Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to the people and sanctify them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their clothes.” ... And Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet with God. Exodus 19:10-17, NKJV.
Some receive the idea that in order to carry out that separation from the world which the Word of God requires, they must be neglectful of their apparel. There is a class of sisters who think that they are carrying out the principle of nonconformity to the world by wearing ... the same dress worn by them through the week, upon the Sabbath, to appear in the assembly of the saints to engage in the worship of God.
And some men who profess to be Christians view the matter of dress in the same light. They assemble with God's people upon the Sabbath, with their clothing dusty, and soiled, and even with gaping rents in them, and placed upon their persons in a slovenly manner.
This class, if they had an engagement to meet a friend honored by the world, and they wished to be especially favored by him or her, would exert themselves to appear ... with the best apparel that could be obtained; for this friend would feel insulted were they to come ... with hair uncombed, and garments uncleanly, and in disorder.
Yet these persons think that it is no matter in what dress they appear, or what is the condition of their persons, when they meet upon the Sabbath to worship the great God. They assemble in His house, which is as the audience chamber of the Most High, where heavenly angels are in attendance, with but little respect, or reverence, as their persons and clothing indicate. Their whole appearance typifies the character of such men and women.
The favorite theme of this class is pride of dress. Decency, taste, and order, they regard as pride. And according to the dress of these mistaken souls will be their conversation, their acts, and their deal. They are careless, and often low in their conversation at their homes, among their brethren and sisters, and before the world. The dress, and its arrangement upon the person, is generally found to be the index of the man or the woman. Those who are careless and untidy in dress are seldom elevated in their conversation, and possess but little refinement of feelings. They sometimes consider oddity and coarseness, humility....
Our God is a God of order, and He is not in any degree pleased with distraction, with filthiness, or with sin.—Selected Messages 2:475, 476.
From To Be Like Jesus - Page 199
To Be Like Jesus