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Balanced & Beautiful
Dressing for the Glory of God
Part 1
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STANDARDS?
WHO NEEDS THEM?
by Laurel Damsteegt, Part 3
Should we have standards for
dress and adornment? For answers, let’s first look at the
world. Large companies have corporate dress codes because they
realize that their image is reflected by how their employees
look. They believe that people act as they dress and that a
company’s representatives have a lot to do with its
reputation. These large corporations insist on a standard for
their employees. No one is forced to work for the company, but
should anyone wish to be an employee, he or she must comply with
the standards.1
As Bible-believing Christians, we define our standards by the
teachings of the Word of God. This means that we must respect
Biblical standards of dress and ornaments if we are going to
keep our identity and unity. “All matters of dress should be
strictly guarded, following closely the Bible rule. Fashion has
been the goddess who has ruled the outside world, and she often
insinuates herself into the church. The church should make the
Word of God her standard, and parents should think intelligently
upon this subject.”2
If we want to reflect the image of our Master, we need to uphold
the principles of dress He has given us in His Word. But here is
a problem. If we simply have a concern for external appearance
without the right motivation, we may fall into the trap of
legalism. So, what should we as Christians do about the
sensitive issue of dress and adornment? Should the Church Manual
define in detail what church members should wear at home, at
work, at play, or at church? That’s what the Pharisees did—and
the result was a hollow religion empty of love. Instead, let’s
look at another approach:
Ê Education. Many of us don’t know much about what the Bible
teaches regarding how to live, including how to dress for
Christ. Part of the reason for this is because it is more
comfortable to hear about the love of Christ than about the
claims of Christ on our lives. When we really love Christ, we
will welcome ways to learn more about how to follow Him in every
part of the Christian life—whether it is dress, diet,
stewardship, health, amusements, work ethics, or devotional
life.
Ë Regeneration. Head knowledge is not enough. Sometimes we can
know a lot without it making much difference in our life. We
say, “What the Bible teaches me in this area is true,” but
our hearts say, “I’m not ready to put it into practice in my
life.”
The only way to get out of such a life is to allow God to
recreate our hearts each day and each hour. He promises, “And
I will give them an heart to know Me, that I am the Lord: and
they shall be My people, and I will be their God: for they shall
return unto Me with their whole heart” (Jeremiah 24:7). When
this happens, we will become eager to follow Christ wherever He
leads.
Ì Demonstration of Christ’s love. Not everyone will see
things the way we do. Some people, for example, do not see
anything wrong with dressing in a way that we are not
comfortable with. How should we relate to them? The answer is
simple: We should love them anyway, because we have Jesus’
heart. Jesus often disagreed with people’s actions, but this
did not stop Him from loving them. We can ask Him to help us
become an extension of His loving heart, regardless of others’
standards.
Part 1
| 2 | 3 | 4
| 5 | 6 | 7
| 8 | 9 | 10
| 11 | 12 | 13
1. John T. Molly, New Dress for Success, page 33.
2. Ellen White, Testimonies for the Church, Volume 5, page 499.
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