Board index ‹ Specific Bible verses, texts, and passages ‹ 1 Timothy

[gmw803]

I have no idea how to read 1 Timothy 2:8-10.

8 I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling; 9 likewise also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire, 10 but with what is proper for women who profess godliness—with good works.

This seems to be talking about church attendance as suggested in 2:8, though it could be much broader. We seem to be met with two countering cultures: the Sunday best crowd, who might dress with modesty, but church is when they braid their hair, and get our the gold, the pearls, the costly attire. And the dress-down crowd that wears clothes that are less appropriate than their pajamas. Remarkably, the two crowds have learned to intermingle.

I think we can all agree that visitors deserve a pass on this one.

Shall I really teach that the Bible speaks against wearing a pearl necklace to church?

[jimwalton]

The "likewise" ("also") at the beginning of verse 9 is such an important little word. Whatever else we might say, Paul's instruction to women in v. 9 would appear to be the same as that to men in v. 8. While that's not obvious from the content, it's obvious from the "also."

Now we have to discern the point of likeness. The context in the chapter is instructions regarding worship, particularly prayer (1-7, 8), but are 9-10 about prayer or something else? It would seem that the "also" may be taken either to suggest Paul wants women to pray in the same manner as men. It's also possible that as men are in worship without causing disruptions (anger; disputing), so also women are not to cause any kind of distraction/disruption. Obviously, the point is that all attention be on God (8, 10).

There is much debate about this text, as you can tell.

It doesn't seem reasonable to me (my opinion) that what the women wear has any bearing on prayer. My take on the passage is that the focus of women was on their appearance rather than on the Lord, and possibly the men were distracted by the women's appearance also. (Not that they were dressing sexily, but just looking so very fine that the men were not focused on God.) This is not to say it's wrong to dress up for church (although the Amish, Mennonites, and Quakers would strongly disagree with me). To me, the problem is not in the pearls, but in the diversion. The men in verse 8 were not to act in any way that caused people to think of anything but the Lord. So also (in my opinion), the women in v. 9 were not to act in any way that caused people to think of anything but the Lord. I guess braided hair in their culture was an issue of distraction; it isn't in ours, so it's not a problem, unless a woman comes in with hair so fancy people can't take their eyes off it. That to me is the point: If you're bringing that much attention to yourself, you are sidetracking our purpose for gathering.

Does this mean men should wear suits and ties to church, or are t-shirts OK? Either is fine, but don't dress to bring attention to yourself. Is the Bible saying women can't wear pearls to worship service? Of course not, unless you're wearing it to bring attention to yourself. It's always the point: focus on God, focus on God, focus on God.

Their culture was not like ours. We have a large middle class, where there are a lot of people who aren’t rich, but aren’t poor either. In those days, there was no middle class. There were the ultra-rich, the working class, and the poor. Most people were poor. Sort of like some countries today, like Haiti or Mexico, Dominican Republic and such. Most people are poor. They didn’t have gold. In this verse, the only people with gold and pearls and expensive clothes are the ultra-rich who are showing off. We shouldn’t wear things that are just an expression of our wealth and pride.

Instead of showing off with how much money you have, or what expensive things you can afford, what you should be displaying is what a good and kind person you are. You should be “wearing” good deeds: helping other people, being a servant, have a godly heart. What you should be thinking about and concerned about is what’s in your heart, not what’s on your back or hanging from your ears. Be a special person because you have a good attitude, not because you have a diamond necklace.