About the appearance of a Christian woman

Good afternoon, our dear visitors!
How can a Christian woman survive in the modern world? How to choose the right wardrobe for yourself so that it befits a Christian lifestyle? And what should an Orthodox woman look like?

Archimandrite Raphael (Karelin) answers this question:

“St. John Chrysostom praised his spiritual daughter Olympias for the fact that she dresses neither luxuriously nor poorly, but in such a way that her clothes do not stand out from her environment. Of course, clothing at the service should also be decent for a Christian woman. In general, we should try not to aggravate the situation if there are no obvious moral reasons for this.

Try to pray fervently that the Lord will enlighten you on what to do in each specific situation. If possible, consult with your confessor, husband, or someone whose opinion you value.

In spiritual life there are no small things at all: both good and evil begin small. Therefore, in the Bible the devil is called “moralistic,” that is, sin, which at first seems insignificant, like an ant, to which you should not pay attention, gradually growing in a person’s soul, turns out to be a lion.

The great teacher of asceticism, Saint Ignatius Brianchaninov, in his book “An Offering to Modern Monasticism,” began teaching monks with their appearance and temple discipline, which prepare a person for vigil over his heart and spiritual achievement.

The revolution in morality caused a revolution in clothing. New mods have appeared. If for Christians one of the purposes of clothing is to protect themselves and others from temptation, then new fashions predominantly have the opposite goal: to draw attention to the human body and evoke a feeling of lust.

Those who walk half naked and claim that they do not feel passion are lying to themselves. They are like a drunk who claims that he is sober - it is the earth that shakes under his feet. When shame is dulled, grace departs, passion becomes a permanent state of a person, and he no longer sees it, just as a fish does not see the water in which it swims.

The headscarf, in the Holy Scriptures, is a sign of family hierarchy, that is, the subordination of a wife to her husband. Therefore, a woman without a headdress, as it were, emphasizes her false independence, that is, she shows spiritual pride. The Apostle calls on women to wear a veil “for the sake of the Angel,” that is, so as not to upset their Guardian Angel by unchaste behavior when a woman can serve as an object of temptation.

In the ancient world, a woman’s headscarf was considered to belong to the free class, and a slave did not have the right to wear a headscarf. The harlot not only did not dare to wear a headscarf, but had to cut the hair on her head so that her occupation could be seen. In the east, a headscarf was considered a symbol of a woman’s dignity and evoked a feeling of respect. Tearing a scarf from a woman's head was considered an insult to her entire family name. Even during a fight between men, if a woman threw her scarf in the middle of the fighters, they were obliged to disperse. In this case, stepping on a handkerchief was considered dishonorable for the man himself.

Tradition in most cases is the crystallization of spiritual and moral concepts, as well as everyday experience and their transmission from generation to generation. Therefore, every tradition carries information. By breaking traditions, we lose the information embedded in it.”

Valery Sheybak 02/10/05

Topic: Appearance of a Christian

It would not be superfluous to talk about the appearance of Christians. Of course, this question may not seem as spiritual as, for example, the question of saving the soul, but, nevertheless, it is relevant for the modern believer. Why? Because everything we do in the external world is a reflection, or better to say, an expression of our inner world and state.

“...for as he thinks in his soul, so is he...” Proverbs 23:7

You yourself know very well that internal irritation caused by someone or something can be splashed out on someone completely uninvolved in it. This is about expressing the internal state.

Today this world often becomes the setter of appearance standards for Christians. Often Christians cannot justify their position biblically and quickly give in to the pressure of worldly argumentation, accepting a worldly view, including what a person’s appearance should be.

“...do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity against God? So, whoever wants to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.” James 4:4

“Do not love the world, nor the things in the world: whoever loves the world does not have the Father’s love in him. For everything that is in the world: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life, is not from the Father, but from this world. And the world passes away, and its lusts, but he who does the will of God abides forever.” 1John 2:15-17

We do not have the right to accept without reasoning what this world offers. We see what drives this world, what motivates modern people and what corruption they are capable of achieving in their desire to live without God. But if the ungodly world is motivated primarily by pride and lust, then what should motivate a person living in covenant with God in Christ?

“...but, following the example of the Holy One who called you, be holy in all your actions. For it is written: Be holy, for I am holy.” 1 Peter 1:15,16

“Righteousness exalts a people, but iniquity brings dishonor to nations.” Proverbs 14:34

The nature of a born again believer is the same nature that our Heavenly Father has of holiness and righteousness. Therefore, unlike the world, the Christian is motivated by the righteousness of God. Righteousness does not humiliate anyone; on the contrary, it elevates both a person and a people. Therefore, we need to instill in ourselves a righteous way of thinking and living, learn to live and act righteously. The righteousness of Christ in you will lift you above the world of sin and corruption, making you a city set on a mountain top and a house built on the rock of God's Word.

What does this have to do with appearance? – If you lead a righteous lifestyle, this is reflected in the way you look. Everything is built on internal motivation. If a girl is looking to attract the attention of guys, this will be reflected in her appearance; if you are a disorderly person, it will be visible; if you lead a righteous lifestyle, they will also notice it. It should be noted that righteousness does not mean wretchedness.

Let us consider what the appearance of a Christian should be.

“Show yourself as an example in everything... so that the enemy will be put to shame, not having anything bad to say about us.” Titus 2:7,8

The Bible calls us to be an example in everything. This also applies to appearance. And often, in order to change your appearance, you need to change yourself.

However, Scripture does not give us specific comments regarding our appearance. It is not written about how long the skirt should be, whether it is possible to wear a tie, etc.

The Law of Moses did not determine the style and cut of clothing for the Israelites. The only thing that was mentioned was that they should not dress in clothes made of mixed threads, wool and linen, that women should not put on men's clothing, and men should not put on women's clothing ( Deut. 22:5, 11 ).

The Gospel illuminates this issue with the following words:

“Wives should dress decently, with modesty and chastity” 1 Tim. 2:9

“...that the old women should dress decently for the saints” Titus. 2:3

“...let your adornment be not the outward appearance of braided hair, or gold ornaments, or finery of clothing, but the hidden person of the heart, in the incorruptible beauty of a meek and quiet spirit, which is of great price in the sight of God” 1 Pet. 3:3-4.

As we see, these passages of Scripture also do not indicate styles of clothing, but speak about motivation, about the rules of decency that should guide us in choosing clothing.

So, the first conclusion: the appearance of a Christian must correspond to the rules of decency of the society in which he is located.

I'm not talking about what is allowed, but what is considered decent.

This is what Barclay writes about the issue of covering a woman's head in 1 Corinthians 11:10 and it relates to the standards of what was considered decent in Corinth:

“It was a controversial question in the Corinthian church whether a woman could take part in worship with her head uncovered... But this chapter should be read not in the light of the twentieth century, but in the light of the first century, and the following points should be remembered: 1) What is the significance of blanket in the East. And today, women of the East wear a veil - a long veil that covers it almost to the toes, leaving only the forehead and eyes open. In Paul's time the eastern veil was even more closed. It covered the head, leaving only the eyes open, and went all the way to the toes. A respected and self-respecting Eastern woman could not even think of appearing somewhere without a veil. T. W. Davis writes in the Hastings Dictionary of the Bible: “No decent woman in the eastern village or town goes out of the house without it, and if she does, she risks ruining her reputation. Indeed, English and American missionaries in Egypt told the author that their daughters and wives were forced to wear a veil when going out.” The veil had two meanings: a) It expressed subordination, b) It provided the woman with strong protection. Verse 10 is very difficult to translate. In the Synodal Edition of the Bible this verse is given as follows: “Therefore a woman should have on her head the sign of authority over her...” But the Greek text literally means that a woman should have “her authority on her head.” William Ramsay explains it this way: “In Eastern countries, the veil represents the power, honor and dignity of a woman. With a veil on her head she can go everywhere in safety and deep respect. She is not visible; watching a woman dressed in a veil on the street is a sign of extremely bad taste. She's lonely. All other people do not exist for her, just as she does not exist for them. She stands above the crowd... And a woman without a veil is insignificant, anyone can insult her. The power and dignity of a woman disappears along with the veil if she throws it off.”

Imagine if Christian women in Corinth had flouted the rules of decency in their society. Yes, they would simply be considered dissolute women and would treat the Christian faith accordingly.

Christians must consider the standards of decency of the society in which they find themselves. However, there are certain guidelines for leadership in any society.

“...and our unseemly ones are more plausibly covered, but our good-looking ones do not need [to do so." 1 Corinthians 12:24

This scripture says that certain parts of the body should be sufficiently covered so as not to be an offense to others and to keep oneself clean.

“Let us no longer judge each other, but rather judge how not to give your brother [a chance of] stumbling or temptation.” Rom.14:13

It is also important to think about how when bending or raising your arms, those parts of the body that should be covered are not exposed. Why do you need lustful glances or malicious grins directed at you or give rise to temptation?

The next thing Christians should be guided by in their appearance is health.

Not everything that is fashionable or beautiful, not all cosmetics or pharmaceutical products are healthy. It is important for us to be sufficiently attentive to this. Health is something that is practically difficult, and sometimes impossible, to restore.

“Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone destroys the temple of God, God will punish him: for the temple of God is holy; and this [temple] is you.” 1 Cor.3:16,17

I think you will be interested to hear what was preached about this at the beginning of the last century:

“Unhygienic clothing for women is very harmful to health. Most women get sick all their lives just because they dress fashionably. Health and life are sacrificed to this insatiable goddess. Many people, believing that they have the right to dispose of their body, lose sight of the fact that they do not belong to themselves. Many of them cause themselves untold suffering by lacing. Any ability they have to do good in the family and society is diminished, and the children of such mothers are deprived of health.

A laced waist prevents proper blood circulation and compressed organs are unable to function properly. The impossibility of deep breathing in this position is obvious, and hence the habit of breathing only with the upper parts of the lungs, as a result of which weakness and illness very easily arise.

Most women are completely oblivious to the dangers of tying their waists, despite what many famous writers have said about it. Many argue that the custom of being pulled into a corset is increasingly being abandoned and therefore find the remark given here inappropriate; in fact, a woman’s dress is characterized by narrowness, which prevents the proper functioning of the internal organs.

Clothes should be so loose that when you raise your arms up, your dress rises at the same time.

The next mistake in women's current clothing is that the weight of the skirt falls only on the hips. This heaviness, pressing on the internal organs and pulling them down, causes stomach ailments and fatigue and forces a woman to bend forward when walking.

This error further affects the lungs and prevents them from working properly. The blood becomes unclean, the pores of the skin become inactive, and subsequently pale sickness and general ill health appear.

….Indeed, ladies, by resorting to cosmetics, can restore their blush, but cannot restore their health with these means. What is harmful to the skin is also harmful to the soul, and it destroys the cheerful and calm mood of the spirit.

Every woman who values her health should avoid burdening her hips. The weight of the dress should fall on your shoulders. This will greatly help in stopping the weakness that is so strongly developed among women.

The parts of the body that are furthest from the center of circulation, and therefore require the greatest protection from cold, are very often not protected at all from it, while other parts of the body that do not need warmth are carefully protected.

The current women's dress is the cause of many diseases. Perfect health depends on proper blood circulation. If your feet are well shod, there is no need for many skirts. The latter should not be heavy, so as not to interfere with walking, and should not be too long, so as not to absorb dampness and dirt; their weight should fall solely on their shoulders.

The dress should fit easily so as not to impede blood circulation and breathing.

Feet should be protected from cold and damp. By dressing in this way, we can safely walk in the fresh air in the morning dew, rain or snow without fear of catching a cold.

Walking in the fresh air is essential to ensure proper blood circulation. These walks protect against colds and many internal diseases.

Correct reform of clothing requires a complete change in the latter. If weak women would take off their fashionable clothing and replace it with something more suitable for walking in the open air, then they could improve their health and, through their example and deeds, would serve for the benefit of their neighbors.

It is not the will of the Lord for men and women to die a premature death without finishing the work they started. He wants our life to be long, and for all the organs of our body to carry out their work without hindrance.

Many people complain to God if someone in the family dies of illness, but this is unfair, because it is not God who is to blame, but the violation of the laws of nature.

Fashionable mothers dress both themselves and their daughters to the detriment of their health. From an early age, girls begin to tighten their waists and leave their limbs uncovered, while the fragile health of the body requires careful care.

Do you, mothers, want the life of your children to be long and their cheeks to be rosy? In this case, teach your children to dress according to health requirements. If you love them and wish them all the best, then why, by your example, do you teach them to spoil their figure and do not consider this a sin? On what basis do you allow yourself to spoil the work of the Lord’s hands? Turn away from fashionable dolls and study the structure of the human body! We are created amazingly, and we must offer our bodies as living sacrifices to God.

...Boys are also dressed incorrectly, whose lower parts of the body are less protected than the upper parts. The lower parts of the body, as those furthest from the heart, require more protection.

The veins through which blood flows to all parts of the body are large enough and contain enough blood to warm and nourish these parts.

But if the blood is driven away by cold, the veins tighten and proper blood circulation is disrupted. Parts of the body not only suffer from cold, they also develop weakly from lack of nutrition. Proper circulation cleanses the blood and enhances health, while poor circulation of the blood does not cleanse the latter and inflames the internal organs.

Mothers, why don't you dress your boys and girls according to health standards? Their clothing should be simple, loose and comfortable. All parts of the body should be dressed warmly and evenly. Let your children out into the fresh air, and then you will enjoy their health and life.

A lot of courage will be required on your part before you decide to give up fashion and dress your children for health reasons; but success will reward all self-denial and difficulties.”

I think we can apply these tips to modern fashion, considering whether this or that will affect our health.

The third thing a Christian is guided by when choosing a style of appearance is the situation or significance of the event.

The point is that we should choose clothes or makeup according to the event we are going to attend. If you are invited to morning coffee and you are dressed in an evening dress or tuxedo, then you will look at least strange. A good friend will advise you to change your clothes.

In Old Testament times, there were different types of clothing for all occasions. There were elegant clothes; royal clothes; especially long clothes; colorful clothes; clothes are embroidered with gold; clothes of widowhood ( Gen. 38:19 ); sackcloth is a garment made of coarse fabric that was worn as a sign of mourning, repentance or submission. The prophets used such clothing as a symbol of the coming judgment ( Ps. 34:13 ). There were clothes of foreigners and special outfits of harlots ( Prov. 7:10 ).

There were special clothes for priests when they served in the temple. The high priest also had clothing for standing before God. We are a royal priesthood. In a house of prayer, where there is service before the face of the Lord, special reverence is required not only in prayer and behavior, but also in clothing. Outside the temple, clothing may be looser.

If jewelry, as well as clothing, have a seductive power and can distract a Christian from zealous and reverent service to God, then such an attitude or decoration should be abandoned. And if wearing some jewelry causes temptation for others, then a spiritual Christian will refuse such jewelry without disputes or offense.

“...in His temple everything proclaims His glory.” Ps.28:9

“...only everything should be decent and orderly.” 1 Cor.14:40

The way we dress for the Lord's house should reflect our attitude toward Him. It is important in the House of God to emphasize respect for the Heavenly Father and reverence for Him.

When going to church services, dress tastefully and at the same time not provocatively. After all, you are going to worship the Lord, and not to declare in front of everyone what level of society you belong to. Not everyone can afford to buy clothes in expensive stores, but, nevertheless, everyone can look neat and beautiful.

You should not wear sportswear to worship, but if that is your only clothing, then come in it. And if a person appears in church dressed inappropriately, then before you judge him, try to find out about him, maybe he really doesn’t have any clothes anymore. Then you can bless him with something from your wardrobe. Or a person simply needs to be explained what clothes he should wear when going to the House of the Lord.

Another thing that can help us in choosing an appearance style is a focus on evangelism.

“For, being free from all, I made myself a slave to all, that I might gain more: to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews; to those under the law he was as one under the law, in order to gain those under the law; for those who are strangers to the law - as one who is strangers to the law - not being alien to the law before God, but under the law of Christ - in order to win those who are strangers to the law; He was like one who is weak to the weak, so that he might gain the weak. I became everything to everyone, in order to save at least some. But I do this for the sake of the Gospel, so that I may be a partaker of it.” 1 Cor.9:19-23

To preach the Gospel to people, it is important that they accept this message from you. Of course, saying that you should always look like those you preach to is stupid. But it is also impossible to exclude a certain style of appearance in order to reach certain categories of people.

Already today, many have been saved due to the fact that someone became similar to them in appearance, understood their life and brought them the Gospel of Jesus Christ, thereby moving them towards God's changes. And this applies to completely different categories of people in terms of income. If you show up in a Second Hand suit among the rich, you are unlikely to be taken seriously. And appearing in a rich suit among street youth can cost you that very suit. However, shortcomings in the style of clothing, when evangelizing people or certain categories of them, you can compensate for with the level of knowledge of the Lord and the anointing of the power of God. But it's ideal to have both.

It is also important not to confuse those who bring a message of reconciliation with those who simply strive for some kind of image. After all, if in the first case a person is driven by obedience to the Lord in reaching the unsaved, then in the second case it is simple pride, a desire to stand out or attract attention.

So, as the conclusion of today’s sermon, let us affirm the following: The goal of every Christian is to show the image of Christ, to show the way to Him. All our service, our life and behavior should contribute to this.

Translation

The New Testament shows us the criteria by which Christians should be guided. Although the following texts are addressed to women, the spirit of Scripture also speaks to men: “That women also, in decent attire, with modesty and chastity, adorn themselves, not with braided [hair], not with gold, not with pearls, not with costly clothing, but with good works... » 1 Tim. 2:9-10;

“Let not your outward adornment be the braiding of your hair, or the ornaments of gold, or the finery of your clothing, but the hidden person of the heart, in the incorruptible [beauty] of a meek and quiet spirit, which is of great price in the sight of God” 1 Pet. 3:3-4.

When it comes to braiding hair, it does not mean that the Bible prohibits a woman from braiding her hair. Men should have a neat and decent hairstyle. When Christians gather for services, they wear the best, most elegant clothes befitting holy people. But clothing should emphasize modesty and chastity. Nudity is not covered, but hidden.

It is indecent to wear miniskirts or skirts with long slits, blouses with a deep neckline, or tight-fitting clothes. Parts of the body that arouse lust in the opposite sex are completely covered. Christians should wear clothing of their own gender that is consistent with the Scriptures and the culture of the country in which they live. It is clearly not God's Spirit that motivates people today to get tattoos or body piercings, piercing areas of the body in order to decorate themselves with certain objects. It is indecent to dye your hair in different shades.

Our appearance is a direct reflection of our inside. Therefore, may the Lord protect modern Christians from the deception of so-called internal holiness in the complete absence of external holiness. “For from within, from the heart of man, come evil thoughts, adultery, fornication, murder, theft, covetousness, malice, deceit, lewdness, the envious eye, blasphemy, pride, madness - all this evil comes from within and defiles a person” Mark. 7:21-23.

Thus, if a person does not demonstrate through his actions and appearance the transformations that have occurred within him, it is quite obvious that these changes have not occurred in his life.

The Gospel message is addressed to the human spirit, changes his heart, and as a result of the change in the inside comes understanding and acceptance of the corresponding external appearance and behavior. Therefore, it would be a mistake to assume that the internal changes that have occurred in the heart of a believer will not in any way affect his external appearance. Christ clearly indicates that external actions are directly related to the internal state of the heart.

The internal changes taking place in a person’s heart will be obvious in all external manifestations of his life, including his appearance.

The description on the pages of Holy Scripture of the elements of clothing that Jews wore, and the requirements for the style of clothing expressed in the New Testament, give a fairly clear idea of the appearance of a Christian. Modesty combined with high spirit: elegance in the absence of nudity, a Christian’s understanding of the purpose of his body as a temple of the Holy Spirit living in him - this should guide a person who believes in God.

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Friends! The topic that I want to offer you for discussion and reflection is the appearance of a Christian. For some reason, we immediately associate our appearance with clothing. In fact, appearance is not only clothes, and, first of all, not clothes at all, but something else. Namely, what is given to us by nature. These are our external data, which we did not order, God gave them to us when we were born. But before starting this topic, I want to read a scripture from Matt. 6:22-23: “The lamp of the body is the eye. So, if your eye is clean, then your whole body will be bright; if your eye is bad, then your whole body will be dark. So if the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness?”

So, today we are talking about a person’s appearance. And what is the most important thing in all our appearance? What, for example, is put in a passport to immediately recognize us and determine our identity? Which part of us, which organ of our body? Of course, it is not a leg or an arm or a foot that is placed there, but a face. The person is expressed in his face. And if you look closely at a person’s face, they say that a person’s soul is expressed in his eyes.

Therefore, I would like to start not with clothes, but with what is given to each of us by nature. The Lord gave us our body in which we are, this is our outer man. In addition, regardless of our desire, we are given parents, our brothers and sisters, as many as we have. We are given gender without our desire, and we cannot change it, and this is a fact that also determines our outer man, in which our soul lives. Also our nationality, language, country, time, era in which we were born. We can't change this. We cannot choose our time and era. Then, we also have physical and mental data, as well as our advantages and disadvantages...

All this is given to us by nature and relates to our outer man. And we should thank God that we were born the way we are. There is a children's song: “If I were a butterfly, I would flutter, if I were a worm, I would wriggle... If I were an elephant... But thank God that I was created just the way I am.” . We must thank the Lord and use that external man, the data that you and I have, for the glory of God. Thus it is written: “Glorify God in your body and in your soul.”

We read: “If your eye is clean, your whole body will be clean.” And the eye is the window of the soul. This means that he is somehow connected with the inner man. Everything starts from the inside and then manifests itself on the outside. In this regard, I want to draw attention to some important details that can best decorate or, conversely, spoil our outer man. Let's take our facial expression. Here's a smile, for example. True, our people as a whole do not have a smiling, joyful face. And yet, we are Christians. We have a different inner world, a different soul, a different inner mood. We have the highest joy and meaning in life. Let our face be bright. Let it not be dull and gloomy.

The Word of God encourages us to do this. Christ says: “Do not be like the Pharisees, who put on gloomy faces.” They want to show their special holiness or piety. But in fact, holiness is more associated with a bright expression on the face, and such an expression always adorns our outer man. And believe me, if your face is gloomy, then you will not decorate it with any dress. If you are gloomy, gloomy, unfriendly, then you cannot compensate for this with anything, and even a slit in your skirt will not help you. Therefore, you look at yourself in the mirror and think: “Lord, here. You gave me face. Make it so that it expresses Your light, Your joy, which You gave me, because I am Your child. Let this be a testimony to people. Let others rejoice with me."

We should at least start with this. And then, if you’re going to smile, you’ll have to show your teeth. And your teeth, by the way, need to be brushed and treated on time. Of course, this belongs to the category of absolutely elementary things; there are no lofty theological thoughts here. You just need to brush your teeth every day. And take care of them. By the way, it is especially advisable for sisters to do this before marriage, because then, as they say, the children will eat your teeth. So, my young friends, grow, bloom, and don’t forget to do such basic things.

More, friends. The Lord gave us hair. They also need to be looked after and washed so that they are not greasy and unkempt. These are very simple, basic things. No extra smart, ultra-fashionable clothes can brighten up sloppiness. No amount of perfume or cologne can hide a dirty, unkempt, unkempt appearance. This is why it is said that if your eye is pure, then your whole body will be bright. Do you see how the Word of God speaks? A pure soul means there will be a pure body. This is a general rule.

Let us now move on to the question of clothing. The Lord once created the first people and it is said that they were naked and not ashamed, and then, when they sinned, they immediately felt the need for clothing. My understanding—and there are Bible scholars who share this view—is that God did not just create the first humans naked. He clothed them in something. Let us remember the incident when Moses was with the Lord on the mountain, and after that his face shone from communication with God. I am sure that Adam and Eve not only walked naked, but they glowed because they were clothed in the glory of God. And when we sinned, we lost the clothing of light - the glory of God, and at the same time we all lost this, and therefore our bodies do not shine now. And immediately, as soon as they saw that their bodies had become dull, they noticed their nakedness and felt the need for clothing. Adam and Eve—husband and wife, by the way—immediately realized that they needed to get dressed, both in front of each other and in front of God. Clothing has meaning in both of these dimensions, and the Word of God repeatedly emphasizes this idea that clothing has meaning not only before people, but also before God.

First, let's think about the significance of clothing before God. At first glance, it may seem that before God it has no meaning at all, because God sees through everything, and not only what is under clothes, but in general what is going on in our soul. God sees in us what we ourselves do not see. Then what is the point of wearing clothes in the presence of God?

Although we walk before God everywhere, our clothing still has special significance in the house of God, in the congregation of saints. I would like to give an example in this regard from the prophet Isaiah, chapter 6. Let us pay special attention to how the inhabitants of heaven, the seraphim, behaved before the Lord. It is said here: “each of them has six wings; With two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.” In other words, they had a kind of robe of wings. They covered their feet in the presence of God.

The meaning of this covering is to recognize God's greatness, reverence, and demonstrate the fear of God. This is the dimension we need to understand, since we are believers. All those who expose themselves, first of all. They do not fear God, they have no fear of God. Remember how the Gospel says that there was “a judge who did not fear God,” and then - inevitably! - “and was not ashamed of people.” This is interconnected: if there is no fear of God, then there is no shame in front of people, there is no modesty.

Let us now pay attention to the rules of clothing that the Lord gave us in the New Testament: 1 Timothy 2:9 - “So that women also adorn themselves in decent apparel, with modesty and chastity, not with braided hair, nor gold, nor pearls, nor costly clothing, but good deeds, as befits women devoting themselves to piety.” We also read in 1 Cor. 11 about the need for wives to cover themselves during worship, and this also has a spiritual meaning.

We need clothing not only in earthly life, it will also exist in heaven, although there will no longer be the presence of sin and people will be saints in their entirety. There will be no lust of the flesh even in thoughts, and in principle no one will be able to look at anyone with lust. And yet, the Word of God says that everyone will be clothed there. Not because it would be ugly or sinful to do otherwise, but because God ordained it so. The purpose of heavenly clothing will be to bear the sign of God's redemption. God intended it this way.

Let us now return to practical questions about our earthly clothing. For some reason, whenever the conversation turns to this topic, the main attention is focused on the sisters’ attire. And indeed, if you put several brothers next to each other, then what will you ask of us? Everyone has similar gray suits, maybe the ties are slightly different. But you won’t find two sisters in the same clothes. Well, God created them to please so much. Thank God that we have sisters, wives, girlfriends, they are the best for us. Well, here Satan is tempting our sisters, as if he wants to help them look even better... And we would like to help the sisters defeat his temptations.

In what ways does Satan tempt? Yes, at least in what is written: one must dress “with modesty”, “as befits saints.” This “as becometh saints” is translated from the original Greek as follows:

"long flowing garment." Here we mean clothing that somehow hides the shape of the body. These are clothes that are of sufficient length. And there are a number of reasons why God prescribes this type of clothing. First of all, so that we would not conform to this world, the Devil so confused the worldly people in the matter of clothing that their clothing became one of the vehicles of sin and debauchery.

Do you remember how, before the flood, the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were beautiful, and began to take them. And not because the daughters of God were less beautiful, but because of the difference in attire and behavior. I would like to quote an excerpt from J. Milton’s famous book “Paradise Lost and Returned.” Milton describes this picture in this way: The angel shows Adam after the Fall a picture of the future and reveals the meaning of future events.

“Then, from the side closest to Adam, people from another tribe began to descend into the valley from the surrounding mountains. From their appearance it seemed that they were virtuous people, served God righteously, knew His creations and strived to preserve freedom and peace among people. They had not walked much across the plain, when suddenly cheerful crowds of lovely women in luxurious clothes and headdresses made of precious stones fluttered out of the tents. To the sound of harps, they sing a sweet song of love and dance towards the strangers. Pious men, despite their severity, involuntarily look at them and cannot take their eyes off them. Finally, the nets of love entangle them tightly, and each chooses a girlfriend. They carry on loving conversations until the evening star, then, inflamed with passion, they light the wedding lamp and call on Hymen. This is how he was first called for marriage ceremonies.” Then Adam exclaims: “Oh, woe and shame for these people! How could they, having begun their life’s journey with such honor, suddenly deviate to the side, take wrong paths, and weaken halfway! But everywhere I see the same source of all human evils - women.” “They come from the weakness of men,” objected the Angel. “A person must be able to maintain the high position that wisdom and the highest gifts give him.”

You see, evil lies not in the fact that we have a body and not in the fact that this body has its own gender, but in the fact that sin lives in our body. And God says that we must curb this sin. Both men and women must restrain their flesh. The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life are those worldly elements that overwhelm the people of this world. And Christians must be radically different from the world, including in their clothing. And we know that when you first look at Christians, what catches your eye, of course, is the clothing of our sisters. And by the way they dress, you can immediately determine how much the principles of separation from the world are observed in this church.

Let me remind you of the main passages of Scripture on this topic: “Do not love the world, nor the things in the world: whoever loves the world does not have the love of the Father. For everything that is in the world: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life, is not from the Father, but from this world. And the world passes away, and its lusts, but he who does the will of God abides forever” (1 John 2:15-17); “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Rom. 12:2).

It also applies to conformity with the world if Christians wear a form of clothing that is not at all what God intended. Thus, the Bible says that a woman should not wear men's clothing, and a man should not wear women's clothing (Deut. 22:5). We know that now all women often wear trousers. Once they conducted such an experiment. In one church they were talking with the sisters, and the leading sister suggested: “Sisters, close your eyes now for a minute, and then open them.” Opening their eyes, they saw a large portrait of a woman dressed in a classic style: skirt, blouse, and so on. The presenter asks: “Tell me, what did you pay attention to first of all?” The sisters say: “On her face.” - “Okay, close your eyes again... Open.” Now they saw a portrait of a woman in a T-shirt and jeans. - “Tell me, now what did you pay attention to first?” The sisters admitted with surprise that they first of all paid attention to the lower part of the body covered with fabric: her hips, stomach... Then the leading sister said: “I draw your attention to the fact that only women are present here. Think about it now, how do you think men react to this look?”

Christ said in the Sermon on the Mount: “Whoever looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” And the one who emphatically demonstrates what he should look at, also committed adultery with him, and is thus an accomplice in sin!

There are also worldly forms of dress that I would call perverted. These include tight-fitting clothes, miniskirts, skirts with high slits, etc. I will now give you words from an interview with the woman who invented miniskirts. It happened in America, more than 20 years ago. So, she said something like this:

“Usually law-abiding wives wait until the evening to go to bed with their husbands, and I belong to those who do not want to wait until the evening. That’s why I came up with a miniskirt.”

Dear friends, all this is disgusting before God, and it is unpleasant for us to listen to and unpleasant to talk about. For me personally, talking on this topic is about the same as cleaning a public toilet or raking out a garbage pit. In addition, if you have to talk about this topic with one of the young people, then sometimes dad and mom begin to defend their daughter or son in these matters. All this is very unpleasant. But we still struggle and will continue to struggle with such worldly manifestations in the local church.

I was asked a question: “Is it permissible for women to dye their hair, put on trousers, curl their hair, cut their hair short, and in this form can they participate in God’s praise?” I want to pose the question a little differently: who is your authority? Who will you listen to? If I answer you now, will you listen to me or not? If I tell you to do it this way or that way, are you ready to do it?

The whole question is: why is there such a violent protest about this? Why are there divisions in churches, why are there quarrels in families over these clothes? But because in this case protest is nothing more than a carnal rebellion against the order established by God! Yes, God established it this way, which means it makes sense. It was He who determined what a man and a woman should look like and why they should not wear clothing that does not correspond to their gender. God has established that there is authority, there is power, there is submission, there is subordination. Sisters who have husbands, ask your husbands what you can and cannot do... Let the wife come up to her husband and say: “My dear husband, given to me by the will of God, tell me, can I have my hair cut or not?” Let him answer. And let the daughter come to her mother. If your husband or mother allows you something that is not what you need, then my husband or mother and I will talk. Is the order clear? The important thing is whether you are ready to obey at all, to listen to your husband, mother, church. God, or you have a spirit of rebellion.

In our church there were once, but now they are no longer, sisters who had the following expression: “the flesh rages.” “My flesh,” he says, “is raging.” If your flesh is raging, then you will not listen to me or all of us, ministers, but if you are ready to listen, then this is what the Word of God teaches. If we all understand this in principle, then everything will be fine both in the family and in the church, then our dress code will be correct. May the Lord bless us to submit to God's orders in the matter of our appearance.

V. P. ZINCHENKO

From the magazine “Word of Truth”, 2-3, 199

Source<https://christianka.bratstvo.org/vid.htm>