Good Taste

People tend to read Paul’s advice for “decency and propriety” (1 Timothy 2:9, 10, NIV) as referring to an old-fashioned dress code to be followed only in his day, but that is not necessarily the case. Paul is taking the universal principle of doing “all to the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31) and applying it to the way we dress.

It means that we should avoid all objectionable attire.

We live in a world where everything and everyone is overly exposed. Much contemporary fashion is designed to look sexy and appeal to people’s sensual desires. Remember the anonymous addage, “Do not display in the showcase what is not for sale.” Too often, nudity of the body reveals nakedness of the spirit.

As faithful Christians, we must be sure that the message we are sharing about ourselves is, in fact, the one we want to communicate.

Whenever we go to church, we need to remember its aisles are the aisles of God’s house and not the runway of an Adventist fashion show.

Some people go to the other extreme, imagining that all modern fashion is wrong and unacceptable. In an article published in the Adventist Review and Sabbath Herald on January 23, 1900, Ellen White spoke of women “who are careless of their own apparel, and who think it a virtue to . . . dress without order and taste; and their clothing often looks as if it flew, and lit upon their persons.

Their garments are filthy, and yet such ones will ever be talking against pride. They class decency and neatness with pride.”47 Please, never confuse “decency and neatness” with carelessness and lack of taste. Almost all airlines and many other companies have either a specific uniform or dress code. As a church, we do not have and should never adopt one. Visitors are welcome to attend our services as they are, and we should avoid being judgmental. But the members of our congregations should glorify God in all they do, including the way they dress.

But even if others do not follow this principle as they should, at least you and I should take it seriously.