Why do some dress there kids in a suit and tie to go to church.. I have only noticed this in the upc church also. In my opinion kids grow to fast for suits I know I have 2 kids myself and always by the end of sunday school the tie is off and the shirt is untucked so why even bother dressing them up... TGIF everyone.
To make the parents look good. It has nothing to do with the children, it's all about making sure little Johnny looks like a polished penny so nobody has anything bad to say about how mom and dad send him to church in rags. And believe me, people DO talk about how other parents dress their children. Been there. Shamefully, I've even participated in such nonsense.
__________________
Instead of studying to make sure what we believe is supported by Scripture, we MUST study the Scripture to see what IT TEACHES... then BELIEVE THAT!
Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 2 Timothy 2.15 KJV
Last edited by Withdrawn; 02-20-2009 at 08:25 AM.
Reason: Completed thought.
I know of an assembly where, for men, a suit and tie is expected EVERY service, and even the young kids wear them. Sometimes some of the men will just go in a shirt, tie and dress pants, but the ideal for this assembly, for the men, is a suit and tie. It's a cultural thing, that I don't see anything wrong with, unless they look down on others who don't keep the same custom. They would say that the value they put on the gathering of the saints shows, in part, by coming in their "Sunday best."
As for me, I rarely wear a tie to services anymore, and I only wear my suit jacket when I go to a convention or an assembly the brothers wear suits. I've gotten a bit more relaxed with how I dress for service, just a pair of dress pants and a button down shirt. I do wonder if there is a sense of spiritual pride with some of the ways people dress for service. Does a brother really NEED to wear a tie? What does the tie do but offer a decoration. Is a suit jacket really needed? I guess if you want to wear those things it's fine, but I find it sort of pretentious.
To make the parents look good. It has nothing to do with the children, it's all about making sure little Johnny looks like a polished penny so nobody has anything bad to say about how mom and dad send him to church in rags. And believe me, people DO talk about how other parents dress their children. Been there. Shamefully, I've even participated in such nonsense.
Wow. This is kind of a judgmental post, don't you think? I make my children brush their teeth till they sparkle, and fix their hair every morning--not just for their sake, but also so the entire family as a whole will look presentable to the general public. LOL!!!!!
Around here we can all hang out in our PJ's all day on Saturday if we want to, but if we go out of the house and go to the mall, everyone is going to have on presentable attire!!!! Including Dad and Mom!!! The whole family will look nice--not just the kids.
I'm not sure your post makes a lot of sense. Furthermore, my kids like to dress up. Especially my 6 year old son. He loves to wear a shirt and tie just like his Daddy does, and he fixes his own hair.
__________________
"God, send me anywhere, only go with me. Lay any burden on me, only sustain me. And sever any tie in my heart except the tie that binds my heart to Yours."
--David Livingstone
"To see no being, not God’s or any, but you also go thither,
To see no possession but you may possess it—enjoying all without labor or purchase—
abstracting the feast, yet not abstracting one particle of it;…."
--Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass, Song of the Open Road
To make the parents look good. It has nothing to do with the children, it's all about making sure little Johnny looks like a polished penny so nobody has anything bad to say about how mom and dad send him to church in rags. And believe me, people DO talk about how other parents dress their children. Been there. Shamefully, I've even participated in such nonsense.
Wow, so you assign motives to other people, because you did it? Good grief. Unless they told you personally how do you know why they dress their kids up?
__________________
If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
2 Chronicles 7:14 KJV
He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God? Micah 6:8 KJV
Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. 1 John 3:2 KJV
I don't know about it just being UPC...most parents dress their kids up as much the kids will tolerate--because it's cute!
Good point... this is NOT just a UPC or a OP thing. It's all over.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MissBrattified
Wow. This is kind of a judgmental post, don't you think? I make my children brush their teeth till they sparkle, and fix their hair every morning--not just for their sake, but also so the entire family as a whole will look presentable to the general public. LOL!!!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cindy
Wow, so you assign motives to other people, because you did it? Good grief. Unless they told you personally how do you know why they dress their kids up?
Points well taken!
Perhaps it was somewhat judgmental, and I'm sorry for any offense I may have caused, but we can only speak from our own experiences, right? I was part of a large (approx. 1000) UPCI church that was very much like this. It was a weekly thing to see whose kids could out-dress the other, and who would send their kids to Sunday School with high-water pants or dirty ruffle dresses. I didn't participate in it for long because the Lord convicted me of it. But it still goes on today.
My experience has been that, in general, once children get past infant stage and no longer want to be held, the boys usually don't appreciate being forced to wear fancy clothes that are uncomfortable. And really, as long as they are presentable (clean clothes that fit and look nice), why force the issue of the neck tie and little suit? Kids clothes are REALLY expensive for as long as they are able to wear them.
__________________
Instead of studying to make sure what we believe is supported by Scripture, we MUST study the Scripture to see what IT TEACHES... then BELIEVE THAT!
Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 2 Timothy 2.15 KJV
Perhaps it was somewhat judgmental, and I'm sorry for any offense I may have caused, but we can only speak from our own experiences, right? I was part of a large (approx. 1000) UPCI church that was very much like this. It was a weekly thing to see whose kids could out-dress the other, and who would send their kids to Sunday School with high-water pants or dirty ruffle dresses. I didn't participate in it for long because the Lord convicted me of it. But it still goes on today.
Was this your perception, or was it stated somehow that there was a dress competition? When my girls were little, they had some of the frilliest little dresses imaginable, mostly gifts from grandparents. I wasn't dressing them in those beautiful clothes to compete with other parents. They looked pretty, and I was trying to get use out of the clothes. Most of them they only wore once or twice.
I'm just wondering why you have the idea that the parents were deliberately trying to outdress other parents' kids. Do you know that for a fact, or did you just think it was that way? Or were a few people doing that, and you applied it to the whole group?
Quote:
My experience has been that, in general, once children get past infant stage and no longer want to be held, the boys usually don't appreciate being forced to wear fancy clothes that are uncomfortable. And really, as long as they are presentable (clean clothes that fit and look nice), why force the issue of the neck tie and little suit? Kids clothes are REALLY expensive for as long as they are able to wear them.
My son is 6, and he likes to dress up. He also likes to wear his jeans and heelies. Given the chance, he would wear his superman costume to church, because that's his favorite. LOL!!!! My job is to teach him what is appropriate, when and where, and let him have as much fun as possible in the process. Which is why he has his own little container of hair gel, and gets to style his hair however he likes for church, even if it ends up in a faux-hawk!
My middle daughter has ALWAYS liked to dress up--for everything, even playing outside. She had a tinkerbell dress with chiffon leaves for the skirt, and I did end up letting her wear it to church several times, simply because she wouldn't take it off, and I didn't pick that battle.
My oldest has never liked anything frilly. She shunned the color pink for years. She's FINALLY getting "girly" and trying to convince her Dad to let her buy heels, and I am personally breathing a sigh of relief.
Kids are all different. Some like to dress up, some don't. It doesn't really matter what any of our personal preferences are--the fact is, society has different rules for different occasions, and good parenting includes preparing your child to play by those rules. Or allowing your child to reap the consequences of burping loudly in a five star restaurant and wearing jeans to his first board meeting at his new job at the bank.
__________________
"God, send me anywhere, only go with me. Lay any burden on me, only sustain me. And sever any tie in my heart except the tie that binds my heart to Yours."
--David Livingstone
"To see no being, not God’s or any, but you also go thither,
To see no possession but you may possess it—enjoying all without labor or purchase—
abstracting the feast, yet not abstracting one particle of it;…."
--Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass, Song of the Open Road
To make the parents look good. It has nothing to do with the children, it's all about making sure little Johnny looks like a polished penny so nobody has anything bad to say about how mom and dad send him to church in rags. And believe me, people DO talk about how other parents dress their children. Been there. Shamefully, I've even participated in such nonsense.
Looks like somebody walked in the room with all their own personal baggage hung around their neck.
__________________ If I do something stupid blame the Lortab!
Why do some dress there kids in a suit and tie to go to church.. I have only noticed this in the upc church also. In my opinion kids grow to fast for suits I know I have 2 kids myself and always by the end of sunday school the tie is off and the shirt is untucked so why even bother dressing them up... TGIF everyone.
I don't know about it just being UPC...most parents dress their kids up as much the kids will tolerate--because it's cute!
Most couples who only bring their kids on Easter always have them in little suits and frilly dresses. I see a lot of kids in suits in PAW/Independent churches.
Lots of churches are taking the casual approach, and I think that's okay, but there's nothing wrong with dressing up--and teaching children to wear nice things when they go to worship. I can easily understand both sides of this coin.
__________________
"God, send me anywhere, only go with me. Lay any burden on me, only sustain me. And sever any tie in my heart except the tie that binds my heart to Yours."
--David Livingstone
"To see no being, not God’s or any, but you also go thither,
To see no possession but you may possess it—enjoying all without labor or purchase—
abstracting the feast, yet not abstracting one particle of it;…."
--Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass, Song of the Open Road
I see it in other churches as well, I think some bias is showing here. It's the parents choice how they dress their kids. Sunday mornings are usually kind of dressy to me.
__________________
If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
2 Chronicles 7:14 KJV
He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God? Micah 6:8 KJV
Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. 1 John 3:2 KJV
Kids dress in church
Hybrid Mode
