of us will consider the dress above as old fashion, out of style and basically country or old people's clothing.  Why?  Because we have evolved.  We have gotten sophisticated.  We are living in the 21st century, so we are wearing the 21st century style of dress.  Every year we change our style of dress as this corrupt degenerate society changes.  Consider this question dear reader, "Does the Lord change?"  Actually, let Him answer that question.  Malachi 3:6 says, "For I am the LORD, I change not."  His dress code did not change.  We are the ones that are changing.  And we seem to have a "God will understand" attitude, or we will say that God will not keep us out of heaven because of what we wear.  That statement is  incorrect.  Yes He will, because of disobedience.

Consider this scripture:
Jeremiah 6:16-19
16 Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein.
17 Also I set watchmen over you, saying, Hearken to the sound of the trumpet. But they said, We will not hearken.
18 Therefore hear, ye nations, and know, O congregation, what is among them.
19 Hear, O earth: behold, I will bring evil upon this people, even the fruit of their thoughts, because they have not hearkened unto my words, nor to my law, but rejected it.

The objective of this article is to remind or present the old path so that we can walk in them and live.

The Reform Dress
"We recommend to our sisters a reform dress that is in accordance with the laws of health, and which is becoming. This dress is from nine to ten inches from the floor, and when neatly and properly fitted is modest and becoming. We inquire, Why should not women clothe their limbs as thoroughly as men do theirs? Health and comfort are objects of sufficient importance to make a trial to gain. Artificial decorations can never take the place of the natural beauty health imparts. " {HR, May 1, 1872 par. 11}

What is the reason for this reform dress?
"We object to the popular style of woman's dress because it is neither healthful nor convenient. The skirts generally rest upon the hips, which were not designed to sustain weights. Every article of clothing should be suspended from the shoulders. The habit of fastening the skirts about the body with bands, allowing the weight to rest upon the hips to keep them from slipping off is decidedly injurious to health. For exactly where these bands girt are nerves, and large blood-vessels, which carry the blood into the limbs. These veins and nerves should not be pressed, but allowed the most perfect freedom to fulfill the purpose for which nature designed them.  The clothing should be worn so loose as to give the most perfect freedom of circulation, respiration, and the exercise of every portion of the body.  

In order to enjoy a good state of health, there must be a proper circulation of the blood. And to secure a good circulation of the current of human life, all parts of the body must be suitably clad. The heart labors to throw the blood to the extremities, but it is chilled back from them in consequence of their being exposed to cold, for want of being suitably clothed. And the abundance of clothing about the chest, where is the great wheel of life, induces the blood to the lungs and brain, and produces congestion.  The limbs and feet have large arteries, to receive a large amount of blood, that warmth, nutrition, elasticity, and strength may be imparted to them. But when the blood is chilled from these extremities, their blood-vessels contract, which makes the circulation of the necessary amount of blood in them still more difficult.  Good circulation preserves the blood pure, and secures health.  Bad circulation leaves the blood to become impure, and induces congestion of the brain and lungs, and causes diseases of the head, the heart, the liver, and the lungs. The fashionable style of woman's dress is one of the greatest causes of all these terrible diseases."  {HR, April 1, 1872 par. 1, 2, 10 & 11}

The Devil has employed new methods of destroying man.  The heinous crimes such as killing the Christians in the coliseums or trying to get Christian to drink alcohol does not work anymore.  He is using a more savvy approach.  He is operating under stealth mode,  undetected by those who lack spiritual eyesight.  So he employs fashion and by appealing to our vain, carnal side He is able to accomplish the same end of destroying man.  Consider the following statement:

"The suffering caused among women by unhealthful dress cannot be estimated. Many have become life-long invalids through their compliance with the demands of fashion. Health and life have been sacrificed to the insatiable goddess. Many seem to think that they have a right to treat their bodies as they please; but they forget that their bodies are not their own. It is Satan's design so to pervert every function of our being that life may be made miserable, and God may be dishonored in the creatures he has made. If women make the customs of the world their criterion, they will become unfitted, both physically and mentally, for the duties of life. Many have done themselves untold injury by compressing the waist. Their power to do good in the family and in society is greatly lessened; and if they are mothers, their children are robbed of vitality. When the waist is compressed, the circulation of the blood is impeded, and the internal organs, cramped and crowded out of place, cannot perform their work properly. It is impossible, under such circumstances, to take a full inspiration. Thus the pernicious habit of breathing only with the upper part of the lungs is formed, and feebleness and disease are often the result."  {CTBH 88.1}

Why do Christians dress different from the world?
"We do not adopt this style of dress to be odd, that we may attract notice.  We believe it wrong to differ from others, unless it be necessary to differ in order to be right.  In bearing the cross of adopting the reform dress, we are led by a sense of duty. And although it may appear objectionable to those who are governed by fashion, we claim that it is the most convenient, the most truly modest, and the most healthful style of dress worn by woman." {HR, May 1, 1872 par. 14}

Turning the world upside down:
Acts 17:5-7
5 But the Jews which believed not, moved with envy, took unto them certain lewd fellows of the baser sort, and gathered a company, and set all the city on an uproar, and assaulted the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people.
6 And when they found them not, they drew Jason and certain brethren unto the rulers of the city, crying, These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also;
7 Whom Jason hath received: and these all do contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, one Jesus.

Some will receive this article as truth and others will get sore upset.  Godly principles always turn the world upside down.  Why?  Well, we are so steeped in error, we are so condition to error and the corrupt ways of this world, accepting them as a normal way of life, that when anything of virtue is presented it seems ludicrous.  Wearing long sleeve dresses is not considered a fashion statement to many.  Ankle length dresses takes away appeal for some, and to wear that at all times is just not something that they will promise to do.  Yet God expects nothing less of those who bear the name, Christians.

Braid and Cosmetics
"We cannot afford to live fashionably, for in doing thus, we sacrifice the natural to the artificial. Our artificial habits deprive us of many privileges and much enjoyment, and unfit us for useful life.  Fashion loads the heads of women with artificial braids and pads, which do not add to their beauty, but give an unnatural shape to the head. The hair is strained and forced into unnatural positions, and it is not possible for the heads of these fashionable ladies to be comfortable. The artificial hair and pads covering the base of the brain, heat and excite the spinal nerves centering in the brain. The head should ever be kept cool. The heat caused by these artificials induces the blood to the brain. The action of the blood upon the lower or animal organs of the brain, causes unnatural activity, tends to recklessness in morals, and the mind and heart is in danger of being corrupted.

In consequence of the brain being congested its nerves lose their healthy action, and take on morbid conditions, making it almost impossible to arouse the moral sensibilities. Such lose their power to discern sacred things. The unnatural heat caused by these artificial deformities about the head, induces the blood to the brain, producing congestion, and causing the natural hair to fall off, producing baldness. Thus the natural is sacrificed to the artificial.  Many have lost their reason, and become hopelessly insane, by following this deforming fashion. Yet the slaves to fashion will continue to thus dress their heads, and suffer horrible disease and premature death, rather than be out of fashion.  Many have lost their reason, and become hopelessly insane, by following this deforming fashion. Yet the slaves to fashion will continue to thus dress their heads, and suffer horrible disease and premature death, rather than be out of fashion.

Many are ignorantly injuring their health and endangering their life by using cosmetics. They are robbing the cheeks of the glow of health, and then to supply the deficiency use cosmetics. When they become heated in the dance the poison is absorbed by the pores of the skin, and is thrown into the blood. Many lives have been sacrificed by this means alone. " {HR, October 1, 1871 par. 9, 11 & 15}

"They were irritations of the skin, caused by the use of cosmetics. The entire skin of the face had lost its healthy, velvety smoothness, and showed an unnatural, disagreeable roughness. In the appearance of her face, thus marred by poisonous substances, and in the bright glow upon either cheek, giving such an unnatural appearance, we could trace causes for her ill health. Here was one of fashion's slaves who had sacrificed health and natural beauty in using poisonous preparations which had been taken up by the pores of the skin and diffused through the system."  {HR, January 1, 1874 par. 2}

High Heels
In essence, high heels disrupt gait and posture for the entire body. In a study of varying heel heights, it was found that knee, hip and back problems may in part be related to a restriction of the joints.  Recent research from the University of Hong Kong suggests that the medium and long term effects of high heels may be more far reaching than anyone has suspected so far, and is very likely to contribute to common musculo-skeletal problems.  A team of researchers repeated a set of images for a young woman who had started wearing high heels for the first time in her life: in just two weeks of daily wearing of the new shoes the cancellous structures had altered in line with the changed forces on the hip!  They  were amazed at how quickly the second-hardest substance of the body can change (the enamel of the teeth is the hardest).  The really high shoes force you to virtually walk on tip-toes, putting a great deal of force through the joints of the toes in positions for which they are not ideally suited.

How high is a 'high' heel? This depends on the person and the length and shape of their feet, but these effects have been noticed in some people with heel heights of two inches(5 centimetres) or less.

What about the practice of shaving?
"The Creator knew how to form the human body. He did not need to consult the mantua-makers in regard to their ideas of beauty. God, who created everything that is lovely and glorious in nature, understood how to make the human form beautiful and healthy. The modern improvements upon his plan are insulting to the Creator. They deform that which he made perfect."  {CTBH 87.2} pg. 88

Leviticus 19:27 says, "Ye shall not round the corners of your heads, neither shalt thou mar the corners of thy beard."  Men were not permitted to shave their beards for it was a symbol of strength and manhood.  It was one of the main feature that distinguished the sexes then.  The devil knowing this is trying to remove all lines of demarcation.  He wants to eliminate all differences between the sexes.  Especially in this generation where men and women sport long hair, it becomes extremely difficult, more so from a distance, to tell between the sexes.  The men of old time all wore a beard.  The Israelites had beards.  It was a shame, something abominable to be seen without a beard.  Consider this story from the Bible.    

2 Samuel 10:4,5
4 Wherefore Hanun took David's servants, and shaved off the one half of their beards, and cut off their garments in the middle, even to their buttocks, and sent them away.
5 When they told it unto David, he sent to meet them, because the men were greatly ashamed: and the king said, Tarry at Jericho until your beards be grown, and then return.

From reading the above scripture, we can see that preserving ones beard was not a simple thing.  The servants of David did not enter the city until their beards grew back.  Many  take this issue lightly, but every issue carries the same weight.  The instructions of God are not idle jesters.  They were not written just to fill the pages.  Every command, every instruction, every invitation were penned to protect and benefit man.  Only a heart sanctified to self would disregard the principles of God.  Thus resulting in disobedience and rebellion.

Our God is a loving and understanding God.  If you are unable to grow hair (on head or beard) because of a medical condition or an accident, then I believe that the Lord understands.  If someone is burned badly, then it will be impossible for that individual to grow hair in that burned area in most causes.  However, whatever is in our control to obey, we should obey.

Beard shaving and carvings started in the 14th century by the Romans and it seemed to just spread like wild fire throughout the entire world.  However, God has a voice on that issue, and He has spoken.  We should never shave our eye brows, leg, hand, beard and head.  The sisters in church, young and old, who are suppose to set an example for the world are adopting its vain practices.  Christians should never shave their eyebrows.  The Egyptians started that practice.  The question is, are we Egyptians or Christians?  Why did they do it? Self image!  Currently, many are saying, "It is my style."  Christ endorses one style, and that is the natural style.  Friends, allow Christ to be seen.

1 Peter 3:3-5
3 Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel;
4 But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.
5 For after this manner in the old time the holy women also, who trusted in God, adorned themselves, being in subjection unto their own husbands:

For after this matter, in the old time, the holy women adorned themselves.  Friends, the Lord expects nothing less from us today.  

The Lords has spoken.  Choose today, dear friends, to whom are you going to be obedient.  The prince of this world, the devil, or a loving Savior, God the Father?

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