One Sunday morning the congregation of a ritzy church (with vaulted ceilings, hand carved oak pews, stained glass windows & deep plush carpet) had a stir.
A man came in just minutes before the service was to begin & he was dressed poorly. He had on boots, overalls, a flannel shirt & a cowboy hat.
The congregation was aghast! Many quickly sent notes to the minister about this concern. At the end of the service the minister greeted the poorly dressed man & asked him if he enjoyed the service.
The man exclaimed that he enjoyed it very much. The minister asked the man to consider possibly dressing differently & told him to pray to Jesus about how he would have him dress if he should return again.
The next week the man returned. He was dressed the same & once again the congregation was disturbed.
At the end of the service the minister greeted the man again & asked him what he had been told by Jesus concerning his how to dress for church?
The man exclaimed, "I spoke with Jesus about this but Jesus said He didn't know how I should dress for this church because He has never been here."
- (2jesus.org)
Jas 2:2-4 (GW): “For example, two men come to your worship service. One man is wearing gold rings and fine clothes; the other man, who is poor, is wearing shabby clothes. Suppose you give special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say to him, "Please have a seat." But you say to the poor man, "Stand over there," or "Sit on the floor at my feet." Aren't you discriminating against people and using a corrupt standard to make judgments?”
“Many come to bring their clothes to church rather than themselves.” - Thomas Fuller.
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