Did You Have to get Cleaned Up for Church?

I remember as a kid having to put on my "Sunday Best" for church.  And if you got dirty before church, watch out!  I once spilled milk on my clothes before church and did I get it!  But as I think back on those days, fancy clothes never made me behave any better on Sundays.  I still went and played in the grass and talked out of turn.  They say, "clothes make the man."  But what do they make the man?  A rapist in a suit is still a rapist.  An addict wearing a tie is still and addict.  An adulterer fully clothed is still an adulterer.  Sin can't be covered up by nice clothes like dirt on your knee.

People often try to put on a smile when life is difficult.  Or pretend like everything is okay.  When I fall and fail spiritually I may look good on the outside but inside my shame is laid bare before my Creator and Savior.  What we have done isn't covered up by what we wear, not before God.  This is part of the reason we don't require any special dress code at Real Life.  The Bible is pretty clear that God looks at the heart, not the outward appearance.  Outward appearances (how we dress) are for others, not for God.  God is a whole lot more concerned about what is going on with your heart, not your wardrobe.

That's why our faith doesn't start on the outside and work its way in, it starts on the inside and works its way out.  So many other, so-called, religions focus on what you do: meditate, do good deeds, spend time doing, doing, doing.  But faith in Jesus is about relationship with Him that starts in the heart and works its way outward affecting how you think and then how you act.

Here's how it's put in Acts 15:8,9 (MSG) - God, who can't be fooled by any pretense on our part but always knows a person's thoughts, gave them the Holy Spirit exactly as he gave him to us. He treated the outsiders exactly as he treated us, beginning at the very center of who they were and working from that center outward, cleaning up their lives as they trusted and believed him.


You may think your level of faith is tied to how well you dress or behave on Sunday.  But true faith comes from the heart - the center - and is revealed by increasing levels of trust which is shown in a fruitful life.

I'm not saying that dressing up for church is bad or that not dressing up is somehow more spiritual.  I'm saying don't get caught up in how you look and forget that what you wear on the outside is not what God is looking at anyway.  Dress for Christ everyday by believing in Him, trusting Him, bearing fruit for Him, loving Him and seeking to impress Him with your heart, not your hairdo.