Come as you are or show some respect–which is correct? Does God care what you wear to church? Find the real answer here.
Growing up, I was raised to dress very conservatively at church.
Not only was my grandfather a preacher, but we also attended a church that was pretty legalistic.
I remember, in middle school, judging the girls whose skirts didn’t extend below their knees. Didn’t they know that wearing skirts that hit right above the knee made them look “available??” (for lack of a better word).
I was absolutely stunned the first time we attended a different church and one of the girls was wearing short shorts. This was church! Why wasn’t she dressed in her Sunday best??
Even now, as a grown-up, I have a difficult time not dressing up for church.
I’ve worn jeans a handful of times — when I was majorly pregnant and that was the only thing that fit — but that’s about it. It’s just habit. I don’t particularly care what anyone else is wearing, but I feel weird if I don’t dress up at least a little.
I stopped thinking much about it — figured it was mostly a matter of personal preference — until I spoke with some other Christians who were pretty passionate what I asked, “Does God care what to wear to church?” So I figured I’d better address the issue as well.
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Related Reading: Is Going to Church Really Necessary?
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- What does God want me to do?
- How do I apply the Bible’s instructions to my life today?
- Where is God calling me personally?
- How can I make a difference right where I am?
- How should I navigate relationships with those who think, act, or believe differently than I do?
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Does God Care What You Wear to Church? Well… Yes and No.
Honestly, I think “What is appropriate to wear to church?” is the wrong question. Not only does it completely miss the point, but when you try to narrow down exactly what styles/cuts/fits/lengths are and are not appropriate, you’re pretty much guaranteed to wind up in a legalistic mess. Plus, it doesn’t take into account various circumstances and situations.
For example:
Does God care what you wear to church for…
- The divorced man who is finally ready to attend church for the first time in years, but the nicest thing he owns is a pair of ripped up jeans and a wrinkly old t-shirt. Should he not come?
- The party girl who is fed up with her current lifestyle and ready to make a change, but the nicest thing in her closet is still pretty risque. Should she not come?
- The tired mom who barely made it out of the house, who didn’t have the energy for yet another clothing battle this morning. Should she not come?
- The family who is desperately struggling to make ends meet, but who has chosen to tithe faithfully even if it means they go without nice clothes. Should they not come?
The truth is, wearing nice clothes doesn’t make you a better Christian, or more holy, or any of that nonsense. In fact, wearing nice clothes may even interfere with our ability to be good little Christians when it steals our focus or makes others uncomfortable.
I love how Pamela Hodges writes in her article, Today was Easter and I almost didn’t go to church. You might be surprised why:
“When we meet Jesus in the long line to get into heaven, he won’t be asking us, “Did you wear a pastel Easter dress to church on Sunday?””
How sad to think that people all over the country miss out on church every Sunday simply because they don’t have the “right” clothes to wear! In these cases, does God care what you wear to church or that you are simply showing up to church?
Furthermore, NOT wearing nice clothes can actually be the most loving thing to do sometimes, as Amy Reasoner points out in her thought-provoking post, Why I’m wearing the same thing I wore last Easter (and it’s not a dress):
“That’s when it hit me – Easter is also a Sunday when people who do not regularly attend church are most likely to set foot through your doors. And I knew in that moment that if someone visited our church in jeans on Easter, I most certainly didn’t want them to be the only one.” And she’s a pastor’s wife!
Interesting…
Or consider 1 Samuel 16:7, which says:
“But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”
But the truth is, there is a big difference between someone who comes to church in clothes that aren’t as nice because they don’t have the time, energy or money and someone who comes to church in clothes that aren’t as nice because they are lazy.
And honestly, don’t most of us fall into that second category more often than we’d like to admit?
We don’t think about preparing for Sunday (or Saturday night, depending on when you go to church) until it gets here, and so when church time rolls around, we pretty much grab whatever we can find that’s reasonably clean and head out the door.
I know I’ve worn a shirt with a stain on it on more than one occasion because, for some reason, Sunday morning is the ONLY time I ever remember that all of my white shirts that match the skirts that still fit my big, pregnant belly have stains on them…
(For the record, the issue has since been remedied…)
We dress up for date nights with our husbands. We dress up for back to school night to meet our children’s teachers. We dress up to impress our friends when we get a girls’ night out. But it’s too much to ask to dress up for one hour a week to meet with the King of Kings?
Ask yourself, “What should I wear to church?” Then decide why you should or shouldn’t dress up. Again, not that dress matters–it doesn’t–but it just shows where our heart is at.
When you go to church, do you find yourself asking, “Does God care what you wear to church?” Do you treat it as something special, something sacred? Or is it just another day?
Do you prepare your heart ahead of time, or do you just show up? Do you remember that you’re meeting the King of Kings, or is it just another thing on your to-do list? When you get dressed, are you thinking about what will make YOU look good and draw attention to you, or are you thinking about the One you are there to see?
THESE are the questions we need to be asking ourselves. And when we do, appropriate things to wear to church will follow.
So, personally, I’m going to keep wearing long maxi-skirts with white t-shirts and flip flops. It’s dressed up enough to be nice, but not so dressed up that it would be uncomfortable or distracting. It’s modest and it’s practical (I can walk, kneel, stand, chase children etc. without worry).
And when I see other people wearing things I maybe wouldn’t pick, I’m not going to judge. I’m just going to think “I’m glad you’re here” and know that God is too. Even if they’re wearing short shorts. Because I don’t know their heart or their circumstances. Only God does.
Dive Deeper Into God’s Calling in Your Life (Beyond Sundays!)
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If so, I’d love for you to check out my brand new book, Follow God’s Will: Biblical Guidelines for Everyday Life, along with the Follow God’s Will companion workbook.
Practical, encouraging, and full of biblical truth, Follow God’s Will is designed to help you answer questions including:
- What does God want me to do?
- How do I apply the Bible’s instructions to my life today?
- Where is God calling me personally?
- How can I make a difference right where I am?
- How should I navigate relationships with those who think, act, or believe differently than I do?
- And so many more!
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Related Reading: How Can I Get My Kids Excited About Church?
Have you ever asked yourself, “Does God care what you wear to church?” How did you answer that? What do you wear to church?
What’s your view on Christian women wearing tight, provocative clothing to church?
Not appropriate, as it should be about giving respect to God, not showing off what God gave you.
That depends on the woman and where her heart is at. If she is a woman who knows better and just wanted to attract attention to herself, that’s a lot different than a woman who desperately wants to come to church but can’t afford anything to wear than the immodest clothes she already owns. It’s really a heart issue more than anything else.
Have to agree that what you wear does not make you a better Christian or person. It is not a fashion show and some people lose their light in this subject. Better to come in worn jeans and t-shirt than not at all.
However, if you want to honor our Lord you should dress in the best manner possible within your means out of respect, but it doesn’t mean they have to be expensive. As a single Mom, I used to go to garage sales or thrift stores to buy dressy clothes.
Well I agree that we should dress appropriate when we go to church and in our daily lives.
I love how you tackle these sticky topics! Honestly, I think the way we answer this question is based primarily on the culture we were raised in. Having living overseas in various countries for the past 10 years, I’ve come to see that a lot of how I interpret what is appropriate or not is according to the way I was raised in my denomination in the US. It’s a challenge to not impose this upon other people. I love that you dress up for God as a way to honor Him, and I think that is the point. God looks at the heart. Thanks for getting us to think!
Thanks, Brooke–I enjoy writing about them! And yes, you’re definitely right about the cultural issue–even here in the US among different denominations. Personally, I’d rather err on the side of modest so as not to offend and to always give the benefit of the doubt to others. It’s definitely an important issue, but it’s certainly not the most important issue by any means. And you’re welcome! That’s my goal here 🙂
Can I say from a man’s perspective how very distracting it is for a guy who’s just trying to worship the Lord but the woman in front of him (she’s been coming to church over 10 years) has a very low cut shirt that shows LOTS of cleavage or has on mini shorts that show her cheeks, or a very very tight fitting jeans (need I say anything). She is very fit, toned, affluent, and definitely out to impress men. Or the younger girls who wear clothes so skimpy that all the men have to look elsewhere to stay focused. Casual is one thing, but indecent is another. Can some of you women in leadership address this very serious issue for men? Men lust first with our eyes. We shouldn’t have this temptation to deal with in the House of God, right?
I can’t even imagine. It’s distracting for ME and I’m a woman (obviously lol). But I’d rather deal with it knowing my salvation is secure, rather than alienate someone who may really need to be at church that day. It’s not worth risking someone else’s salvation for, is the way I see it…
Thank you for this article! I am a mom of two and my husband is in a wheelchair. I carry his wheelchair up steps so he can get into church. Some of the woman in my church have made commits about me not wearing dresses or shirts. One day I finally said if you had to carry a wheelchair up the steps in a dress you wouldn’t wear one either. I believe that we should all be thankful for those how attend church no matter what they are wearing just be happy they showed up. Thanks again?
I don’t blame you. I probably would have said something too. Yes, Christians should be encouraged to act like Christians, but skirts vs nice pants is not really a debate worth having.
I am 67 and noticed many growing churches don’t have a dress code. I have also seen people who come to church and cannot afford better clothes. I started wearing jeans to make others feel more comfortable.
That’s really sweet. It really does come down to your motivation. As in–are you wearing jeans because you’re lazy? or to make others more comfortable (as you said). Those are two ENTIRELY different things. 🙂
The answer to the question “Does God care what e wear in church?”
“In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array;”
1 Timothy 2:9 KJV
This is why I go to the biker preaching churches,no judging. Come as you are Jesus said. He works on you to change, he don’t force you like most churches do ,and it don’t happen over nite. What someone where’s has to do with being in a sinful world,so let tell ya’ all “for he who is without sin cast the first stone. ” be who you are till God comes knocking till Jesus comes to you and says I need you to change to help me.will you help me listen to me not the world.
I’m glad you found a good church for you!
Maybe someone else mentioned this already, I didn’t read all the comments above. I have a serious issue with the idea “dressing up to meet God.” Doesn’t Paul talk about glorifying God all the time? “Whether you eat drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God”. I grew up Southern Baptist. Nearly every Sunday, I would get dressed in my room and then go to my grandmother’s room and have her approve my outfit. If maw-maw approved, then I would double check with my mother. As I got older, then trend started changing and people at other churches would wear jeans to church. I started wearing jeans to church (being a large girl, I was starting to run out of nice clothes that fit my body correctly) on occasion but only if I was sitting in the congregation or working with the Children’s Church. I started attending a non-denominational church where the pastor occasionally wore jeans and a tee-shirt, but would sometimes dress up nice too. The people in the congregation (a growing church, some might refer to it as a megachurch, but its not thaaat big) wore whatever they wanted to. Many dressed up, but stylishly. People were welcome to attend in jeans and tee-shirt or a suit and tie. No one stuck out.
But my main issue is with treating Sunday differently than any other day. Yes, the Bible talks about keeping the Sabbath holy (technically, this is Saturday, not Sunday). We worship corporately on Sunday because that is the day Jesus rose from the dead. So we should set apart Sunday as a special day of the week. But the idea that we have to dress up on Sunday because we are “meeting with the King-of-Kings” ignores God’s attribute of omnipresence. God does not live in houses of worship. He doesn’t live in a cathedral, church, iglesia, synagogue, etc. God lives inside each and everyone of us. I am meeting with the King-of-Kings everywhere I go. God is with me in my bed when I wear pajamas, He’s with me when I play volleyball in my super-short volleyball shorts. God is with me when I lie naked next to my husband at night, He’s with me on the beach in my bikini and when I wear a parka while skiing. God is not honored any more or less by what I wear. God is honored by what I say and do to point others back to Him.
Yes, we should dress modestly and appropriately. But this isn’t because I’m meeting with God when I go to church on Sundays. I meet with God everyday, regardless of what I wear. We dress modestly because we will not conform to the patterns of this world with their lustful desires. We have been transformed, but that transformation is of the heart. A new wardrobe is not the mark of a Christian, a heart that seeks out Jesus everyday is.
I totally understand what you are saying, but I don’t think that treating Sunday special has to be a bad thing. Take me and my husband for example. I love him every day, but there are days when I love him extra much. On Valentine’s Day and Christmas and his birthday, I buy him gifts. Not because those are the only days that matter, but its just a good excuse to do something extra special. Same with date night. I’ll dress up really nice and he will too. But right now, I’m in oversized cozy pants, my hair’s a mess and I don’t have make-up on because I’m waiting for my turn in the shower (don’t want to interfere with him getting ready for work). That doesn’t mean I love him less right now. I see dressing up for Sunday church the same way.