We humans were created without clothes. This is easy to see by the fact that we have to put our wardrobe on and off. She doesn’t grow at us like a coat. How did we humans come to clothes and why did we put them on in the first place?
What do we humans use our clothes for?
In Northern Europe, few people come up with the idea of giving up textiles altogether. This idea can only be found at reasonably warm temperatures. A main reason to put something on is the protection against temperatures too cool. In warmer regions of the world, one might rather think whether you could do without clothes altogether. Some cultures, for example in the tropics, therefore, have minimal clothing developed.
Sun protection, on the other hand, is again an important incentive to cover itself, especially in the very hot countries. The skin cancer rate here is significantly reduced by appropriate clothing.
So is practical reason our main drive to dress?
When I remind me of my motivation from the past and observe what I see in other people, we humans give more or less attention to temperature and weather conditions when choosing clothes. But what determines clothing choice much more lies within us. When we get dressed , the effect on other people usually determines very strongly what we choose and buy. We want to give a certain picture and be perceived in a certain way by other people.
This goes so far that in winter we dress in a way that makes us freeze or expose us to the sun in the summer in an unhealthy way. Main thing: we’re dressed fashionably.
How we dress ultimately depends significantly on the effect we want to achieve in other people. The following effects are often desirable in our society:
- Serious
- Sexy
- Modern
- Cool
- Creating distance
- Open to anything
- prosperous
- High social status
- well-groomed
- offhand
What is clothing supposed to achieve according to God’s will?
After the fall of Christ by Adam and Eve, we humans made dresses for each other for the first time because we felt shame because of our nudity.
And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.
I want to write about elsewhere why, with sin, shame on nudity developed. In any case, the selfmade clothes had been not good enough to be accepted by God. It didn’t cover the nudity. So he took it into his own hands to make us human the first proper clothes.
Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.
So the reason for us humans to make our first clothes was our shame at the nudity.
The reason of God to make clothes on us humans was to cover or hide our nudity.
So when we dress today, it’s good to keep reminding us of this original cause of clothing. It’s not about our standing in front of other people, it’s about concealing our nudity. And our standard is not good enough , just as Adam and Eve’s selfmade clothes have not been enough. God’s standard should be our goal. My conscience should be shaped and calibrated by His standard.
The Lord Jesus distinguished himself by the fact that He did only the will of the Heavenly Father:
I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.
We are allowed to follow Him in it.