Slobs

Good Morning,

Ready for some “I remember when” stories?  If not, you might skip this article.  I remember when people cared about their appearance, and did not want to be slobs. Boys were told to tuck in their shirts, and girl’s combed or fixed their hair.

Traditionally, dressing up has always been obvious attire when attending events that were important: inaugurations, graduations, weddings, funerals, and, in the “olden days,” even executions. 

I have a picture of my grandpa and his brothers on a Sunday afternoon, they were wearing ties and hats, and were standing by the corn field with their shotguns heading out to hunt some birds (probably pheasant) while the ladies cooked lunch.  

Many years ago, our family watched old, black-and-white cliff hangers, and the gangsters wore suits and hats. (We often laughed because the heroes or villains could be in a fistfight yet, their hats never fell off.)  When I was a boy, we would go to the airport to pick up family from back east, and the airport was filled with men and women dressed in very sharp clothing.

Today, when you go to the airport, it looks as though people are headed to the beach – they look like slobs. My secretary of many years said that when she was a child and her family went to town, they would never dream of leaving the house without a dress and gloves.  Do you remember the old show “Happy Days?”   At least the kids combed their hair and ironed their clothing - even if it was jeans. 

Today, I am still shocked that people will go to the store in what appears to be pajamas!  Slippered feet are common, and outward clothing that allows underclothing to be revealed is everywhere.  It reminds me of the National Geographic magazines our babysitter used to have.  As children, my brother and I would gawk at heathen people who were covered with tattoos, piercings, and immodest clothing (this description sounds like any gathering in the US today.) Over time, our culture has come to accept the appearance of the “heathen people”– as well as the beat of their music.

The “dress down” fashion is everywhere, including the church.  One of the men that attended our church for a while said he wore a tie every day for work and was not about to wear one to church.  Of course, that was his choice, and I was happy to have him as a part of our church, but I did wonder that his best was worn for gold while his least was worn for God. Another good man in our church came in his retirement years and after some time said, “Preacher, you accomplished what I said would never happen.”  I asked to what he referred, and he said, “You got me back in a tie.”  He had worn one for work for decades (as well as to church).  Retiring to our area, he said he was done with ties for good – then he met us. 

Somewhere the pride of looking sharp and the desire to have an orderly appearance has slipped away.  

We seem to enjoy our cars being clean and sparkling, and we seem to want our homes sharp and admirable. Tools and garages are admired for their order and cleanliness.  Bicycles and off-road vehicles are washed and polished, yet our children leave the house looking like street urchins. Do you remember the humor decades ago as people mocked a lady leaving the house with curlers in her hair?  It was shocking!  Consider the dress of the rock and rollers of the 50s, their outfits were expensive and elegant.  Elvis Presley was said to spend $2,500 to $65,000 for a suit.  Do not tell me that looking sharp does not matter in our world.

I do not accept that dress does not matter because I watch the athletic teams with their uniforms, airline employees with their sharp professional attire, and private schools with their uniforms.  Who can deny the attraction of a military man in his dress uniform? 

The slob mentality is a danger sign of where our society is going.  When the clothing of Jesus was divided by His executioners, they wanted His outward apparel, and drew straws for His cloak. In third-world nations, you will often see the poorest of students walking to school in clean, pressed uniforms; they know it is important to look sharp.   In order to make school important, they dress the part.  Consider the various awards of this world, whether music or acting; the awards ceremony will be filled with the finest of clothing. I do not believe our society does not know the value of dressing up!  No, but we have allowed the devil to gets us to dress down in church, school, and out in public.  There is some correlation between how we look and what we think of ourselves.   No one can deny it – our first impressions do matter.

David was called “comely.” 

1 Samuel 16:18 “Then answered one of the servants, and said, Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, that is cunning in playing, and a mighty valiant man, and a man of war, and prudent in matters, and a comely person, and the LORD is with him.”

Pastor