Once I had an interesting providential concurrence of events respecting the wearing of ties. First, in a men’s class brothers discussed attire at church. For about 15 minutes of the class there was a very serious discussion about the importance of wearing a tie, especially when participating in the leadership of the worship service. I still smile with amazement, and just shake my head and wonder, “How long O Lord, how long!” (No pun intended).
Second, my son Andrew, who never had worn a tie except as a ring bearer in a wedding, approached me holding one of my ties in his hand. He asked, “Can I wear this tie to church today?” The tie he was holding was no ordinary tie, for it was handmade by a beloved sister in Christ, Doris Richards, who had passed away a few years before. Once upon a time I ministered in Caribou, Maine, and Doris made a tie for me that reminded me of the late 1960’s mod look. Yes, I did wear the tie on occasion — it was special to me. So I asked Andrew, “Why would you want to wear that tie?” With only thoughtful hesitation, Andrew responded: “Because it’s cool.”
Third, my evidence law professor, who always wore a tie and a corsage, diverged from the subject matter and talked about ties. He said, “There really isn’t a good reason to wear a tie, except that it looks good. It doesn’t hold anything up or in place; it doesn’t push anything in; it just hangs there.” So there you have it. If your interest is looking good and cool at church worship services, then the right choice of tie just might impress the other worshipers — not God.
Lately however we had a congregational men’s retreat and invited participation from other sister congregations. One of the brothers provoked a discussion: “What is it about some of the congregations requiring suits and ties of their brothers’ who serve as leaders in the worship service.” I was interested in the explanation that justified the requirement based on God’s concern with how the priests of the Old Testament were to dress. Hmm — well now; there might be a few other denominations that use the same argument to justify vestments and modern priestly adornment. But putting that issue aside, what really was God’s intent in requiring the priestly adornment in the Old Testament? Was it because he was interested in worshipers looking good outwardly? Surely not, for God looks upon the heart (1 Samuel 16:26-7). Instead these vestments were symbolic of the eternal spiritual truths of our new covenant priestly ministry that they foreshadowed. I do not remember a tie being part of their outfit; but I am curious about the foreshadowing significance of the bells. Perhaps it means that ministry is to be carried out with joy and praise — just a thought.
Now to tie this issue up. (Pun intended). There are some New Covenant considerations. First, the church in every age and in every culture is responsible for teaching what is respectful and modest attire. See for example 1 Timothy 2:8-10. Yet, the caveat is that doctrine is sound only to the extent that the law is used lawfully and all teaching is in accordance with the glorious gospel of the blessed God (1 Timothy 1:8-11). In practice, I think this means that we must refrain from the evil of discrimination based on outward appearance, for that reveals the evil of contempt and lack of love (James 2:1-13). It also means that our emphasis on how we dress for the public should not be on impressing others or on enticing sexual attraction. The emphasis of sound doctrine is on an outward modesty and propriety that reflects the inner beauty of adorning ourselves with the doctrine of God (1 Peter 3:1-6). Our congregation has no dress code, but we are aware when a brother or sister is testing the boundaries of respect and modesty with flamboyance, low neck lines and tee shirts advertising beer. In sum, I would advise against a worship leader making a rule requiring a suit and tie for serving at the Lord’s Table or any aspect of worship. It is foreseeable that rules like this lead to a misunderstanding of true spirituality, placing the emphasis on appearance rather than on the heart; and tempting Christians to judge one another from a fleshly viewpoint. Having said that, if you keep this in perspective and like wearing ties; some ties are really cool.
[Buttram, D. Bryan. Ties are so Cool. WordPress.com. 2007/08/21].
1 Comment
August 24, 2007 at Friday, August 24, 2007
Well, there’s not much anyone can add to this except . . . Amen!