What Kind of Appearance?

Richard Hollerman

As we contemplated the proper descriptive term to label this article, we could think of nothing better than to ask the pertinent question, “What Kind of Appearance?” In other words, we are all in a world that is fixed on outward appearance. And nearly every person makes his or her decisions based on their own inner desires and the influences of the world around them.

As we, personally, were exposed to society and observed what people were wearing and what appearance they had, I was amazing and quite dismayed. What kind of age do we live in? What kind of society surrounds us? Why do people dress and appear the way that they do? I may not have the answer to all of this, but as I said I was quite shocked with what I saw and disappointed with this as well.

It is true that the “older” generation has their own problems and this evil influences comes from friends, family, the media, and others, but this is not all. The statistics say that those who are younger (especially age 10 to 40) are more worldly, more evil, more influenced but the fallen culture around us. I especially refer to America abut apparently this is true of most other young people in the world, especially in the “free” world. There may be some exception in the Communist lands but they have their own problems with worldliness (that we will not address directly here).

As we read what God says about this phenomenon, we read that women (surely also the men) are to “adorn” themselves with “proper clothing, modestly and discreetly” (1 Timothy 2:9). When we read 1 Peter 3:2, we see that women (and men) are to be “chaste and respectful” in behavior—and this would include the outward appearance. Of course, other passages could be cited but this is sufficient for us to note the emphasis that God’s Word gives on our appearance (including our clothes, our hair or lack thereof, our body appearance, and much more).

But as we observe others, we are not only reminded that there is an inner person that we must be concerned about who needs God and His salvation desperately but we also see that inward appearance is reflected by the outer. We are utterly dismayed by the bizarre hair styles of men and women, the clothing of these men and women, the skin effects, and the piercing that we observe. We know that people will not only be “judged” by the outward but we also know that the inner is reflected in the outer person!

What is happening here? Why all of the tattoos (and we must say that so many or even all of them are “outlandish”)? Why the body piercing (from the cheeks, the ears, the other parts of the body? Why the colors and the styles of clothes? Why the utterly wicked hair styles of various kinds? Why this sort of fashion statement? Is it the fault of the clothing store? Or the hair stylist? Or the friends and associates of the person? The family members?  The religious leaders? Or the influence of the TV and entertainment personalities? Or possibly the internet influences or movie-viewing? What could be driving such a widespread effect?

I am not a follower of the media or an evaluator of this societal phenomenon, but from a “Christian” standpoint, we know that this must be a “stench” in the nostrils of God our Creator. Although we might think that there are more important things in life (and there are), we know that this matter of outward appearance is something that either reveals or influences what we wear, how we appear, and everything that we see and do.

Perhaps if we were blind, things would not be as bad as they are, but even this would affect the person in question. Surely the person is affected by these outward (dare I say the sinful) expressions and this would affect even every contact that one would have with a blind person!

If there is any Christian or follower of Christ Jesus reading these words, we encourage you to dress and appear as a true and consistent Christian—and not as a worldly person. If you are a father or mother or other relative of a person who is being influenced by these worldly trends, we would encourage you to do all you can to dress and appear in a wholesome way yourself and to stimulate these other family members and all others to not only come to God through Christ for His salvation but also to appear as a child of God. This would include all of those who are falling for Satan’s lie and worldly ways! Come to Christ yourself and do all you can to lead others in this direction, by His grace and power! And this includes the outward appearance!

Or this: