In the case of Judaism and Christianity, it is absurd to try to demonstrate spirituality (god-likeness) through physical/material means. To do so is a clear indication of lack of understanding of what it really means to be created in God’s image. It is also contrary to God’s standards of faith.

While the Bible clearly says that we are created in God’s image (i.e. spirit), we cannot escape the fact that we also have material bodies and live in a material world. Exactly why God created a system with this tension is unclear. What is clear, however, is that Jesus is not of this world and that those who are truly spiritual should be only minimally in the world also.

Being human, Jesus was a part of the natural world. But, being a spiritual son of God, he was not part of the world of religion. These same conditions apply to people who claim to be Jesus’ followers. The problem is, however, that people are raised in both worlds and need to live in both worlds because religion is all around.

Religion is so pervasive that it is hard to avoid. While we are young it is impossible to avoid religion because our parents raise us to be religious. When we get older, however, we have a choice. Jesus was part of his religious community until he was thirty years old. And then, after he became a son of God, he broke with the religious establishment of his day. Then, instead of following Jewish religious laws, he became a lawbreaker with respect to those laws and obedient to God’s spiritual laws. This is the same process that all of Jesus’ followers must go through: They are raised religious but then break from religion when they get older.

In pursuit of the goal of calling his prople out of religion (i.e. Egypt), God is constantly trying to wean his people from their affections for the  world of religion and redirect them toward the truth of their spiritual reality. Jesus confirmed this direction in his statement about worshiping in spirit and truth to the Samaritan woman. To affirm that direction and discourage his people from investing too heavily in worldly things, God has given ample warning about the future of religion.

With these spiritual basics in mind, it is obvious that people who try to represent spirituality through anything worldly (i.e. physical or material) do not know that God has spoken specifically against representing holiness through clothing. Therefore, any person who attempts to outwardly represent a spiritual nature with material objects or behaviors provides clear evidence that the worldly (i.e. material) nature is still the predominant nature in that person’s life. And, contrary to their intent, such efforts make more of a statement about their worldly (i.e. fleshly/natural) nature than their spiritual nature.

That being the case, what do we make of people who wear certain types of clothing or jewelry, and/or who engage in certain types of physical behaviors (words, postures, motions, etc.) to represent their spirituality? The first thing we know is that they do not know their Bible very well. The second thing we know is that they are still very much a part of the world of religion.

Moreover, we see clearly that people who put their religion on display have a limited understanding of what it means to be spiritual. If the people who wear clothing or adornments that are commonly associated with religion were really spiritual they would understand that it is impossible to capture, contain or represent the Spirit of God by their own efforts or with anything material. They would also know that God is not fooled or influenced in a positive way by such adornments. If they understood these truths, they would also understand that efforts to represent spirituality with physical adornments of any kind are vain endeavors — at least as far as God is concerned. And yet, it is common among all religions, including Judaism and Christianity, to represent spirituality with clothing and behaviors that have cultural associations.

Taking a not-too-close look at the Bible we can see that Jews and Christians have no good excuse for their ignorance on this issue. For example, the Bible says clearly that we are made in God’s image. And yet people continue to try to embellish God’s glory in themselves with various kinds of physical adornments.