How does your appearance reflect Christ?
Posted by The Skyliner on September 16th, 2009Jordan Ecarma
Staff Writer
The more someone tells me not to do something, the more I want to do it.
This attitude can describe many students, including me. It’s just human nature, something found in our inherent sinful makeup. Rules are something we try to ignore or get around if we can.
But this view towards rules that are put in place to protect us can be harmful. It is also not part of a true Christian worldview.
The rules and regulations I’m talking about are those of the dress code. I often see students wearing clothing that is banned by the dress code. One example is when girls wear shorts that are too short. Another is when guys come to class wearing shirts with the sleeves cut off. The Enlightener says that “shorts may be worn; however . . . they must not be shorter than mid-thigh.” It also says that shirts with cut-out sleeves are not permitted.
People have a flippant attitude towards dress nowadays. We are constantly surrounded by provocative imagery in everything from television and film to billboards. This lack of discernment can rub off onto Christians.
What we need to remember is that what is worn on the outside reflects who we are. This is why NGU has placed restrictions on the way students dress. It can be annoying at times, but it’s important to remember why these restrictions were set. They were put in place not only to protect students, but also to help us in presenting ourselves to the world as Christians.
In an ideal world, everyone would dress appropriately and have good standards. But in today’s society, it’s not easy to do this, because it involves being very different from the rest of society. Even Christian vision can get blurred with the onslaught of negative influence from the media.
Not only is it difficult to ignore what the world says, but varying ideas on what is right are also found even among Christians. Different people will have very different views on what is acceptable to wear and what is not. It would be impossible to have a dress code that everyone agreed on. But the main thing to be learned from the dress code is not so much what is considered “modest.” We should also remember with what intentions these rules were founded. They were put into place to try to help us in representing Christ to the world.
Tags: Fall 2009, Vol. 109 - Issue 2