Sometimes I don’t know when to shut up. No really, most people have a filter—I have a floodgate. Now that Matt is in the picture, we’ve developed a code indicating when I should bring my volume down, stop asking questions, or simply shut up.

Matt: B, I love you so much, but you asked waaaay too many questions at dinner and spoke a little too often.
Me: Why do you HATE me?!

Maybe this is one of the times Matt should smile at me and tap my leg under the proverbial table, but Matt ain’t here so here I go!

Is it just me or do you think we’ve lost the art of looking presentable at church? I know I sound vain, but this is a serious theological question.

In the Old Testament we see priests going through elaborate purification measures to enter into the Holy of Holies. Even those bringing a sacrifice to the temple ceremoniously bathed before entering. Furthermore, the sacrifices they brought had to be clean, blameless, and without blemish.

Internet, call me crazy, but does it seem like we’ve totally laxed in regards to how we prepare to worship God and bring our offerings?

I see people who looked like they rolled out of bed and into the pew at church; I see young children with dry food stuck in the corners of their mouths; I see teens with sleep crusted in their eyes and halitosis from Hades.

So it makes me wonder: Do people spend the same amount of time getting ready for work, school, or a club as they do to prepare to worship God?

As a child when my father lost his job, we didn’t have nice clothing—but it was always clean. My mother wore the same outfit every single week to church—but it was always ironed. We didn’t have fancy shoes—but we gave our dime of offering in Sunday School. It was the best we had. And that’s all God asks.

I’m not advocating a dress code of frilly, bouffant dresses and wing-tip shoes. I love the freedom to wear jeans or a dress, heels or flats, cotton or silk. However, how we prepare to worship the Lord on Sunday mornings should, at the very least, reflect how we prepare for work, school, or daily life.

So, what do you think? Am I wrong? Am I legalistic? Should I give up at trying to bring back the Arsenal Hall arm roll? Oh, whatever!