Personal Appearance
14 Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they brought him hastily out of the dungeon: and he shaved himself, and changed his raiment, and came in unto Pharaoh. Gen 41:14 (ASV)
22 She maketh for herself carpets of tapestry; Her clothing is fine linen and purple. 24 She maketh linen garments and selleth them, And delivereth girdles unto the merchant. Prov 31:22, 24 (ASV)
9 In like manner, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefastness and sobriety; not with braided hair, and gold or pearls or costly raiment; 10 but (which becometh women professing godliness) through good works. 1 Tim 2:9-10 (ASV)
It has been said that we are “A Walking Sign”
How you appear to people is very important, more so than you realize. People look at you and make decisions before they ever hear a word you say. Over 90% all communications is visual. In the age that we are living in, with everything not being as formal as it was in the past, it is very easy to let down your appearance. From Gen. 41:14 Joseph dressed for Pharaoh’s Court to create a climate of acceptance. The harlot in Proverbs 31, dressed to create a climate of attraction. The virtuous woman in Proverbs 31, dressed to create a climate of respect. I can hear some now saying, “I’m not going to dress up just to impress someone, I want to be just who I am.” What you are on the outside is not who you are. You must dress appropriately for the occasion. You don’t go to an interview for a corporate office position with baggy pants with holes in them. You won’t get the job. Forget the phrase they need to accept me for what I am.
I’ve known many good ministers who had a good prayer life, were very knowledgeable of the Word of God, and had a compassion for people, but they failed miserably. They failed because they didn’t understand the real importance of how to present themselves for acceptance, approval, and even respect.
It has been said many times “You only get one chance to make a first good impression.” You see you never get a second chance to make a first impression. In our society we are programmed to respond to visual. We have fine-tuned our visual perception. A good example is TV, when television first appeared the programs exaggerated movement and action, they over reacted to get the audience’s attention. Today’s programs use just the slightest movement to show the audience what the intent is. Appearance is important, you might question how good a lawyer might be it you went into his office and he was wearing overalls. How about a mechanic that was wearing a suit, you’d expect him to be in work clothes. It is interesting that Joseph wanted the approval of Pharaoh. He shaved his beard because the Egyptians were not favorable toward beards. He changed is raiment. He was flexible enough to adapt to the situation in order to obtain favor, even, in the palace of the king.
Whether you are casual which I expect you might be if you are a young preacher, or whether you are more formal it is important to check out what the dress code is for that particular situation and dress accordingly. I’ve wore a suit and tie most of the time in ministry but the past few years I only wear a suit and tie on special occasions. The churches I’ve pastored in the last few years have had a casual atmosphere and I’ve usually wore a nice pair of jeans and a casual shirt. I’m still dressed up compared to some that attend. A good word of advice is had I call “One Up” if you are going somewhere to preach that is casual. Wear a pair of slacks and a casual shirt; if you feel you need a tie wear one. There are times I’ve been invited and I wear a suit and tie and feel out of place and I’ll go and pull the jacket and tie off. If you go under dressed your stuck with the situation and I’ve seen some pastors not allow anyone behind the pulpit unless they had a suit and tie on. This could be an embarrassing situation.