How a Christian woman should dress has been a raging issue in the church for God knows how long. Oh! You think it is peculiar to this our dispensation? Nay, some epistles in the scripture shows the issue of outward adornment is almost as old as Christianity itself. Let’s check some biblical references.
If there was no issue with dressing and adornment, there would have been no need for Apostle Paul to say “Likewise, I want the women to adorn themselves with respectable apparel, with modesty, and with self-control, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, but with good deeds, as is proper for women who profess to worship God.…” (1Timothy 2:9). It was not only Paul that mentioned this, Apostle Peter mentioned it too, he said, “Your beauty should not come from outward adornments, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewellery or fine clothes”. (1Peter 3:3).
These Apostles were talking to Christian women, they were telling them that now that they are new creatures, they can no longer dress like they used to. Don’t forget that some of these women were idol worshippers whose sense of style, fashion and adornments were dictated by the god of this world.
But since we were not there, we did not see these women bath and dress up, we are left with diverse interpretations of what ‘elaborate adornment’ means. Some denominations have laws, loads of ‘thou shalt not’ for their women, something I find extremely harmful to the spiritual growth of the female folks, I have been there. Not that it is entirely bad to have guidelines, but these denominations have more than doctrines or guidelines, after all, 'all scriptures are God’s breath…For doctrine,' but they have laws, loads of laws that it is only by fulfilling them that these women can be qualified to receive from God. As a matter of fact, you will be considered a sinner if you enter some denominations with an earring, no matter how small or tiny, even a white powder is frowned upon, though it may sound unbelievable, I know a minister that will not pray for you much or say wholeheartedly if you do not agree to conform to the standard of dressing of his church and it doesn’t matter how long you have being born again or the evident fruits of the spirit in your life… So sad you will agree.
The question I have for these churches are, are we still under the law? Written codes? Are we not supposed to be guided by the law of liberty, having it in mind that ‘where the spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty?’ If God Himself declared that His own laws, though good but are unfit to qualify men for salvation, how can the laws you make for church members save them?
I find it funny that a lady that dresses in such a way that people are tagging her SU (The Scripture Union group, a religious group in Nigeria) will enter some other denominations and be tagged an unbeliever because there is a gloss on her lips or a brown powder on her face. Don’t you think we have a whole lot of confusion going on in the Christendom than we can imagine? If indeed we are serving the same God, why so many divisions and contradictions? Some will say I belong to Paul, another I belong to Apollo, all in one body… what a shame.
I can remember a report I read on BellaNaija more than a year ago about a Pentecostal church with a ‘no hair extension’ doctrine. A bride had flaunted this rule on her wedding day and guess what the mummies in the Lord did, they chopped off the hair, that was the condition for the church to carry out the wedding and the bride had no choice but to comply… While I blame the bride for breaking a rule she was aware of, I also asked myself, ‘what will Jesus do if he was the pastor of that church?’
Some spiritual ladies have been relegated to the background in their local assembly because they wouldn’t drop their small earrings or stop using powder, trust the devil; he is taking advantage of the situation. He aware many churches are more concerned about outward appearance, he knows these churches will open their arm and heart to any lady that conform to their laws and codes of dressing, so when he wants to send his agents, he makes them dress to conform to the standard of these churches, and it is such a pity that many church leaders are being fooled by the outward presentations of these demonic Gibeonites, they are no longer going to God to approve or disapprove.
So what do you think about the many divisions in Christendom about dressing and adornment? Do you think it is normal? Do you have an experience to share? Don’t hesitate to drop your thoughts in the comment box below. Join me next week as we look at how the life of Esther should inspire our fashion sense as Christian women.
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