Last week I was led to this article, entitled “The Elder’s Attire,” about dress for worship and other church functions by ministers and other church rulers.
It was a good article. But I wonder about the category of “moral concern” as it is contrasted with “a matter of aesthetic tastes.”
Men used to dress more formally than they do today. This can be seen by looking at older photos of men on airplanes and in the classroom. Yet it is often assumed today that how we dress is of no moral concern and is purely a matter of aesthetic tastes. But is this the case? Or do cultural expectations of attire have roots in something deeper.
The writer uses some wise restraint in making a case that we should dress more formally for some events and situations. But I was left uncertain what the relationship is between “moral” and “aesthetic.” I don’t have anything definitive to say about how to formulate the relationship between them in this post.
But I have some remarks that might be helpful, especially to those who want to insist that “aesthetic tastes” must be adiaphara.
Informality Is the Practice of Dressing According to the Evangelical “Authenticity” Cult
I wrote about the Evangelical fixation on “authenticity” here, shortly before I read the post on “The Elder’s Attire.” To me, it seems obvious that widespread informal dress is closely related to this religious ideal. When you dress formally you construct your appearance according to general expectations for the occasion. You’re choices for self-expression are quite limited.
More than that, you don’t dress to relax. You dress to perform. You are “on stage” and everyone knows it. That is the opposite of most current ideas of “authenticity.”
Of course, there are wider cultural currents at work that also posit an ideal of “authenticity.” Whether Evangelicals influenced the wider culture or are being influenced by it is not something I currently hold an opinion on. For whatever reason, the wider culture and the Evangelical culture are both currently fixated on “authenticity,” which fits better with informality and spontaneity than with formality and planning.
It might be worth asking if it fits better with sloth than with diligence.
The Command to Dress Up
One observation in “The Elder’s Attire” I found especially insightful was the relationship between First Timothy 2:9 and 3:2. Women “should adorn themselves in respectable apparel” and Ministers should be “respectable.” It reminds me of a large number of Scriptures that command us to dress up. It is metaphorical dress, so one could insist it has no bearing on the issue of actual clothing. But does 1 Peter 5:5 fit in with a culture of informal attire?
So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”
1 Peter 5:1–5 ESV
Is clothing oneself with humility a form of spontaneous self-expression or donning a uniform that is in keeping with an expected performance?
Or how about these:
The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.
Romans 13:12–14 ESV
Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.
Colossians 3:12–14 ESV
So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, are drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation.
1 Thessalonians 5:6–8 ESV
None of these instances, and there are many others like them, work as an analogy if you imagine donning your favorite jeans and t-shirt. This is dressing for a role in the hope and expectation that it will become your true self, rather than a spontaneous self-expression.
Some may think it is shallow to consider putting on an attitude, demeanor, or character like putting on a suit of clothing. But they are missing how difficult it is get dressed up. In real life, no one snaps their fingers to instantly change their attire. Nor does dressing formally require as little effort as pulling out one’s favorite jeans out of the drawer. It takes preparation and planning, from budgeting for and buying the right garments to checking one’s tie length in the mirror. When we are called to wear humility or array ourselves in love, it is talking about an intentionality and attention to detail that is never as simplistic as just “choose your attitude.”
Dress How You Want and Live with the Results
The bottom line is that you are free (in most cases) to dress how you want. You are also bound to face the results of your choice. The fact that God has left you free to decide what to do doesn’t mean that there will not be consequences for the decisions you make.
Choose wisely.
Mark
This was so interesting. Thank you so much
I really appreciate you.
Geri