Acceptable dress varies a lot with circumstances, culture, and time. Long ago, when I attended college, there was a very strict dress code for students, particularly for women students. No pants were allowed, and skirts had to be an acceptable length for reasons of modesty. Some women's deans actually lined the ladies up and measured the skirts with a tape measure. There was some arbitrary standard such as "not more than nineteen inches from the ground." Young men were to be neatly dressed and be close shaven. The dress code has changed over the years, and today it has been considerably relaxed to the point that just about "anything goes." Jeans are commonly seen along with shorts, cutoffs, tanktops, and sunsuits. The modern code for school and for church is to come as you are. What used to be garden and beach attire is commonly seen in the marketplace and social gatherings.
Many businesses today proscribe a certain dress code that they feel would best represent their image to the public. Restaurants, department store clerks, even gas station attendants are restricted to a uniform dress code. We have come to expect a certain dress code for certain professions; doctors traditionally wear white coats; lawyers and pastors ordinarily wear dark suits; judges wear black robes. Dress seems to be a very important aspect of our image. Whether we like it or not, we are judged by our appearance. Also, psychologists tell us that dress can affect our behavior. Children behave differently when dressed for a party than they do when dressed for the playground.
In the twenty-second chapter of Matthew, Jesus tells the story of a certain king who arranged a wedding feast for his son. But the invited guests did not show up. They had a variety of excuses, some had to go to the farm to tend their flocks, some had business obligations, and some beat up the king's servants and even killed them. The banquet was set, the ox had been killed, and everything was ready, but there were no guests. So the king ordered his servants to go out on the highways and byways and invite others to the feast. Soon the hall was filled with guests, and the king had furnished a wedding garment for everyone. But one man had neglected to put on his garment so that he did not meet the dress code for the party. When the king discovered this, he became furious, and he had the man thrown out of the hall. This parable was used to illustrate that all of us are invited to the wedding feast of Jesus and His bride, but many do not accept the invitation. Those who do must be clothed with the robe of Christ's righteousness. This is the wedding garment that Christ has provided, and it must be worn by all who attend the banquet, for it is the necessary and the "acceptable dress code."
