Balanced & Beautiful
Dressing for the Glory of God
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LIVING EPISTLES
by Laurel Damsteegt, Part 4
What are you wearing right
now? What kinds of clothes do you have in your closet? Why do
you dress the way you do? We dress for different reasons, even
if we don’t consciously think about it.
For example, some dress for self. Actually, this is a basic
motive for much of what people do today. Some dress and adorn
their bodies because they want to be admired. Others dress the
way they do because they want to alert the world to the fact
that they are individuals. Many people crave extra attention to
bolster their egos and their self-confidence, and will often go
to amazing extremes to make sure they are noticed.
We see it all around us: the young lady who invites wolf
whistles because of her skimpy top over skin-tight hip huggers;
or the young man with baggy trousers that seem certain to fall
to the floor at any moment. Both point to the same motive: Self
longs to be appreciated or at least noticed. But Paul tells us,
“If ye then be risen with Christ, . . . set your affection on
things above, not on things on the earth.”1
Some dress to please others. Children and teens aren’t the
only victims of peer pressure. Adults of all ages and classes
also participate. Fashion is a hard mistress. Whether it is the
size of a collar, the width of a tie, the length of a skirt, or
the gear to wear at a picnic, pressure is there. We all feel it.
A Christian dresses to glorify God. Christians care about what
they wear because they want it to display a beautiful picture of
the One they serve. As the hymn says, we want to be “the
transparent medium, Thy glory to display.”2 The Christian’s
goal is to “do all to the glory of God.”3
We are “living epistles” that can be known and read of all.4
If the outward appearance does not match the inward condition of
the soul, people will be confused. We can even become an excuse
for someone else’s rebellion.5 A young woman may feel her
heart is pure and that she genuinely loves Jesus, but if she
dresses in a suggestive way, she can be sure that men looking at
her will find it hard to think of Jesus.
Our clothing can be a distraction even if it is tasteful and
modest. If our wardrobe is filled with expensive-looking clothes
at the peak of fashion, many people will pay more attention to
what we wear than anything we say for the Lord.
We need to beware of displaying self in any form. When our
clothes do not make a display of self, people around us will
realize that there is more to the Christian life than what meets
the eye. And those living epistles, known and read of all men,
can make a profound impact in the world.
Part 1
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| 5 | 6 | 7
| 8 | 9 | 10
| 11 | 12 | 13
1. Colossians 3:1, 2.
2. “Live Out Thy Life Within Me,” by Frances Ridley Havergal.
See Seventh-day Adventist Hymnal, #316.
3. 1 Corinthians 10:31.
4. 2 Corinthians 3:2, 3; Ellen White, Gospel Workers, page 163.
5. Matthew 18:6; Romans 14:13–15; 1 Corinthians 10:33.
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