Growing Weary of the "don't judge" mantra as a means of shutting down proper and beneficial instruction.
This is now the "go-to" mantra to keep others from correcting what is clearly a wrong focus or attitude.
The "don't judge" mantra, seems to be used in everything now to keep people from instructing others.
I will no longer let anyone get away with the mentality that we are not to judge anything or speak definitively while instructing our brothers and sisters in proper decorum or attitudes.
2 Timothy 4:2-3 " 2 Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and encourage with every form of patient instruction.
3 For the time will come when men will not tolerate sound doctrine, but with itching ears they will gather around themselves teachers to suit their own desires.…"
1 Corinthians 6:19-20
"Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body."
In the matter of clothing at the worship gathering, I must add a little more to my previous post.
Do you, do we, have different kinds of clothing in our closets? Do we have dress clothes to wear to funerals and weddings? Do we have work clothes we put on to dig in the garden? Do we have casual clothes that are tidy and clean to go to visit a friend?
Why do we all have different clothing for different purposes? We have these different clothing styles because different occasions call for different clothing. We dress differently depending on what event or visit we are attending. So why have so many young people chosen the ratting-looking jeans to wear to worship? I suggest that this clothing is a clue as to the inner heart of the one who wears them. The total lack of respect for God and for others is clearly evident. Especially when we see these same people wearing nice clothing to the office party, the weddings, the funerals and the office parties.
The disrespect for God's Word, for rules, for authority is closely tied to these lazy attitudes about clothing styles.
It is disrespectful to come to a wedding in torn and ratty-looking jeans, doing this would make the wearer stand out, distracting from the special party. In order to show respect in attending a wedding, a funeral or a special occasion we put on something more special in deference to those in attendance.
The same disrespectful attitude that is seen nearly everywhere now is reflected in the clothing. Our inner heart cannot be different from our outer choices.
The excuse that someone might be poor in a country such as ours is simply a red herring, it is not reality. Everyone has something decent and respectful to wear to worship, they just choose not to wear it.
The casual mentality about worship is reflected in the disrespectful tone we see in many gatherings today. The worship is superficial and flippant therefore so is the clothing style, it a sign of these end times of overall disrespect for everyone and everything.
The music, the clothing, the events, and much more are evidence we are living in the end days when everyone does what is right in their own eyes and refuses to listen to wise instruction.
2 Timothy 4:3
"3 For the time will come when they will not tolerate sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance with their own desires,"
Romans 12:2
"Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect."
Romans 12:1
"I appeal to you, therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship."
The lie that appearances do not matter at all has been around since the 1970's when the hippy generation influenced the thinking of the church.
Nothing can happen on the inside of us without reflecting on the outside. A lazy attitude about appearance and grooming is a dead giveaway of a lazy mentality toward the ways of God.
Don't come to fight to defend lazy dress codes, just pray that the Lord will give you a heart of diligence in all things, that we please Him and not ourselves. Pray that we will not base our dress code on what everyone else is doing but on what God is saying to us.
My challenge is not to think more about clothing, those who defend ratty clothing as a style for church gathering are too focused on clothes and fitting in. To prepare yourselves for worship will lead us to want to be diligent in ALL that we do and wear.
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