Skip to main content

Clothes


            I also want the women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, adorning themselves, not with elaborate hairstyles or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God. (I Timothy 2:9-10)

          Paul is an equal opportunity sexist. Yesterday’s passage focused on men’s behavior. Today’s and tomorrow’s passages will focus on women’s. Those who love to stand in judgment of such things are likely to be incensed that he takes more time to direct women and seems more critical of them. I think there are good reasons for this.
In the Middle Eastern culture of the time, as in many times and cultures throughout history, women were seen as less than men and they lived lives that were more private. Men and women often worshipped separately. It doesn’t matter whether this was right or wrong at this point. It simply was.
            But with the birth of Christianity, as Paul taught, the male/female distinction was no longer the shackles it used to be. Women and men could worship together, and women needed to learn the same things the men did, but having been excluded for centuries, how were women to behave? If men tended to misbehave in the direction of anger and disputation, what way might women be likely to misbehave? And given that, for men, the main way women were involved in religion with men was as temple prostitutes, how were men and women to interact, especially in a religious setting?
             Our response to all of this today is “I should be allowed to dress as I please! I’m not responsible for guys keeping their minds where their minds belong!” Is the attitude behind those statements one that seeks the well-being of others? In other words, do they express love for the guys in question? Is the focus of the woman dressing with gems, or with a shirt that’s missing the top and/or bottom third or leggings that leave nothing to the imagination on God? As she has to keep adjusting her clothes, is she thinking about what the pastor is saying? Can she go out and do good works, or does she have to worry about wardrobe malfunctions, or about her clothes getting dirty, or her jewelry broken or lost? Are those things that women who profess to worship God should be concerned with during a worship service, or at any other time?
           Paul’s warning to women is simple, timely, and appropriate. Don’t let your clothes or looks get in the way of worshipping God or of loving your neighbor as yourself.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Think About These Things

                 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. (Philippians 4:8) This passage is a major challenge for me. Like everyone else, I struggle to keep my thoughts from wandering off into the weeds, then wondering what possible benefits those weeds might have… Sigh. But as a writer, I have to delve at least a little into the ignoble, wrong, impure, unlovely, and debased. After all, there’s no story if everything’s just as it should be and everyone’s happy. As Christians, there are times when we need to deal with all the negatives, but that makes it even more important that we practice turning our minds by force of attention to what is noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy. It’s just too easy to get stuck in a swamp. With my...
1 comment
Read more

Higher Thoughts

  “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the  Lord . “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8-9)           The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments,   for, “Who has known the mind of the Lord      so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ. (I Corinthians 2:15-16) If you read about the ancient gods of the various peoples, you’ll find that they think just like people. In fact, they think just like the sort of people we really wouldn’t want to be around. They think like the most corrupt Hollywood producer or, like hormone overloaded teens with no upbringing.   It’s embarrassing to read. I have a friend who argues that because God is not just like us, He is so vastly dif...
2 comments
Read more

Pure...

            The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. (I Timothy 1:5)   I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. (Revelation 3:15-16) I’m probably cheating - or mishandling the Bible, but earlier I was thinking about love being pure and purifying. And hatred being pure and purifying. And anger…joy…patience… fear… jealousy… courage…lust… and other strongly felt feelings, attitudes, and beliefs. Today’s verse brings purity and love together, so it’s the verse of the day, but it’s not really the focus. That means my motive for sharing it with you probably isn’t pure. As you read through my list, you   probably thought, “Yeah” about some, and “What’s she on?” about others. But consider how much hatred, a...
Post a Comment
Read more