody wears a suit and indeed a suit would look quite out of place. We chatted about the fact that his suit-wearing past was a mark of his respect for God - his attendance at church was a matter of reverence and he didnt want to approach it casually as if he was just stepping into McDonalds for a burger. I agreed that in our less traditional churches sometimes the way we dress can be a bit sloppy ( 'through other' is a rather lovely phrase they use in N Ireland) We should think for a moment about what we wear on a Sunday. Not that our outward appearance is as important as our inward posture towards God, but presenting ourselves well might just signal respect for ourselves, our fellow worshippers and the Lord Himself. Its easy to fall into the 'uniform' mentality - be it jeans wearing or suit wearing - whereby the newcomer feels supremely uncomfortable in our midst because they aren't wearing the 'right' thing. I challenged my friend to wear a suit one Sunday to 'raise the tone' of our congregation 😀 He said he would, but he hasnt as yet. Because even though he knows he is loved and accepted for who he is not what he wears, he also knows that everyone would comment on his suit if he were to wear it to church. Kindly. But nevertheless........ None of us want to stick out like a sore thumb. But being smart
can be a way of us preparing ourselves to meet God. And how we dress can be a distraction to others - especially if we have a 'front of house' role in a service. (No ripped jeans or short skirts when leading worship)
As with everything, how we dress should be a matter of prayerful consideration and of love. As grown-ups in the church we are modelling everything to an upcoming generation who are watching how we do things. And we are also demonstrating the kingdom of God to not-yet-believers who are looking at us to see what this Jesus we teach might be like.
We dont know what Jesus wore when He was here. But I suspect that when He went to synagogue He wore His Sabbath best. And when He was at the beach with His mates He was in His everyday clothes. Maybe He had a wedding outfit. And a carpenters toolbelt to wear with his overalls. We know He didnt own much in those last three years of His wandering life, but rest assured His outward appearance was most certainly designed to help His ministry not hinder it. His clothing didn't render Him unapproachable. He was happy to be hugged by grubby children and wound-weeping leppers.
So this Sunday when you go to church why not just put that extra bit of effort into looking smart? Wear a shirt instead of a t-shirt. Wear a skirt instead of jeans. Think about what you would wear if you were invited to meet the King. And then maybe how that would look if the King was your Dad. And wear that.
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