To Dress or Not to Dress

Today's Dear Abby consisted of 4 letters - 2 from writers who expressed a belief that one should dress up for church and 2 who expressed a belief that what was in the heart was more important than what was on the body.

Essentially, the "pro" dress writers felt that it is a matter of respect and reverence, that one should dress appropriately for the occasion, just as one would for a job interview or to meet someone of importance. They felt that it is disrespectful to wear less than one's "sunday best".

The "anti" dress writers felt that clothes were not so important as attitude, that dressing up is often a way of covering up or hiding one's true self; or that it can be a means of distinguishing class, of identifying who is like us and who is different.

I think that to some degree it is a generational mindset - that each generation has a tendancy to want to be different from the previous generation. To some degree it is a cultural mindset - this is how we do it here, and to belong, one is expected to conform. To some degree it is a matter of conscience - people truly believe that they should dress up or dress down to be faithful.

It is, to me, a small thing. And yet, if we think missionally, it may be one of those small things that should be approached intentionally, so that within our time and place we place one less barrier between people and the gospel.
__________

At 7 am tomorrow morning I will be undergoing arthroscopic surgery on my knee. I've never had surgery before, and never anything other than a local anesthetic. I've done all the pre-op stuff that I'm supposed to...we'll see how it goes.