Clothing is also related to health. In the Bible the main purpose of clothing is for covering. After man’s fall, man began to have the sense of shame, and there was the need for him to cover his nakedness with clothing. The first time that the Bible mentions clothing is in Genesis 3. When Adam and Eve fell, they began to have the sense of sin, and they discovered that they were naked. Before man’s fall, although man was naked, he did not have the sense of sin. Thus, after the fall, God made them coats of skins to cover their shame. Clothing is also for protecting us from cold. If we do not wear enough clothing, we will catch a cold. In the Bible clothing is mainly for covering, and the more our clothing covers us, the better. The priests in the Old Testament had to have their robes long enough to touch the ground so that others could not see their body. The priests were also forbidden from going up the steps of the altar, lest their nakedness be uncovered (Exo. 20:26).
The purpose of clothing in the Bible is first for covering, and second, for protecting oneself from the cold. Once our shame is covered, we look pleasant before God. However, today people in the world love to expose themselves. Suppose a brother were to come to the meeting in shorts with his calves and knees exposed. If he preached to you wearing shorts, would you be able to receive what he said?
In 1 Timothy Paul says that we should adorn ourselves in proper clothing (2:9). The word proper in this verse is hard to define. To dress properly means to dress in a way that does not appear peculiar to other people. My clothing does not look peculiar to others; both older people and younger people feel comfortable with what I am wearing. This is proper. If a brother were to wear a wide tie that had a big cross and the words In Christ written on it, how would you feel? Would this not look strange? What about our shoes? If someone were to come to the meeting wearing sandals or slippers and having his toes exposed, and if this one were to stand in front of you to speak, you would surely feel uncomfortable. This is an example of improper dress. If a brother’s hair is as long as a sister’s hair, and he wears it in a ponytail and puts ornaments in it, this is not sin and is not explicitly forbidden by the Bible, but it is not fitting and is improper.
Paul was wise. He did not go into detail concerning the matter of clothing. He mentioned only that our clothing should be proper. The word proper is deep in meaning and broad in definition. Today as you are learning to serve the Lord and to contact people, your clothing should be proper. When you stand up to speak for the Lord, many people will be listening to you and watching you. Thus, you must be careful about your speaking and your behavior, and you must learn how to dress.
Today people pay much attention to fashion and beauty. To them to be beautiful requires exposing their body as much as possible. This is the trend and fashion of the world today. The women’s skirts are too short. This is not beauty. This corrupts others’ eyes and adds to the women’s shame. The more a woman covers her body, the better. This is the reason why there are ancient traditions like head-covering and face-covering. The less the body is exposed, the better it is. It is not only wrong to expose one’s bones, flesh, and skin, it is also a shame to expose the shape of one’s body with tight clothing. Modern females always try their best to expose not only their skin and flesh but also the shape of their body. They think that this is beauty. Actually, this is to be void of the sense of shame. It is not right for one who serves the Lord to dress like this. If you dress this way, no one will dare to look at you, much less listen to your words.
We should also carefully consider the color of our clothing. Those who serve the Lord should not wear clothes with colors that are too striking or too sharp. It is improper if the color of our clothing is so striking that it draws attention. We should also consider the style of our clothing. If the style of our clothing is too strange, it will make others feel uncomfortable. Even the combination of the colors of our tie and shirt should be fitting. Suppose you wear a navy blue suit with a green tie and a pink shirt. Your skin and flesh may not be exposed, and the style of your suit may be very elegant, but the minute you appear before others, they will be shocked. This is improper.
The colors of your tie and suit should match. They also should not be overly plain, lest they draw unnecessary attention. The colors of your socks should also match the color of your suit. Suppose a brother wears light brown shoes, purple and red socks, and a gray suit with a blue tie. If he were to speak to me, I would not be able to listen to what he was saying because I would be distracted by his shoes, socks, suit, and tie.
God’s creation is beautiful, and there is no ugly color anywhere in it. Today while we are working for the Lord, we are constantly contacting people. Therefore, our clothing, which is a form of our expression, should be proper. I am not telling you to have a high standard of living, but I hope that you would pay attention to your status. You were students in the past, and as students you might not have had the means to pay much attention to your clothing. But now that you are working for the Lord and going out to contact people, you should pay attention to the way that you dress, including the style of your clothing, the type of your clothing, and the color of your shoes and socks. If you are careless in the way that you dress, you will compromise your outward expression and depreciate yourself. Today everybody pays attention to outward appearance. Whenever you buy something, you should examine what it looks like before you decide to buy it. I wish that all of you would pay attention to these things and practice and learn faithfully in this matter. All of these things that I have mentioned are part of our character training.
Prayer: Lord, we consecrate ourselves completely and entirely to You. We belong to You, and we are willing to be those who are always filled with You within and transformed by You without. We do not want anyone to despise our youth; instead, we want to be a proper pattern. Lord, have mercy on us and cause us to be aggressive and have much training in all these matters—in eating, in clothing, and in being active and inactive. Lord, adjust us in our character that we may be vessels unto honor, those who are filled with You to express You. Amen.