Many years ago I remember buying and reading a book by Dr. Charles Stanley, about Crippling Casualness. It made a lasting impact on me, and I remember much of the content to this day. As a traveling evangelist I have opportunity to worship in many different churches each year. As I enter the churches I see many different styles of worship and activities. Some churches are quiet and dignified, while others are noisy and casual. It seems that modern churches have gone to one of two extremes relative to the sanctuary and what goes on inside its walls. I have noticed that churches either fry in fanaticism or freeze in formalism. It is hard to find what I believe to be a right balance of reverential worship. By that I mean, worship that honors God, and is not stuffy, dry or ritualistic. By the same token, there are some things going on in churches today that I believe must be grievous to our Holy God.
One of my mentors and one of the most consistently Christian men I have ever known, Dr. Lehman Strauss, reminded me once of this exact point. Dr. Strauss said to me one day, “Spirit-led Christians are never misled.” I totally agree in that, the Holy Spirit will never lead someone to do anything that is contrary to his revealed and written Word.
Isaiah the prophet wrote in chapter six, “In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.” A key phrase is that the Lord was “high and lifted up.” This refers to God’s holiness of character. The seraphim cried ‘Holy, holy, holy.’ Friends, in modern-day churches there seems to be a lack of reverence toward God. In many circles, He is no longer regarded as Holy, but just a “good ole, backslappin’ buddy”. He has become “the old man upstairs” to millions. Not many today give God the honor and glory due His matchless name. He is still God, very God, a God of holiness, and He is worthy to be praised!
You may ask how I come to the conclusion that there is a “crippling casualness” in churches today? All one needs to do is travel around and observe. I know and accept the fact that those of us who dare broach this subject, are considered old fogies, square and out of touch. We are considered a dinosaur from another planet. But something that has clearly changed in church in the last twenty to thirty years, is a casualness of dress. You can tell a person’s attitude toward God by the way they come before God’s presence. I believe the sanctuary of God is a special place and we should show it by our giving our very best to God when we come to worship him. I am not saying everyone should wear suits and ties or long, evening gowns. But I am saying that when we come to present ourselves to God in worship, we should have on our very best. Yes, I am unashamedly old-school, as you have already ascertained.
Let me illustrate in this way. I have always been amazed at folks who would wear tuxedos and evening gowns, to a prom or inaugural ball, and then drag into the house of God in t-shirts, ragged jeans or immodest shorts. If we received an invitation to the White House would we wear the same clothes that many are wearing to church? If we dressed up for the White House event, and then came to church in casual attire, we would be showing more respect to the president of the United States than we do Almighty God! I just happen to believe that God deserves more respect than even a powerful leader like the president, or any other king or prime minister, etc. By our dress we send a loud, clear message that a governor, a president or a dance is more important to us than our Holy God! Friends there is a crippling casualness that has invaded and plagues our churches today.
Now someone will invariably bring up the objection, that it is not what is on the outside, but what is in the heart that matters. The Bible does say that as mere humans we can look only on the outside appearance, but God looks at the heart. However, the Bible also speaks of modesty (1 Tim 2:9), in reference to the way we dress. Christians should try to dress decently, modestly and in a way that they would not be uncomfortable to stand before the very presence of God at any moment. I have seen some very disturbing trends in modern churches, and few are saying anything about it, for fear of being called legalistic or Pharasaical.
I have preached many times in Mark chapter five, concerning the demon possessed man of Gadara whom Jesus confronted one day. Before he met Jesus, he lived among the tombs and was wild and could not be chained or contained in any way. He cut himself with sharp stones, tore his clothes off continually and was what you might call a “streaker.” But the most interesting thing happened when Jesus cast out the demons from him. The next scenario shows him “sitting, and clothed and in his right mind:” (Mark 5:15). Amazing isn’t it? The first thing he wanted to do when he was saved, was to put some clothes on to cover his body! In a world that is taking off more and more, God’s people need to be putting on more. We do not need to lower the standard, but raise it.
Yes, there is a disturbing trend in churches today. Our casualness in dress reflects our casualness toward God. Oh that we would get back to the place where we view God as high and holy and lifted up! He is God, and worthy to be praised. Let us honor Him both in doctrine and deportment. After all, as Dr. D. Martin-Lloyd Jones said, “what a person really believes, they act upon, everything else is mere religion.”