Do You Look Like a Christian?

I just was able to see photos of a professing “Christian” who had a wedding. I personally don’t know the person, thus I can’t address what I find in the series of photos. However, some things do grieve me greatly. What do I mean?

Again, I must stress that I don’t know the couple or the invited guests at all. However, I also realize that regardless of the wedding, we wonder about many things. Isn’t it true that believers are to look like believers? True Christians are to order their lives according to what we read on the pages of Scripture. Whether it be a friend of yours at school, a neighbor, an acquaintance from work, or any other person you may know, a follower of Jesus is to order his or her life according to what we read in Scripture. Isn’t this true?

Romans 12:2. In this important passage, Paul writes: “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”

Do we learn from the apostle?

Or what about 1 Timothy 2:9-10? Notice: “I want women to adorn themselves with proper clothing, modestly and discreetly, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or with costly garments, but rather by means of good works, as is proper for women making a claim to godliness.”

I suppose that a dozen or more passages could be cited to show that:

1. Women (and men) are to dress neatly
2. They are to dress modestly.
3. They are to dress discreetly.
4. They are not to be adorned with outlandish hair-dos.
5. They are not to wear gold.
6. They are not to wear pearls.
7. They are not to wear costly garments
8. They are to wear “proper” clothing.

Of course, we could go on and on. In short, the male and female Christian is not to dress like the world, is not to wear bizarre clothes, is not to have his or her hair styled in such a way that it draws attention, is not to wear clothes or cut the hair in such a way that it is like the world. Many other principles could be listed.

Now let’s notice some examples of dress, clothing, hair styles, and so forth that God would apparently disapprove of. We will notice that some items are specifically forbidden, some items are encouraged, and some may be forbidden because of the violation of certain principles. For example, the Christian surely wouldn’t be able to have a tattoo even when the New Testament doesn’t specifically forbids such an item of physical appearance. The believer will want to avoid those items that make them look like the world.

For example, the believer will want to avoid such worldly items as these that show the world that his or her appearance is not what it should be:

• Tatoos
• Tatoos on face, neck, chest, back, arms, other parts of the body.
• Shorts on women and men
• Swim suits on men and women
• Male clothes on women
• Women’s clothes on men
• Worldly clothes on men or women
• Worldly colors and styles on men or women
• Worldly hair styles on men
• Worldly hair styles on women
• Long hair on men
• Short hair on women
• Colored hair
• Body piercing on men or women
• Body piercing of tongue, lip, other parts of the body
• Men with ear rings
• Women with ear rings
• Prideful clothes for men or women
• Prideful styles for men or women
• Immodest clothes for men or women
• Worldly shoes for men and women
• Sexual or sensual clothes for men and women
• Scanty clothes for men and women

These are a few things for you to “chew” on and we hope that you will go much further. These are merely a sample of the evil and worldly items of appearance that you (as a Christian) should avoid. We realize that it can be dangerous to list such things as this and surely there are some of you will object and say that these things are fine and should be tolerated—or even embraced! No, we bed to differ with you for God wants us to be different—in speech, in behavior, in jobs, in meditation, and in appearance. God will help us to do this, by His power and strength.