Does God Care What we Wear?

1 Tim. 2:9-10, And I want women to be modest in their appearance. They should wear decent and appropriate clothing and not draw attention to themselves by the way they fix their hair or by wearing gold or pearls or expensive clothes. For women who claim to be devoted to God should make themselves attractive by the good things they do.

1 Peter 3:2-4, Don’t be concerned about the outward beauty that depends on fancy hairstyles, expensive jewelry, or beautiful clothes.

You should be known for the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God.

What you wear signals what you are. Your clothes speak a language: You are what you wear. The clothes you wear communicate a message. Look at Proverbs 7:10, And there a woman met him, With the attire of a harlot, and a crafty heart.

The harlot of Proverbs 7:10, intentionally dresses in such a way to lure men to her body in a sexual way.

In 1960 Mary Quant introduced the mini-skirt. She said she designed it to announce to the world that she was ready to go to bed with a man, day or night.

This shows us the power of clothing! Much of the modern ladies clothing that we see today would be even more revealing than the harlot’s clothing years ago. Has the nature of men changed? Absolutely not! What has changed is our culture’s attitude towards God and His moral Standards and Principles.

We are living in a culture that has declined over the last several years. There has been an erosion of morals & values in our society. The message the fashion industry communicates is often in direct conflict w/Christian values.

While God’s Word & the world differ along the views of modesty, it is true that they agree on one thing: THE CLOTHES YOU WEAR COMMUNICATE A MESSAGE. Fashion expert John T. Molloy said, “What you wear signals what you are. You can elicit any effect or desire through the way you dress.” You can look sexy, smart, nerdy, poor, successful, or “Amishical”…all depending on what you wear. BTW 98% of male fashion designers are gay.

In today’s culture, the message communicated is often a moral one. A person can convey the language of their soul through what they wear. They can make an outward statement about their inner values just by how they dress or adorn themselves. You never see a prostitute holding a sign.

Often you can just look at a person and form an opinion about them. Clothing that shows cleavage; tight form fitting skirts or blouses; short skirts; short blouses; lots of make-up; or clothing that exposes the body tells you that that persons moral values are in question. Baggy pants; falling pants; heavy chains; studs in ears, chin, nose, tongue; a cap perched on the head in the wrong direction, send out a message that gives them a low rating in areas of honesty, industry,& morality.

Sex appeal is the strongest motive of all in designing clothing, especially women’s clothing. Clothing that exposes the body in areas that arouse sexual desire. They are shifted year to year to maintain sexual interest. Why? If you keep looking at the same thing long enough you become desensitized to it. Designers go from see-through clothes; tight wrap around skirts; mini skirts; long skirts with long slits; or to a dress or blouse with serious cleavage exposure. Designers call the area of exposure the erotic zone.

I’m not pleading for shoddiness, but I am pleading for clothing that demonstrate the message of holiness; of a clean heart; not the message of a fallen world.

Girls, if you’re constantly thinking about how to turn on a guy, you’ll eventually start dressing in a way that will turn him on. And guys, if you’re constantly thinking about showing off parts of your body to a girl, you’ll eventually try to do just that. Ephesians 5:1 tells us to be imitators of God. In other words, our goal is to reflect Him. If we’re calling attention to ourselves, we’re taking attention away from our heavenly Father. The purpose of this message is to put a searchlight on our hearts and on our motives for the way that we choose to dress - and why. Our bodies are precious because they are a gift from God. God never intended us to flaunt ourselves or exhibit our bodies in an immodest way. He wants our bodies consecrated to him. "I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship." (Rom.12:1) It surely must grieve the Lord to see the thoughtless way so many modern Christians dress. It’s true that their bodies may be a living sacrifice-but to which god? God doesn’t make what we wear the greatest issue in the Bible. Some people feel like that’s all the Bible talks about. To do this creates an atmosphere of legalism & bondage. But to ignore it be just as dangerous. He does raise the issue & the Bible does lay down principles to govern what is appropriate for Christians to wear. Now a principle is a fundamental truth on which others are based.

Clothes should never be worn that expose; show attention to body parts; or fail to cover our nakedness. The Bible always associates nakedness w/shame. Dressing modestly will not get you to heaven. It will not make you a “better” person and it will not save your soul. What it will do is display obedience to the Word of God. It will reflect a heart that is submitted to Him and a desire to dress to the glory of God! The feminist cry from our heathen society is, “But it’s MY body and MY choice how I dress!! I’ll do what I want!” Is the cry much different from our congregations? “But it’s MY Christian Liberty to dress the way I want! That’s Legalism! I will do what I think is right!” What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20.

Romans 6:13, Do not let any part of your body become a tool of wickedness, to be used for sinning. Instead, give yourselves completely to God since you have been given new life. And use your whole body as a tool to do what is right for the glory of God.