“You are to clothe them—your brother Aaron and his sons with him—and anoint them and ordain them and set them apart as holy, so that they may minister as my priests. Make for them linen undergarments to cover their naked bodies; they must cover from the waist to the thighs. These must be on Aaron and his sons when they enter the tent of meeting, or when they approach the altar to minister in the Holy Place, so that they bear no iniquity and die. It is to be a perpetual ordinance for him and for his descendants after him.” Exodus 28:41-43
New English Translation
It’s easy to read these verses and assume that God only care about what the Jewish priests wear; however, that’s not true. He cares about how we all present ourselves. After all, scripture does tell us that we represent God, since we are made in His very image (Genesis 1:27). Also, we learn in 1 Peter that we aren’t just anybody. Rather, we’re the new priesthood, the priesthood of all believers.
So as you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but chosen and precious in God’s sight, you yourselves, as living stones, are built up as a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood and to offer spiritual sacrifices that are acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For it says in scripture, “Look, I lay in Zion a stone, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and whoever believes in him will never be put to shame.” So you who believe see his value, but for those who do not believe, the stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone, and a stumbling-stone and a rock to trip over. They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do. But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of his own, so that you may proclaim the virtues of the one who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. You once were not a people, but now you are God’s people. You were shown no mercy, but now you have received mercy.
New English Translation
So, as the new priests, we are also held to the same modesty standards as the old priest. It may feel crazy to think about an all-powerful God having opinions on what you wear, but it’s important to realize that every decision and every moment is bigger than that simple thing.
Think about this, throughout the Bible lust is mentioned as an act of immorality. If we’re not being intentionally modest with our clothing, then someone being lustful is actually partially our fault. However, if we’ve been intentional with our clothes, specifically picked them to make sure that we’re modest, someone else has made the choice to sin without any help from you.
Therefore we must not pass judgment on one another, but rather determine never to place an obstacle or a trap before a brother or sister. I know and am convinced in the Lord Jesus that there is nothing unclean in itself; still, it is unclean to the one who considers it unclean. For if your brother or sister is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. Do not destroy by your food someone for whom Christ died. Therefore do not let what you consider good be spoken of as evil. For the kingdom of God does not consist of food and drink, but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. For the one who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by people. Romans 14:13-18
But be careful that this liberty of yours does not become a hindrance to the weak. For if someone weak sees you who possess knowledge dining in an idol’s temple, will not his conscience be “strengthened” to eat food offered to idols? So by your knowledge the weak brother or sister, for whom Christ died, is destroyed. If you sin against your brothers or sisters in this way and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. For this reason, if food causes my brother or sister to sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I may not cause one of them to sin. 1 Corinthians 8:9-13
New English Translation
In both of these passages, Paul is teaching about this very idea of causing someone else to sin. He adds onto his teaching in Romans 14 saying:
So then, let us pursue what makes for peace and for building up one another. Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. For although all things are clean, it is wrong to cause anyone to stumble by what you eat. Romans 14:19
New English Translation
God calls us to be the people who make peace, making sure that we’re not the one causing others to stumble away from Him. See, as the priesthood, we’re responsible for all our actions, including what we decide to wear. We are no longer able to write things off as “unimportant.” We’re supposed to be so close to Jesus, so intentional with every moment, that no one can look at us and choose to sin based on us. It will 100% be their own doing.
So, I encourage you, today, as you pick out what you are going to wear, use this intentional moment to set the tone for your day. May this be your declaration that you’re going to step into every moment as a priest, holy and set apart for worshiping God.