Wear Little Clothing is Sinful?

Got this Email 'Sermon' today about how women should dress. And the email quoted 1 Tim Chapter 2 to substantiate that women should always dress decently.

My initial reaction is this: What is the accepted 'level' of decency? What do we mean by being decent?

Here is my reply:

Looking at 1 Tim 2 as a whole, I must add that a particular verse should be included

1Ti 2:8-9 Therefore, I desire the men to pray in every place, lifting up holy hands without wrath and doubting. (9) So also the women to adorn themselves in proper clothing, with modesty and sensibleness, not with plaiting, or gold, or pearls, or expensive garments,

Why apostle Paul tells women to dress decently is because Paul wants every man to lift up holy hands without doubting. In some translations 'doubting' is said to be in argument and be contentious. And my educated guess is that some men saw other men seeing their wives inappropriately dressed while prayer and thus responds in wrath. So Apostle Paul urges the women to wear something that do not cause discord while together in prayer.

I will base my comments further by using the following bible verse and I always use Literal version of the bible.

2Co 6:1-10 But working together, we also call on you not to receive the grace of God in vain. (2) For He says, "In an acceptable time I heard you, and in a day of salvation I helped you." Behold, now is the acceptable time! Behold, now is the day of salvation! Isa. 49:8 (3) We are not giving a cause of stumbling, in nothing, that the ministry may not be blamed, (4) but in everything commending ourselves as God's servants, in much patience, in afflictions, in emergencies, in difficulties, (5) in stripes, in imprisonments, in riots, in labors, in watchings, in fastings, (6) in pureness, in knowledge, in long-suffering, in kindness, in the Holy Spirit, in unfeigned love, (7) in the Word of truth, in the power of God, through the weapons of righteousness on the right hand and on the left, (8) through glory and dishonor, through evil report and good report; as deceivers, and yet true; (9) as unknown, and yet well known, as dying, and yet, look, we live; as flogged, and yet not put to death; (10) as grieved, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet enriching many; as having nothing, yet possessing all things.

I would say in commenting about a certain Pastor's wife, we should also start reflecting on the attitude we hold while doing the commenting. Can anyone be thoroughly right or thoroughly wrong? Who can say for sure? Who are we to judge?

Joh 8:7 But as they continued questioning Him, bending back up, He said to them, The one among you without sin, let him cast the first stone at her.

Only Jesus can Judge righteously, in fairness and in truth.

But on the issues of clothing, I would say it is really a matter of taste, of culture. During Medieval times, the Anglo-saxon ladies of the time wear in such a way that their bosoms are exposed for all to see which is really much what we have now. Is that acceptable? Is that sinful?

Even right now, some quarters of the Muslim faith would rather cover the ladies in full that only allow a small window for the women to see. Is that acceptable? Is that sinful?

What I am saying here is that in all extremes there are things acceptable and unacceptable and it really depends on the circumstances and the culture one is really in. The verse that may really speaks of this incidence is as such

1Co 10:25-32 Eat everything being sold in a meat market, examining nothing because of conscience, (26) for "the earth is the Lord's, and the fullness of it." Psa. 24:1 (27) And if any of the unbelievers invite you, and you desire to go, eat everything set before you, examining nothing because of conscience. (28) But if anyone tells you, This is slain in sacrifice to idols, do not eat, because of that one pointing it out, and the conscience; for "the earth is the Lord's, and the fullness of it." Psa. 24:1 (29) But I say conscience, not that of himself, but that of the other. For why is my freedom judged by another's conscience? (30) But if I partake by grace, why am I evil spoken of because of that for which I give thanks? (31) Then whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all things to the glory of God. (32) Be without offense both to Jews and Greeks, and to the assembly of God.

What Paul is saying is that we can do all things, 'examining nothing because of conscience'. In other words, if people invite us to eat, to a party, don't worry so much and just eat but we should act upon the conscience of others which is an act of love. This is so that we should not stumble brothers and sisters.

In this respect, there is of course reasons to cast stones. But I must say that we should do all things to the glory of God. And to do the things of God, above all things is to love, and love is to forgive, to forgive is to be compassionate.

What's done is done. What's left is our attitude towards judgment and condemnation: and we should refrain from it because we neither have the wisdom, nor the capacity to learn everything to render our judgment to be just. What's more, what is unacceptable to us, is acceptable to many in other cultures.

In this respect, what the pastor's wife did is in the context of the event that she is in so she may have thought that going for such an event in the western context, wearing something slightly revealing and glamorous is acceptable behaviour. But what is considered to be too revealing? Do we expect people to go to a ball wearing t-shirt and jeans?

But if I am a Christian that says "It is not what the outside that matters most to God but it is the inside." We are accepted by God through Christ not on what we wear but what we believe in. Then for such a Christian, to condemn the act is not really worth the effort.

What i feel about the issue of clothing is as such: It is not what the woman wear (or did not wear) but what's important is how we see certain things. Does wearing or not wearing certain things speaks about the level of one's faith? Does wearing skimpy clothes cause men to be sexual predators? Who are we to say a naked person do not have any faith in Jesus? Does dressing oneself conservatively means that the woman in question does not sin?

Mat 5:28 But I say to you, Everyone looking at a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

The onus that the Lord has put on is the 'looker', the one who sees the woman. Everyone and anyone can look at women, it is 'undressing' her in the mind that causes adultery in his heart. The Lord has thus implied that men have the faculty to undress the woman in his mind and heart, whether or not the woman is dressed or not is not the issue!

So the issue is really not how a woman dress, but how we should search our own hearts on why we are so judgmental over how women dresses.

If we blame women for our lust because of how they dress, then it implies that we have no control over our own desires. If we judge people on their faith because of the amount of cloth they have on their body, then it is really a case of self-righteousness. If Jesus is so disappointed about how Pharisees 'measure' their level of righteousness, we ought to be careful not to follow their footsteps.

As you can see from the arguments that the Lord through Paul and Himself is trying to address is that men, with lust, is the reason why Paul asked women to help the congregation by dressing appropriately. The problem is not with the women, the problem lies with the men.

If Jesus have judged us righteousness because we accepted Him as our Lord and Saviour, who are we to say who is saved or unsaved?

I implore that we should do all things through Christ and for His glory. Although we are in the world, we are not of this world. But to engage the world so that we can administer the Lord's love to this fallen world, is to do all things in and through His love. To judge people only serves to push them away from the Lord.

If the Lord do not judge the adulterous woman, but actually forgives her and empower her by giving her the trust she did not deserve by saying 'go and sin no more'. I think we who are in Christ should do likewise.

Shalom

Wilson