Brad's Twitter
RSS FeedPhysical appearance: how important is it?
Apr 12
Haven’t posted for a few weeks because I wanted to let this one sit for a while before I posted it. Thought it might be something people have strong opinions about and didn’t want to rush into controversy. Anyway, hope you find it helpful and/or comment-worthy!
Our discussion this morning centered on a question posed to me last week: if a person is distractingly unattractive, should they be allowed to serve up front on the worship team? This question is not about how a person dresses or grooms themselves. Those things can be fixed and controlled, and can even be good indicators of a person’s character. This question is about things a person can’t control: physical traits. If a person is overweight due to a thyroid problem or they have some sort of malformation or perhaps are even in a wheelchair, yet have the character, heart, and talent required to serve, should they be excluded from serving up front because they may be a distraction?
I see the issue from both points of view. My role as a worship leader is to make it easy to worship Christ, to eliminate distractions through culturally relevant, excellent, and tasteful presentations of Scripture and songs. I want people to be able to engage with God together with no hindrances. This also means considering visual elements of our worship, including the people who serve. So there is a legitimate concern that a person’s physical appearance can be a distraction. But when a talented, godly individual desires to serve on the team, must I deny them that opportunity because, from my perspective, they have some sort of physical characteristic that may distract the worshipers?
The answer is yes when it comes to things legitimately within that person’s control, e.g. the way they dress and groom themselves and perhaps (and I mean PERHAPS) even a weight issue. This can and should be the case even with a person’s expressiveness or lack thereof. If any of these controllable issues potentially distract people’s attention from Christ, I need to address them.
However, what do we say to the folks who haven’t chosen to look the way they look? Are they to be disqualified because they fall short of a cultural, and perhaps anti-biblical, standard? How may this standard be anti-biblical? Here are two possible ways:
1 Sam 16:7
But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
2 Cor 5:12
We are not again commending ourselves to you but are giving you an occasion to be proud of us, so that you will have an answer for those who take pride in appearance and not in heart.
Think of the issue this way. Have you ever seen someone on stage in a worship service who was attractive? Perhaps they were very good-looking and nicely dressed (not immodest) and had a beautiful voice and you had more than just the passing thought, “Wow, they’re all that.” It is not that you’re lusting for this person, but you are certainly not focusing on Christ. Is this not a distraction too? But surely the worship leader is not going to put this person off the team because of that. For him to do that would be catering to the immaturity of the individuals who are distracted. The responsibility falls to you to get over the distraction, discipline your mind, and focus on Christ.
In the same way, I can’t bring myself (at least from my spiritual side) to put a person’s God-given ability, character, and desire on the shelf because of someone else’s immaturity and adherence to a sinful worldview.
Wow, but what about the weaker brother and not causing him to stumble? Umm, that’s a great question and we’ll save that for a later post.
Loading...
Recent Comments