“Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? ~ Jesus (Matthew 6:25)

This pic is not particularly inspiring, but it evokes in me strong feelings of safety and comfort.  I love my Levi’s 560’s (zipper fly, ‘comfort ‘fit, straight legs).  I personally love the stonewashed ones.

The history of denim jeans (and Levi’s) is interesting:

The word comes from the name of a sturdy fabric called serge, originally made in Nîmes, France, by the Andre family. Originally called serge de Nîmes, the name was soon shortened to denim. Denim was traditionally colored blue with indigo dye to make blue “jeans,” though “jean” then denoted a different, lighter cotton textile; the contemporary use of jean comes from the French word for Genoa, Italy (Gênes), where the first denim trousers were made.

Here’s a few observations about clothing I’ve made over my life:

1. If you are in good shape, you will look good in pretty much any clothing (my favorite example is Elly Mae Clampett of the Beverly Hillbillies, the Daisy Duke of the previous generation)
2. If you want to climb the ladder in the corporate world, you not only have to be a hard worker and good at what you do and have a positive attitude, you have to dress the part – unless you are brilliant, wearing t-shirts and jeans to work is probably going to keep you out of management.
3. Once you ARE in a position of authority, it helps to dress well in order to inspire confidence – you only have one chance to make a first impression, and most people look at your appearance and make a decision, often before you even speak.
4. With respect to faith, what you look like on the outside doesn’t count for a hill of beans – many people put on nice clothes to come to church, but have not put on a good heart – one that is attentive, open to learn, ready to listen to and apply truth personally.

On that last point, one of my favorite scriptures is this:

“For the LORD does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7)

As a final note, I have always felt uncomfortable in churches where everyone dresses up, and enjoy the ones where even the pastor is somewhat casual.  When I was a newbie worship leader in one church, many people complained to the Senior Pastor that I often led worship wearing a t-shirt (or polo shirt when I dressed up) and shorts during the summer.  He defended me, explaining that clothes don’t make for godliness.   Now THAT was a guy I admired.