Do you like dressing up for church? Though I am a pastor, I have rarely worn a tie, typically I wear a dress shirt with a sweater, or possibly a sweater with a sportscoat. I am the youth minister though and try to relate to our students here. However, our other two pastors do wear suits each week.
Does this necessarily mean that they take worship more seriously? I don't think so. Does it mean that God is pleased with them any more than me? I still don't think so. But how does what we wear affect our mood?
I remember getting dressed up in a tux for prom. Something happened when I put that loaner tux on... I stood up straighter. I was more attentive to being a gentleman; opening doors, offering my arm as we walked, etc. There was a unique feeling that I had somehow purchased with that tux... it made the moment seem that much more special that any other average day.
Clothes do matter. They often reveal our internal condition. If we are not feeling up for the day ahead, we might often dress as casually as we can. But if we are feeling exited, filled with anticipation, we might spend those extra minutes in front of the mirror to make sure we are dressed and ready for the events of the day.
Clothes reveal personality and mood. I think this is why God made Aaron and his sons "dress the part" as they began their new ministry before Him. This job assignment was not normal; it was not average. This was a special calling and specially created garb pointed to the severity of their position. They needed to be properly clothed to come before God. The external was a sober reminder of their external and internal requirements.
Today, however, though we still need to consider the implications of our dress for worship, we must realize that we have a clothing option that Aaron and his sons never had. Just like Aaron we also need to be properly clothed to come before God, and for believers this covering is already available to us... Christ Himself. We have been spiritually clothed with Christ. "For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ" (Galatians 3:27).
In Christ we are clothed and able to stand before God. We have the garb, again in accordance with God's expectations, and are now able to stand before Him as His "holy priesthood."
This spiritual clothing though probably should affect the physical clothing also. I know that in our culture today we do not push the clothing issue at church, we typically are just glad they are there. But would it affect worship if we wore nicer clothes? Maybe. Try it, see what happens. When we elevate our preparation, we elevate our attentiveness.
Though the shoes can't really make us jump higher, psychologically it may actually give us the advantage that produces a measurable difference. Though the dress clothes do not by themselves produce more authentic worship, I think they do better prepare us to meet with the one true and living God... They can remind us to bring before Him our best.
If we were to meet the President, we would probably dress nicely... how much better then should we dress for the King of Kings!
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