It's funny how "Sunday's Best" has evolved over the last couple of centuries. Women once wore dresses that came to their ankles and sleeves that touched their elbows but that has now been replaced with halter tops and booty shorts.
As I sat in the pew at church this past Sunday, I saw countless girls trickling in, all wearing similar outfits: shorts that barely covered their skin and tight t-shirts. I don't know why I was surprised. This has been going on for years and has been a constant issue in churches all across the nation.
The rebuttal is always the same: "Does God care what you wear?" and "My clothing doesn't matter, I'm at church aren't I?" It seems that people believe that because you are at church you should be accepted no matter what attire you adorn. It's true that as Christians we aren't suppose to judge each other.
But that still does not take away the issue. I'm not saying that because you're wearing a crop top to church (which I have actually seen on numerous occasions) that you're condemned to go to hell. That's not what I'm getting at. What I'm saying is that when it comes down to it, our generation has lost respect. We've lost respect for ourselves if we feel the need to go into a holy place with hardly anything covering our bodies. We've lost respect for the Church when we adorn the same outfits on Sunday morning that we would wear out to a party on a Friday night.
What happened to reverence? What happened to dressing for Sunday's Best? When you go out on a date you think of how you would dress for the person you're going to see. You spread your clothes out over your bed and try on outfit after outfit thinking "Which would he like best?" So, if we do that for the guys that think making us their WCW on instagram is the greatest compliment they could give, why don't we do the same for the guy that was nailed to the cross for us?
Sunday mornings are dates. They're dates with the guy that cares more about you and has more love for you than anyone could ever possibly have. They're dates with a guy who compliments your heart - not your body. So why do we show up to church dressed in clothes that scream look at me? We're lying if we say we don't know that the clothes we choose to wear can draw certain types of attention to ourselves.
None of us are perfect. I know I've gone to church in clothes that probably weren't the most appropriate. It's true that when it comes down to it, what we wear doesn't define our faith. It's what is on the inside, our hearts, and how we treat others that truly counts.
So, next time we go to church, let's think more about adorning what's on the inside instead of our outward apparel. Let's think of clothing ourselves with love and compassion and grace rather than mini skirts and bandeau tops. Let's gain the same respect back within the walls of the church that we demand outside of church. Let's put on our best for God because He sure put on His best for us.
