It sure is a sloppy dressing world we live in.
That might seem like a rude statement, and many people probably consider it an unimportant subject. They might say something like: “What difference does it make what I wear? It’s my life. I can do anything I want to do.” Be it home, shopping, ball game, the horse show, a business meeting or even church, folks now wear whatever they feel like.
A visit to any of the aforementioned locations will find young, middle-aged, more mature, male or female outfitted in the broadest array of attire. Many people contend we’re old fashioned in our thinking. The fact is people don’t have the pride in themselves of former days, or they surely would not be so haphazard in their public appearance.
As we were growing up, girls were never allowed to wear anything but skirts or dresses to school. In the winter cold, sometimes they’d have a pair of slacks under the dress for protection from the elements. Tops were short or a long-sleeved and collared.
Boys wore blue jeans and a button-up, sleeved shirt with a collar.
T-shirts were sometimes worn as an undershirt, but never as the main garment. Out-of-school, shorts were fairly common for girls, but boys in shorts were considered sissies, at least around our home and acquaintances. Even canvas shoes, let alone sandals or thongs, were not common school-time footwear during our younger years.
We can’t recall exactly other kids’ shoe fashions, though some classmates wore what we call work shoes, high-topped, lace-up styles. But, we always wore cowboy boots. Fortunately, that was Mom’s preference, and we liked it, too, yet we did have a pair of leather shoes to be worn to church, school programs, etc.
Culture has changed to the extremely informal, so most people don’t even think about getting spruced up for most anything. Clothes say something about what we think and what we value. They also influence how we behave and feel. That our culture has become so casual about everything says perhaps,”Nothing is really all that important.”
One of the many things we really appreciate about our job is that employees are always most stylishly clad. Men come to work in their Sunday-go-to-meetin’ outfits, and the women wear dresses, skirts, or slacks that are quite formal in appearance. Fortunately, we still wear our dressed-up cowboy clothes, with a four-in-hand tie.
Most offensive of crude wardrobe selection is when it extends to church. This is inappropriate if we think about what we are doing, where we are going and who it is we will meet. Sunday is special. God’s house is special. Some things really are important, and our clothing and demeanor ought to reflect this truth.
Public fashion may not be ordered in the Commandments, but the Bible clearly states several times how one should be attired when in front of the Lord, and that is always. A directive comes in Exodus 12:11 “Be fully dressed with your shoes on your feet.” It is repeated in Psalm 96:9: “Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness.” The most obvious comes in Psalm 29:2: “Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name.”
+++ALLELUIA+++