That Silly Old Guy with the Coat and Tie

The following are my own musings. I am not attributing one iota of spiritual authority to them. I have no designs on persuading anyone of anything. Think of what follows as “a thinking through” of why I do what I do.

When I was a child and for some time into my adulthood, the go-to excuses for people who did not attend church included, “They just want my money,” or, “The place is filled with hypocrites.” Those were the days when most people were at least a little reticent to bad-mouth God or Jesus. Today, it is much more acceptable, even fashionable, for unbelievers to simply come out of the closet, so to speak, and avow their atheism or agnosticism. For them, there is no reason to make silly excuses for not going to church, for it is regarded as rooted in a fable anyway.

One of those old, well-worn excuses for not going to church still seems to have an impact, albeit in an oddly inverted way. We don’t hear many people dismissing themselves from worship attendance these days with the justification, “It’s just a fashion show.” If there is such a thing as “an attire competition” at church these days, it might be for who can dress down the most and still avoid arrest. At my church, my coat and tie render me a part of a significant minority. I sometimes suspect that I might stick out like a sore thumb … an odd duck.

If dressing-up for church was just my habit or my tradition, I think I could have moved past it by now. After all, I have poked fun at many traditions in my day. For me, the deeper consideration is not what attire is or is not appropriate for church. That would lead to a foolish argument couched in rigid and legalistic terms. On the contrary, I am more impacted by my own understanding of ecclesiology (theology as applied to the nature of the church), worship and, especially, how I see myself standing in Christ’s presence.

Every Christian of every opinion should be enthralled by this sentiment that Jesus shared with His first disciples:

… ¹⁴You are my friends if you do what I command you. ¹⁵No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you …  - John 14:14, 15

I grew up singing, “What a Friend We Have in Jesus.” Jesus calls me His friend. It follows that it is clearly appropriate that I would call Him, “my Friend.” In fact, I might very well do that in certain isolated circumstances. But, for the most part, that does not come to me very naturally. The issue is not fear, at least, not a cowering slavish fear. It is more that I still detect so much distance, in terms of holy character and holy nature, between us. That, I believe, is the fear to which we are called.

So, while I take no issue with anyone who sees the matter differently, I remain more at ease to relate to Christ as Master and Savior and God. That demands, for me, dressing respectfully for a respectful occasion. The authors of the New Testament were undoubtedly more like Jesus on so many levels than I am. They were His friends as am I. But, I cannot help but to notice that none of them refer to Him as such in their various writings. In fact, Paul’s favorite reference to himself in relation to Jesus was “a servant.”

So, when you see some silly old guy with a coat and tie, do not simply presume that he is making a fashion statement. He may not be dressing for a Friend. He may be dressing for a Master. He may be dressing for the Judge of the living and the dead. He may be dressing for the King of kings and the Lord of lords. While it may appear that he is deliberately dressing to be uncomfortable, it may very well be that dressing his best is the only way he feels remotely comfortable … given the occasion.

And, of course, as is so often the case, it could just be that he thinks too much.