Does the pastor have to wear a suit?

Genesis 37; Job 3; Mark 7; Romans 7

We once attended a church where one couple’s most important concern was that the pastor seldom wore a suit. Travels and other experiences exposed us to many traditions so we knew that in other churches, the pastor can be comfortable and accepted in whatever was worn in that culture. At times, I felt annoyed with that couple but now realize this was not a good response either.

Now when the Pharisees gathered to him, with some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem, they saw that some of his disciples ate with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed. (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands properly, holding to the tradition of the elders, and when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other traditions that they observe, such as the washing of cups and pots and copper vessels and dining couches.) And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?” And he said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, “ ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.” (Mark 7:1–8)

Jesus made a distinction between traditions in a way that we normally do not. We judge them on whether they are helpful in building families or communities or whether they are repressive, restrictive, or stifling. Our evaluations are based on the social effect of traditions and personal history rather than whether they are true.

In the New Testament, traditions are praised or criticized regarding their conformity to or departure from the Word of God. In the above passage and other places, Jesus condemns traditions that allow people to sidestep what Scripture clearly says. This makes me think twice about the what the pastor wears. There is nothing wrong with wearing a suit, but there is no command about it. Some Old Testament laws cover issues of clothing but the New Testament stress is not on rules but the heart.

Jesus said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.” (Mark 7:20–23)

The man who dresses to be attractive to women has a problem. The man who dresses to annoy those who do not like t-shirts has a problem. It isn’t about the clothes but about what is governing the heart. Paul talks about this in Romans 7 and how we have this old fleshy nature that wants to do its own thing (which is contrary to God and sinful) and the new nature that wants to obey God but he realizes that “nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.” (Romans 7:18–19)

Most Christians realize this inner battle. What most Christians struggle with is that line that says we have no ability to carry it out. From the time we are little, many of us hear, “You can do it” and our fleshy nature would love that to be true. It is not true. Paul knew it. I know it. The sooner I admit my weakness, the quicker I am to ask for help, to yield to the power of the Holy Spirit, to give up trying in my own strength and turn to Jesus to give me what I need. I can say with Paul:

For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin. (Romans 7:22–25)

I can do all things through Him who strengthens me, but woe to me if I try to do it on my own. Traditions, habits, practice, and “it’s good enough” are no substitute for His strength perfected in weakness.

The power of worship

Autumn fades, but the glory of gold and orange lingers in the trees. The sky is still dark this morning, but the moon and stars brightly shine. I cannot see the mountains from my window but we have gazed up at their snow-clad peaks often enough that I can remember their glory. I can look even at photos of rivers and the sea and remember the sounds and smells. Our nearby pond is beginning to freeze yet a few geese remain. I stop on my daily walk and appreciate them, sometimes singing a few lines of, “It is my Father’s world . . . .”

Some say they can worship God in the woods better than in church. I’m not sure that is so, but respect it for God can be worshiped in any place and at any time. Even those who don’t know Him and don’t think of Him, can be in awe over creation. 

Yet even though the splendor of what God has made awes the mind, deep inside tugs a deep desire, unnamed, but that only God can satisfy. We may not name it, but as today’s devotional reading says, “our thinking is a mutilated fragment without God, and our hearts can never rest unless they rest in him.”

God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth. (John 4:24)

Worship is a good thing. At times, it is the only thing that can soothe my sorrows and calm my anxieties. When all else fails, when I have no words to ease the pain of others, or to comfort those who have lost loved ones,  I want to point them to God. Sometimes I feel that I cannot do it and afterward feel sad or ashamed that I didn’t because I know looking at Him is true comfort.

My own heart finds comfort and deep joy in worship, in submitting to God and trusting Him. He has taught me that He knows what He is doing. He sees the end from the beginning, and in all things works for the good of those who love him.

As well, worship aids me when I am tempted. Mere thoughts of “this is wrong” are not sufficient. The idea that sin is destructive and not beneficial cannot help either. I can recognize the enemy’s lies in the bait he dangles before me and still struggle. I may know what I ought to do, but that isn’t enough. As Paul said,

For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. (Romans 7:18–19)

But worship puts all of it where it belongs. Moral behavior cannot live on ideas and values. Morals might be rooted in a strong sense of obligation, but that will not keep my heart pure. However, the desire to do right reveals a glory about human beings; we are made in the image of God. Yet I find that without worship, even a strong sense of moral obligation will give way to sin.

Worship does many things. It nourishes my understanding that God is a high, moral, spiritual Being who made me for himself. I belong to Him. As I worship Him, it also nourishes in me the highest and best as it points me to the One who can rescue me from sin and temptation. When Paul lamented his sinfulness and lack of power to overcome sin, he ended his lament with . . . 

Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin. (Romans 7:24–25)

Worship heightens the mind, lifts me above sin and those desires of the flesh, but without Jesus Christ, I would be unable to get from those base desires to holiness and higher ground. Because the Lord has delivered me from the power of sin, then worship gives me an increasing desire to serve Him instead of those selfish desires.

God is worthy of worship and that is sufficient reason to do so. All that He is and all that He does reminds me of the wonder of His great love, His almighty power, His amazing goodness. Worship is due Him, yet in the way that He created the human heart, worship is also good for me.

 (photo credit)