Bizarre Clothing and Appearance

Look around you and see if what you see is good, acceptable, and worthy of honor. Sadly, we know that some people fail to have the discernment needed for this sort of examination. God says that we must have “senses trained to discern good and evil” (Hebrews 5:14). This is not being done for some strange reason.

We know that some may say that this is a matter of ethnicity or one’s birth location, that the bizarre hair styles and clothing that we see are merely a matter of one’s background, or one’s parental guidance, or the influence of school, or one’s exposure to entertainment figures or Hollywood personalities or musical groups. Yes, it may be that all of this plays a small part in one’s appearance. But should the Christian be influenced in this way by ungodly, wicked, and worldly people? (Keep in mind that this article and this website is oriented to Christian beliefs and practice.).

We know that the American population may only be a small portion of the world, yet it is worth considering, especially in light of the fact that most numbers in the world aspire to American culture.

Just today I was looking at the internet via a webpage that was promoting the choosing of the new chief justice to the American Supreme Court. They were showing and interviewing those who came from some location (that I can’t remember just where). From a Christian standpoint, the results were not only bizarre but terrible and even evil. We wonder how can anyone (other than those who would promote a wrongful agenda) can show, endorse, and approve of such a vain display and appearance!

From a “Christian” standpoint, we definitely must say that we are nauseated by all of this wickedness—and yet we must admit that this promotion may be a harbinger of a strange, new trend in American appearance. We should never wonder why this nation is a laughingstock to people in vast portions of the world, such as the East, the Near East, Africa, South America, and other like places. Yes, perhaps in America and parts of Europe this may be acceptable but not elsewhere!

Scripture says that women are to “adorn themselves with proper clothing, modestly and discreetly, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly garments, but rather by means of good works, as is proper for women making a claim to godliness” (1 Timothy 2:9-10; see also 1 Peter 3:3-4).

I must confess that what I saw in this one glance of contemporary life in a large city of worldly women (and the same could be said of men—at least some of them) was not only bizarre but wicked. We wonder how any man or woman would dare to show their faces, their bodies, and their clothes like this. And we are not referring to that which pertains to outward appearance of people 100 or more years ago—but today!

We refer to the hairstyles. Also the clothes. And the whole external appearance relating to this matter. (We encourage you to check these things out on our website by using the search engine.)

The hairstyles may be utterly evil, especially for women. And the clothes (both leisure and formal) for both men and women may be peculiar or strange, in colors, in styles, in exposure, in about everything we can imagine.

One question would be, “Is this something that God Himself would endorse and approve—or not endorse or approve?” Would He not only disapprove of this but encourage us all not to dress in this way? Would we be ashamed to be wearing this when Christ returns? Would this be something that the Lord would want for every brother or sister to wear—or not wear? Is it something that we should promote others not to wear this? Would it not only be frugal but also immodest? As you probably know, I even encourage others (particularly women) to sew their own clothes, thus we must wonder if this is something that can be prepared and should be prepared for other Christians to wear?

What do you think of all of this? We don’t just refer to the cost (for we may be able to find something that is not costly) but also the style. In other words, is this a piece of clothing that Jesus Christ would want for us to wear? As for the hairstyles, is this something that sisters could be considered modest and wholesome or does it partake of the world and evil in some way? Is a person immediately attracted to Jesus when they see you wearing a piece of clothing or dressing in a certain way or wearing your hair in a certain way? Does it become quite apparent that this is of God—or not of God? Is it of the Lord—or the devil? We refer to what women (or sisters) would want and what brothers would want—regarding hairstyles, shoes, clothes, face, etc.?

The world has placed their approval on this ungodly clothing and their acceptance of these evil hairstyles. Does this make you feel good? Does it indicate that God would approve of all of this mess? If you think that it would, there is something seriously wrong with you and your “Christianity” is surely not only suspect but non-existent. Sadly, you don’t just accept a different external appearance but you endorse a worldly way of appearing. This is so sad, especially if you claim to be a Christian.

If the world around you likes the appearance that you have and promote—and you enjoy this mindset, we do say that you are in love with the world. We read in Scripture:

“Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever” (1 John 2:15-17).

Whether we are speaking about the next supreme court justice (and it does remain to be seen if she is chosen—and it does appear that she will be) or about society in general, we lament that the present age is so evil and it is so hard for a Christian to lose his or her bearings and make sane, rational decisions on how to appear or what to wear.

May God bless you, my friend, as you seek to be in the world but not of the world (John 17:15-18). We do apologize to you who live in certain parts of this earth and are not as greatly influenced by American and Western Culture. May you protect yourself from these ungodly influences and be true to God in all circumstances.