Clothing

Genesis 3

“And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.” (2:25)

 “And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.” (3:10)

    In this chapter, and in the last verse of the previous chapter, we see the main reason for clothing.  Did you ever wonder why you wear what you wear?   Clothing is basically to cover our shame (nakedness).   In verse 7 of chapter 3, we see that they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves, because they were naked.  They did not know what it meant to be naked before this, and had no shame because of their innocence.   Even after the Lord confronted them, they needed to cover their shame, and He provided the skin of the animal, the innocent one, to cover their shame.  We see in this a picture of the sacrifice of Christ on Calvary.  He too died to cover our shame, and in Him we are made whole again, and obtain eternal life.   The point I would like to make is that our clothing need not be ostentatious, but simple, as long as it covers us.  Anything more than covering our nakedness is pride.  Do we need to be adorned with the nicest apparel?  Do we need diamond-studded outfits to cover our shame?  Of course not.  Something much more simple will do.  Of course women need to dress modestly, as in Titus 2:9, but even this seems to be speaking of avoiding the showy, attention drawing, and pride building clothing that we often like to wear.  It is linked to “gold or pearls, or costly array”, and speaks of dressing “humbly” as much as decently.   To “feel good about ourselves” is the worlds’ desire, and ought not to be our desire when it comes to dressing.  This thinking is based on pride, which is the bane of all good men and women in every generation.   Back to our verses: the shame did not come until the knowledge came.  They were not ashamed until after “their eyes were opened” and they became “as gods, knowing good and evil” (3:5). 

     It is the knowledge then that brought the fear.  The knowledge of what?  Of good and evil: of the ability to discern between the two.   This remains the crux of the matter.  When we seek out the flashy, sexy, or showy type apparel, we are merely feeding our ego.  This may be hard to swallow, but it is true, nonetheless.  We like to offer excuses at to why we dress the way we do, we even try to make it “spiritual”, but the bottom line is pride.  For our own satisfaction we want to “look nice”, when we ought to be concerned with covering ourselves.  I must be fair, and say that we dress for warmth too, but that is not all the time, and even that should fit the guidelines of “modesty” and humility.  Did not our Savior dress “humbly”  He deserved spectacular a robe of purple, but wore a simple robe of white.   Folks, be sure your pride shows in the way you dress, and in your appearance in this world; yes, others can see it, even if you will not.  It’s for men and women alike.

(Note:  The word “modest” in Titus 2:9 means both in a moral aspect, and in a humble aspect.  Here is the Dictionary definition of “modest: “

1. Properly, restrained by a sense of propriety; hence, not forward or bold; not presumptuous or arrogant; not boastful; as a modest youth; a modest man.

2. Not bold or forward; as a modest maid. The word may be thus used without reference to chastity.

3. Not loose; not lewd.

Abstain

“Abstain from all appearance of evil.” (1Th 5:22)

    This verse has been a mystery for me for many years.  With our weak and worldly minds, we must interpret it as we see it.  One wonders if the Lord doesn’t see evil differently than we do!  I am sure He does.  We can only know evil if, and when, we have the mind of Christ.  “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:”  (Phil. 2:5)

    We abstain from the very grossest of evils, the fornications; the murders; the adulterous affairs, homosexuality, and such, but I wonder if the word “evil” here is much more inclusive than we usually credit it to be?  It really matters not what we think, but what the Lord thinks of evil, and how we interpret that!   Each of us will determine things to be evil that others would not necessarily agree with; we would continue in our daily walk according to our interpretation, and take pride in the fact that we are abstaining from evil.  This must be abomination to the Lord, just as much as it is seemingly glory unto us.  The only way we can even have an inkling of evil is by diligent study of the Word of God, and prayerful persistence in seeking the Lord. 
    “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” (Prov. 14:12)   This verse says, basically, the same thing--we do not necessarily know what is evil and what is not.   If it “seems” right, we feel we are okay with it.  It would behoove us to question every act, and every thought we have, and compare it to the Word of God.   Some may wonder, in way of excuse I suppose, what about things that are not obvious in the Word of God, like gambling, or smoking, movies, (even some include dancing and/or card playing) etc.?   To some, these things “seem” to be justified by their own minds, and yet, we must abstain, but why?  Because it is not conducive to a good testimony for one thing.   Our testimony is what others see us as, it is important when we seek to win others to Christ.  Another reason is that these things promote worldly activity, and induce thoughts and temptations to weaker brothers or sisters in the Lord who are greatly under the influence of such things.  Is that not evil in itself?  I could list others, but I am afraid that it may take an entire page to fill the meaning of “evil” in the eyes of the Lord.  Evil can be defined by that which is harmful--either to self or to others; any act or thought or suggestion that is hurtful or spiteful is evil, as well as the “common” evils that we are all aware of, and sometimes share.  Oh thank God for His wonderful grace, and the mercy He bestows on us daily, especially in this area.