Representation
"It's so nice to see someone wearing a suit when travelling. You hardly ever see it nowadays."
I was standing (in line) for the rear lavatory of Air Canada flight# 873. We were halfway through the eight hour flight, and the flight attendants were back at their station, right beside where I was standing, and one of the stewardesses had spoken to me.
I acknowledged the compliment. (In a partly gracious, partly clumsy manner.)
But she pursued: "Are you going to some special occasion?"
I smiled. "Actually, I'm just returning from a business trip - nothing very special, but I make a point of dressing professionally when I fly - particularly if for a business trip."
She looked at me steadily. (And I mentally noted that I was glad it was this older, motherly woman, and not the young and rather glamorous blonde who was serving the other aisle, who was giving me this much attention. :P)
Finally: "Well, that's quite remarkable! It's extremely rare to meet people who dress decently, or consider public travelling worth doing so, anyway. It's much appreciated, and it always seems to greatly improve the quality of the atmosphere."
She passed on to serve some passengers, and I didn't really have a further comment on my tongue, but I kept thinking.
Well, why do I wear a suit when I fly? Or on any other occasion for that matter?
I told her I usually do, but why do I do so? I don't wear a suit every day, or every week for that matter, but different activities call for different attire - what's so special about flying?
Well, there is a rather lame practical reason for it: If I'm taking a suit with me, it's easier to wear it than to pack it and have to work the wrinkles out later - but really, that's not the real reason.
It isn't really a matter of conviction, nor is it a matter of preference, but it is in truth, a matter of principle.
Why a dress code?
You see, a person's attire speaks a good deal about their character. Modesty and decency, are of course the basic elements of Christian apparel, but further to that there is one fundamental to what dictates any dress code: Representation.
Air Canada has a dress code for their employees. Not only for their flight crew, but for any airline employee who may be flying on their flights. My mother's father worked for the airline, and so did her sister, and airline employees receive a number of free passes every year for their own travelling. However, the airline imposes a dress code for such passengers - included people who may have been given passes as gifts.
We had a copy of that dress code about ten years ago - and I'd love to have it now, just for documentation. Unfortunately it has been lost, and I haven't been able to locate another.
The reason is simple: Firstly, that employees represent the airline when on duty, and secondly, are required to contribute to an improved flight quality when off duty.
But I don't represent Air Canada, and Air Canada doesn't impose a dress code on me. Nor does my business. But every person on earth is a representative of someone.
And obviously, most people care only to represent themselves.
That's not my position, and that's not the position of any Christian. We're not here to present or represent ourselves. Indeed, Paul calls us, 'ambassadors for Christ'.
And indeed, as a Christian, as a representative of Christ, my dress code cannot be inferior to that of an off-duty Air Canada employee.
So that's why I wear a suit when I fly.
Labels: dress code, representation
