This may have been three or four weeks ago, but I could not help but notice that everyone going to church was wearing really, really posh clothes. I never go to church, except on special occasions (read: under emotional blackmail), but this really surprised me.
Now beware. In Slovakia, people constantly moan about not having money, because the wages are low, rents are high and everything is expensive (that’s what they say). Now, the story doesn’t take place in the richest part of the country, but not the poorest either.
But what do I see? People come into the church dressed in new suits, upmarket trench coats and dresses cut according to the latest fashion. Even a two and half-year-old wears a suit. I suppose for the men and women, you can actually explain their expensive outfits by saying that they need to have them for work and social life. But a baby? The ONLY possible way to explain it is by imagining that the baby attended a wedding not so long ago.
So, maybe it’s not all pretence, but why dress to church like you’re going to the Viennese Opernball? I understand that when someone goes to the house of God, the person should come in a respectful state, but this just seems like keeping up with the Joneses. And that should be unacceptable in the House of God. Especially if that house stands in a town where old buildings fall apart faster than Michael Jackson’s face.
Perhaps the inhabitants of the town should sell these expensive pieces of couture and set up a fund to save their historic heritage. In either way, church is not a catwalk. You go there to pray and reflect, not to show off.
C U L8er
Peter
Posted by petersmisek 