"Likewise, the women, when they pray, should be dressed modestly and sensibly in respectable attire, not with elaborate hairstyles and gold jewelry, or pearls, or expensive clothes." -1 Timothy 2:9
What kind of modesty does this verse refer to?
The common understanding is that Paul meant women should cover their bodies. I'm not arguing that women shouldn't be appropriately dressed. But if that's his point why doesn't the verse go more like this:
"Women should dress modestly and sensibly in respectable clothes, not with low-cut tops, short skirts, or spandex outfits."
Paul's writing later in this chapter that many younger women are eschewing marriage (5:14) seems to verify that these women weren't necessarily dressing in "husband-catcher" outfits. The immodesty was not about revealing clothing, but about flaunting wealth and social status.
"Not with elaborate hairstyles and gold jewelry, or pearls, or expensive clothes."
What if Paul meant financial modesty?
Expensive means the clothes cost a lot of money. As do gold jewelry, and real pearls. An elaborate hairstyle implies you are wealthy enough to pay someone to do your hair--whether a hired stylist or a servant--or at least that you are wealthy enough to have plenty of free time to do it yourself. This is obvious in our world today, and it's also worth noting that according to Kelly Olson in her book Dress and the Roman Woman, apparel and hairstyle conveyed visually the rank of women - whether they were citizens, freeborns, or slaves - marital status, and sometimes even their moral standing or age.
By suggesting that women not take part in flaunting these signs, Paul promoted his belief in a world free of rank, and made for a faith community where slaves could be elders and so on. In the kingdom of heaven, no one is weighed down by their societal rank or looked down on because of their social cast. That's a lot easier to do when we aren't sending signals to each other about our wealth.
It's time that church communities dispense with showing off their wealth and social power. It is completely backwards to live a life professing Jesus while surrounding ourselves with the latest in fashion, technology, and vehicles. Fashion should not be a contest, and displaying conspicuous consumption should be frowned upon. Paul is instructing us not to dress in ways that display financial prosperity or social rank.
"But my clothes aren't expensive." You may have gotten great deals on your outfits, but do you need 35 of them? In a world of fast fashion that is dirt cheap, variety is the new expense. This is where dressing sensibly comes in. Is fast fashion and its offenses to rights of workers and the environment a sensible thing to be involved in? Some stores release new items every week with the intention of making you feel out of style and in need of a wardrobe update. Those who follow along and keep up with all the trends can inadvertently send this message to those that don't: You're out of style. You are not enough. You don't belong.What if Paul was trying to promote an environment that was free from this kind of distraction? I am all for looking nice. But what if when we prepare for congregation we choose to focus on our hearts being in the right place, rather than our hair? What if we work to empower women in our congregations and churches to worship YHWH free from those plaguing thoughts of comparison? If we spend less time promoting our lifestyle and focusing on making ourselves look good, we can make the kingdom of God a place where all people not only are welcome, but feel like they belong.
