In the bible there are no specifics to how we should dress. The only thing made mention of is decency. Thus we should dress in a decent manner and this brings as to the question, what is decency? In the Oxford advanced learners dictionary, decency is defined as an honest, polite behavior that follows accepted moral standards and shows respect for others. I want to emphasize on "that follows accepted moral standards". I think this does justice to how we should dress. If not let me explain further, any acceptable mode of dressing in any society which is not seen as immoral is a decent mode of dressing. In Ghana short dresses are not morally accepted, so wearing them is not a decent way to dress but the same dress in another country will be morally accepted, thus making it a decent mode of dressing in that country. So if the society accepts it then it's decent. So the decency of dressing actually depends on whether or not the society accepts it. So we realize that long or short doesn't really matter, what really matters is whether it's accepted by society or not. Let me tell you why most Christians think wearing short dresses is generally indecent and unacceptable. This is because men are attracted by sight and to save them from sinning, women are suppose to cover the attractive part of their body so they don't lure men to sin. This is the whole explanation in the Christian aspect but I dare to challenge this reasoning. God created women to be naturally beautiful and pleasing to man's eyes so that we can appreciate the beauty of God's creation. We're also ask to exercise self-control so that our appreciation don't turn into lust and this is the keyword I'll emphasize later on.
Now gradually society is beginning to accept all kinds of dressing mode due to the emergence of social media and latest fashion trends. You'll agree with me that now the latest trend for ladies is to look hot and sexy. I was one of those who strongly opposed this transformation but now I think that isn't the issue, what we should rather be concerned about is how to be self-controlled on the men's part. Lack of self-control mean more lusting, not only when women are in hot pants but even when they are dressed like Muslims, covering all the part of their body. Men don't have much issue when it comes to dressing that's why I've centred my attention on women. So I mean no offense for the guys out there. For men I think we should be more self-controlled and allow the women to be free. If we can control ourselves, how women dress will not have any effect on us. Lack of self-control is even a sin in itself and the bible talks against it, so we can't blame it on the hot and sexy dresses.
I agree that as Christians we ought to stand out but our main goal as Christians is not standing out but bringing others into God's family through our Lord Jesus Christ. It's obvious that people listen more to their kind than other kinds, that's why Jesus was listened to by sinners, because he was friends with sinners.
So if you like fashion go for it don't let religious dogmas limit you. You can still win unbelievers of your kind to Christ. Nevertheless, people can dress very holistically but yet do horrible things. Let them judge you by your appearance and prove them wrong by your actions.
That's why God looks in the heart. This brings us to another important topic, hypocrisy. We all know we shouldn't judge others but we most of the time judge others and justify why we did so. Let me tell you this secret, Today hypocrites are the best preachers, that doesn't mean all good preachers are hypocrites but most are. Why? Because they look for most convincing words that sound very pleasing to the ear to please their congregation. They go into details and delve into historical and even the psychology of Christianity whilst assuming wholeness. How do I mean by assuming wholeness? Thinking that you're complete. So they preach without practising what they preach because they think their members need it more than they do. That's why God says we should listen to them but not learn their ways.
Remember that Jesus said, things that make us unclean is not what we take into our bodies but rather what comes out of the body. Simply put, It's not about our appearance is about our character that will determine our faith. Now Christians are enemies with sinners but not with sin itself. They embrace sin and condemn sinners. This is not what is expected of us. Our saviour was a friend to sinners, who are we to condemn them. If we condemn them we should know we're already condemned. Why do some people fall into the trap of hypocrisy? This is a question we should all ask ourselves because one way or the other we've acted like hypocrite at some point in time. Anytime you do anything to please man you're acting like a hypocrite. How many times have you done something to please men? I believe countless times right?
I'll update soon...
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