Results 1 - 5 of 5
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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | Render Your Heart, Not Your Garment | 1 Cor 7:35 | gospelpearl | 152075 | ||
I have a real concern. My pastor has a real problem with the way people dress when they come to church. We have a couple of teenagers who may come with baggy pants, earrings, braided hair (boys). He will comment on the way people are dressed in their sermons so much so that some people have stopped coming to church. I strongly feel that is between God and the person and God will lead them to change. Not the pastor and first lady forcing them to do so. One young man in particular who was his right hand man is feeling very neglected because he has pretty much "pushed" him aside because he wears earrings and baggy pants sometimes. How do you deal with a situation like this and similar? Please include scripture verses. | ||||||
2 | Render Your Heart, Not Your Garment | 1 Cor 7:35 | OSUCowboy | 152076 | ||
Ok, this is a tougher question becuase of cultural and conservatist extremism. With prayer and a humble heart, followers of Jesus Christ should be able to easily overcome such conflicts of little importance. In 1 Cor 7:35 we can see that christians should avoid distractions (as well as distracting others) from worshipping and thier devotion to God. If the reason these teenagers are wearing baggy clothing, jewelry, etc is to attract attention to themselves, then clearly they are not in the correct frame of mind to up-lift the lord. Romans 14:21 also states that it is wrong to partake in activites that cause your brethern to stumble. Thus you should clearly avoid distracting others from thier fellowship with God. On the other hand, John 11:9-10 basically states a person that is walking in God's light should not 'stumble' or be swayed by the activites of others (so maybe the Pastor is having issues of his own)? I don't know these teenagers' circumstances - maybe they can only afford to wear what they have? Wouldn't it be worse to avoid attending church because you have nothing 'appropraite' to wear then to attend wearing the clothing you have? Just out of curiousity, what does the pastor wear? Does he wear bright colored or themed ties? New suits, etc? If so, couldn't he be considered as wearing distracting articles as well? |
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3 | Render Your Heart, Not Your Garment | 1 Cor 7:35 | gospelpearl | 152080 | ||
I truly thank you for your response and for the scripture reference. I feel it is a distraction to this young man and others when you bring reference to the way that they dress and do so with such seriousness. To me that would cause the person to be more concerned with their dress than their relationship with God. It would make a person think that the pastor is placing more emphasis on the way that they dress and cause them to feel that whatever they look like affects the level of the relationship they would have with our Heavenly Father. There is one young man in particular who dresses most of the time in suits and ties. But there are some Sundays that he dresses in jeans and a shirt. He is always neat and it does not bring a distraction to anyone else, but the pastor and first lady from what I can tell. I have not heard anyone else complain or express their feelings on this issue. I have been told before I came that other people have left the church because they were told they needed to remove their braids, dreadlocks, earrings, etc. and when they did, they would be a powerful brother or sister in the Lord. What would stop them from being a powerful brother or sister with all of these things? Let the Lord work on them to remove them at HIS timing, not from the pressing of the pastor. You are running that person away not only from the church, but possibly from the Lord if they look at it as not only are the being critiqued by them but also God. As you said, it be worse to avoid attending church because you have nothing 'appropraite' to wear then to attend wearing the clothing you have. They need to be very careful in what they say to people when they “come as they are”. You do not know what these peoples circumstances may be. The pastor does not wear bright colored suits or themes ties, but he is dressed impeccably and he does carry himself in a way that you cannot miss him. This is a situation that is weighing heavy on me because of this young man and another young lady that I know stopped coming because she was told she would be a powerful woman of God if she removed her earrings and dreads. How do you minister to a person who is made to feel less than what they are by their pastor and first lady because of how they are dressed? We do not want to turn them away, we want to draw them closer. |
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4 | Render Your Heart, Not Your Garment | 1 Cor 7:35 | OSUCowboy | 152081 | ||
From your response it definitely does sound like the pastor and first lady of your church are pressing thier own personal agenda (or quite possibly the agenda of a church's denomination) rather than promoting the unconditional love and acceptance that Jesus' ministry was all about. It should not, however, be discredited that often times children are in need of direction themselves in what is appropriate (not only in the house of God, but in their everyday lives). But that direction MUST be presented in a loving, non-hostile environment. May the lord shine his light upon you and your congregation, filling you with his love and guiding your path. OSUCowboy |
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5 | Render Your Heart, Not Your Garment | 1 Cor 7:35 | gospelpearl | 152110 | ||
I understand your response and thank you so much for answering my questions and giving your Godly opinion on it. I agree that it should not be discredited that children are in need of direction. If I thought the young man was dressing the way that he does out of disobedience, I would mention it to him. We are to present ourselves as holy, not only in the way we act but the way we dress. I feel as you direction must be presented inn a love non-hostile environment. Also a person should not be disregarded because of how he chooses to dress. That does not take away from who he truly is. God bless you and may His loving favor always be with you. Gospelpearl |
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