People judge by outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart. 1 Samuel 16:7 (NLT)
Every church seems to have its list of “unspoken” rules of the church.
In some churches, women will get disapproving looks if they wear makeup or don’t wear a long skirt. In others, for people to wear jeans on Sunday is a no-no. Or maybe jeans are okay, but you can’t have tattoos or piercings.
When we began to change the culture of our church to be contemporary, I stopped wearing suits on Sundays to preach. At first, I felt really strange about it because it was something I had grown up with.
One Sunday, a member of our church confronted me about it. He made the comment that we should be wearing our best for God, which was a line I had often heard in church. But who are we to define what someone else’s best is? And even more importantly, why do we assume God cares about what we wear?
Are we really so shallow that we need to judge people over having a piercing or some ink on their skin? Maybe tattoos, piercings and certain styles aren’t your preference, but they have nothing to do with someone’s relationship with God.
Besides, when our churches are filled with a variety of people, anyone who walks in the door feels at home, especially if we make sure that an overwhelming feeling of acceptance radiates from us.
Today, challenge your idea of what Christians should or shouldn’t look like. As believers, we should never hinder someone from giving their lives to Jesus. But the truth is, when we judge people, that’s exactly what we’re doing.