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Disguises can work well.

Dolly Parton once lost a Dolly Parton Look Alike contest to a drag queen. Charlie Chaplin failed to even place at a Charlie Chaplin impersonator contest. Hugh Jackman dressed as his character Wolverine at Comic Con. He was only noticed by two people, and one even told him he was too tall.

Robert Downey, Jr. placed second in a Tony Stark look-alike contest. Christopher Reeve used to go to a restaurant in costume when filming Superman. When he went in the Superman costume he was mobbed by people all the time. When he went in the Clark Kent costume no one realized he was Christopher Reeve.

On and on we could go with example after example to show how disguises work. Disguises can throw off folks fairly easily. Sadly, folks who are broken inside, hurting, struggling and just trying to make it attend worship services each week dressed fancy and nice. The disguise can throw folks off.

Have you ever noticed that for a long period of time folks dressed fancy to go to worship services? There are even churches who keep extra jackets and ties available in case you had to get in front of people so that everyone would be dressed up.

It seems some places and people are more concerned with the outer dress than the inner person. As long as you look good on the outside then the inside must be OK too.

Disguises can throw off folks fairly easily.

Did you know it wasn’t until the late 1800s that it was actually a thing to get dressed fancy to go to church services?

In 1843, Horace Bushnell, an influential minister in Connecticut, published an essay entitled “Taste and Fashion” in which he argued that sophistication and refinement were integral attributes of God that mature Christians should naturally emulate. Ministers in the mid to late 1800s pushed dressing fancier in order to attract business people to bring in more money to the church families. And it worked. Thus began the idea that you have to dress fancy for church services.

In 1 Samuel 16:7 we read, “Do not look on his appearance…For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” (You may also wish to check out 1 Timothy 2:9; James 2:1-9; 1 Peter 3:3-4; Romans 14:1-10)

God isn’t concerned with your disguise. He is concerned with your heart. Disguises may throw off folks, but The Lord knows your heart. Don’t worry about your clothes. Clothes don’t get you into heaven.

Your heart is all that matters.