Articles
The Word Is: Decorum...Look It Up!
If you pay attention to the news, you’ve likely heard that Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer relaxed the dress code for the Senate which caused a firestorm of criticism and controversy. The greatest ad-vocate of the new rules, and likely the im-petus of the change, is Pennsylvania Sena-tor John Fetterman, who was soon after-wards seen on the Senate floor, standing behind the lectern, among his suitably-suited colleagues, donning athletic shorts, a Carhartt hoodie, and tennis shoes. Sena-tor Fetterman has made a habit of voting from the hallway through an open door in order to skirt the rule requiring proper attire, rather than simply complying.
Why does this matter? Attire matters to God. The Holy Spirit said that there is attire that is, and is not “proper” (1 Tim. 2:8). When addressing the is-sue of female attire in the church, specifically concerning a wom-an praying or prophesying, the apostle Paul appealed to “nature” as a teacher of what is proper. The Amplified Bible translates 1 Cor. 11:14 as: “Does not the native sense of propriety (experience, common sense, reason) itself teach you...what is honorable.” That is clearly what the world is lacking. Believe it or not, nature still teaches that there is dress that is proper and ap-propriate for certain occasions. This is evident from the uproar and controversy that leaders in the Senate have caused. People still understand that sloppy dress is unbecoming of an important institution such as the Senate. The message being received, not just to Americans, but to the world (since they conduct business on the world stage) is that they do not respect the dignity of the honorable positions to which they have been elected. We’ve seen a lot of that in politics in the recent past.
If it’s true of the Senate, how about the Lord’s assembly? Anyone who knows me well, knows that I am opposed to man-made rules in the church, including strict guidelines or requirements for dress. The foundation of these convictions are varied, ranging from Bible authority, deference to the poor, and modesty. Still, even without rules, Christians must understand the need for pro-priety in our dress, especially in the assembly. Is it enough to say, “the Lord looks at my heart” when my clothes communicate a disregard for the significance of an occasion? We should not be surprised when we see that the world lacks the wisdom and spir-itual discernment necessary to navigate a topic such as this. In the church however, we must learn to navigate the line between decency, and Pharisaical rule-making. Because, can’t you just hear the Pharisees back then, “Why do your disciples not wear this or that before they do this or that?”
Someone says, “Look what happens when there are no rules. Peo-ple will just wear anything.” Again, in the world, this may be true. In the church there is wisdom (1 Cor. 6:5). In the church, love abounds in knowledge and all discernment so that we can approve excellent things (Phil. 1:9-10). And so my dress is to take other people into consideration. In the church we exercise our senses to discern what is right (Heb. 5:14). And, what is right is not to make rules, but to teach people to dress in a way that communicates respect for God and for the dignity of drawing near in worship. We want to wear clothing that does not draw attention to ourselves, whether to our prosperity, to our novelty, or to our sexuality (1 Tim. 2:10).
In the Parable of the Wedding Feast, Jesus illustrated the case of one who failed to prepare for the noble celebration of the King’s Son to His bride (the church). He is depicted as one who “did not have on a wedding garment” which was inexcusable because cus-tomarily these were provided by the king for the benefit of those who could not provide for themselves. Although the point of this illustration is spiritual in nature, it is definitely rooted in the physi-cal truth that on such noble occasions it is appropriate to dress for the occasion. If the U.S. Senate’s approach to attire (come however you want) were the way of the world in Jesus’ time, then this illus-tration wouldn’t have made any sense, and would have fallen flat.
Let us continue to dress in a way that is becoming of men and women professing godliness, that is that God is worthy of respect (Mal. 1:6). Although our political leaders may be confused about respect that is due the “governor,” we are not confused about the worthiness of God to receive respect. I’m not talking about outdo-ing one other with the best we can get our hands on; I’m talking about clothing that says, “I don’t want you to notice me, but I do want you to know that I honor God, and respect this occasion. By: Ross Oldenkamp
