Is it not Biblical for men to wear earrings?
I don’t know much of fashion and if there is a hidden meaning for men wearing earrings, but here are some biblical guidelines about clothing. The Bible does not say much about earrings. There were pieces of jewelry worn on the ear lobe in Bible times (Gen 35:4). While these were generally worn only by Israelite women, the men among the ancient ISHMAELITES apparently wore earrings too (Judg 8:24-25). There is one incident where the Israelites (young men and women) brought their earrings to Aaron in order for him to make an idol out of it. It must have been an Egyptian custom for young men to wear earrings. However, no mention is made if this is right or wrong.
Ex 32:2-4
Aaron answered them, “Take off the gold earrings that your wives, your sons and your daughters are wearing, and bring them to me.” So all the people took off their earrings and brought them to Aaron. He took what they handed him and made it into an idol cast in the shape of a calf, fashioning it with a tool.
Now what kind of beauty does the Bible suggest worth having? Real beauty is inside a person and affects others positively.
Peter 3:3-4
“Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.”
Real beauty is not self-centered.
I Timothy 2:9-10
“I also want women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God.”
Real beauty is found in the Lord.
Psalms 90:17
“And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us…”
Wearing jewelry is no sin! Let no one criticize you for that! It is a question of choice.
Isn’t it comforting though for us to know that real beauty for us Christians is not in adornments, but in Jesus Christ who changes people from a vile sinner to a beautiful believer. What grace! What an encouragement! Have you experienced God’s transforming power in your life? It is still not too late. He will make a difference in your life!
Rob Chaffart
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In this part of the world earrings are commonly worn by females as part of their make-up when they dress. When it comes to a question of men having biblical support for them to wear or not to wear earrings, much is left to be desired. There is a quest. The Holy Spirit must surely handle the quest. He must provide an alternative that would glorify the Almighty God.
There was problem in the wilderness when Moses went to God collect to Torah that was to guide the Israelites. Aaron who was shepherding the Israelites allowed certain things that made God to be angry. Moses was also angry. His anger almost led to another serious problem for him.!
Ex. 32:1-10 “And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we know not what is become of him. And Aaron said unto them, Break off the golden earrings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughter, and bring them unto me. And all the people brake off the golden earrings, which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron. And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. And when Aaron saw, it, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, To morrow is a feast to the LORD.
And they rose up early on the morrow and offered burnt offerings and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink and rose up to play. And the Lord said unto Moses, Go, get thee down; for thy people which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves. They have turned aside quickly out of the way, which I command them: they have made them a molten calf, and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed thereunto, and said; which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
And the Lord said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and behold, it is a stiff-necked people: Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them and that I may consume them and I will make of thee a great nation. KJV
Both men and women were in the wilderness where the above story happened. The only available thing for them to use to replace god was the earring on them. Can you imagine that. This is ridiculously simple. They made other gods beside the Almighty with the use of earrings. Whatever you are doing that has replaced God in your life has become an idol. It may not even be earrings. If God frowns at earrings, let us be careful so that it would not become our God when men and women take to wearing it.
I Cor.6:12 “Everything is permissible for me” but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible for me” – but I will not be mastered by anything”. – KJV
Paul was exhorting the Corinthians Church to per peculiar in their way of behavior because the blood of Church has redeemed them. The same admonition is coming to us today to tailor the way of the world or the flesh. For mean to wear earrings may be permissible because of your setting. It may be permissible because of your culture. Nevertheless, we should not be mastered by anything because we are witnesses for Jesus.
I Cor. 10:23 “Everything is permissible” – but not everything is
beneficial. “Everything is constructive. Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others.- NIV
Earring for men is not constructive. It is seeking to promote worldliness and the bible warns us concerning the love for the world.
I John 2:15-17 “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world – the cravings of sinful man, the lust of the eyes, and the boasting of what he has and does – comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and it desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever” NIV
I am aware earring is part of our female’s dressing in some denominations. Some don’t even use it based on conviction. However, the question of whether it is lawful for women to wear it is not before us now. This is controversial. Since I am not answering questions that have to do with dressing, I will not dwell on that. However, for men to put on earrings, it abnormal, lustful desires of the eyes. Like I have said it may be acceptable in some customs and religions but certainly not in Christianity.
What then is the will of God?
Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 “Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including, every hidden thing, whether it is good of evil.- NIV
We must answer these questions that God will bring into judgment:
. Are you born again? John 3:3, 7
. Will what I am wearing including earrings bring others to Christ or drive them away?
. Will Jesus be glorified in my dressing including the putting on of earrings?
. Is it a good report for me as a Christian to wear earrings even as a man? – Philippians 4:8
If you want more to read on the implication of some of the imported ideas from customs, traditions and demons, please consult our internet and view past answers to past bible questions where I dealt with the topic “Are tattoos and piercing OK?”
Remain blessed, as you as make a decision to follow Him today and be like Him.
Rev Debo Adeyemo
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This is similar to a recent question concerning personal adornment. There are examples in the bible of men wearing earrings. Here are a few.
Exodus 32:2-AV And Aaron said unto them, Break off the golden earrings, which [are] in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring [them] unto me. Judges 8:24-AV And Gideon said unto them, I would desire a request of you, that ye would give me every man the earrings of his prey. (For they had golden earrings, because they [were] Ishmaelites.)
Ezekiel 16:12-AV And I put a jewel on thy forehead, and earrings in thine ears, and a beautiful crown upon thine head.
It was the practice to carry one’s gold on the body often as an earring. This served a double purpose in that it provided adornment as well as a fairly safe place to carry personal treasure.
There is no hard and fast rule in the bible concerning matters of personal adornment, however the general principle that applies to God’s people is that they should not so adorn themselves as to draw attention to themselves rather than to God.
Isaiah 3:16-AV Moreover the LORD saith, Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, and walk with stretched forth necks and wanton eyes, walking and mincing [as] they go, and making a tinkling with their feet:
Isaiah 3:18-AV In that day the Lord will take away the bravery of [their] tinkling ornaments [about their feet], and [their] cauls, and [their] round tires like the moon,
These verses give us an indication of ornaments being worn for self aggrandizement and in this case brought punishment on the people.
Christians should dress conservatively, having regard for the customs of the culture in which they live. The wearing of earrings by men is becoming popular these days but has not, I feel reached the stage of normalcy. In the days when I grew up only pansy cissy boys wore earrings and I still associate the practice with this kind of person. That may just be my cultural conditioning and times may be changing. It is a matter for self judgment. Have a look around in church and see how many men are wearing earrings and if half of them are, and you want to, go ahead. If none of them are, it might be prudent to not do it.
May the Lord bless the reader with understanding of this topic.
Lance Wearmouth
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I have read the Bible maybe 3 times, and that issue was not even brought up according to my recollection. Dave Schiefele
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We must keep in mind that our society runs on different basis than 2000 years ago. Custom traditions back in Jesus’ times were different than today. Even though most of the Bible is universal, we would not follow their all suggestions concerning how certain things should be dealt with.
Sin is man’s failure to express the attributes of Being–life, love, intelligence, wisdom, and the other God qualities. It is written in the Bible: “Be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Rom. 12:2).
Through the Christ Mind, our sins (wrong thinking) are forgiven or pardoned (erased from consciousness). When we have cast all sin (error thoughts) out of our mind, our body will be so pure that it cannot come under any supposed law of death or corruption.
Jesus also called a sin a bit differently than our current theology. If we read only Jesus’ words from Gospels — we can make it pretty sure that when Jesus was talking about sin, he meant qualities that stopped people from leading happy and fuller lives.
As we all know, Jesus came on the earth so that we could have a life, and have it more abundantly. Now, let me ask you something — is it wrong for female to make up? Is it wrong for female to wear ear rings? I think that God does not care whether man wears an ear ring or not… that really does not matter as long as the attitude is correct! It is just one way to look nicer! Is it a sin to wear a tie? Sure not.. everyone thinks that a tie adds to beautiful values. It is like a permitted thing. Is there really a difference between wearing a tie or an ear ring? Hopefully not.
If someone wears an ear ring — why can’t we accept it? After all, it is written: “Judge not so that you won’t be judged”.
Sami
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Exodus 32:2 And Aaron said unto them, Break off the golden earrings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them unto me.
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Your question of men wearing earrings. I have read many times in the word women did, but men, I personally don’t recall that. I personally think that is a side issue. Their salvation is what is important, and then the Holy Spirit has a chance to work in their life.
Rev. Shirly
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Wasn’t the mark of a slave to wear a ring in the nostril, & ear, or cuffs & leg irons… I believe a set free individual, may should take that into consideration.
Also the possibility, of contracting hepatitis “C” , is higher among those who receive piercings & tattoos.
Victoria
________________ We are living under grace, not the Law. Under the Law it was not acceptable for men to wear earrings. That was due to the Pagan religious customs which the Jews were to shun. As Jesus followers we are free from all such social customs. May the grace and love of Christ be yours,
Pastor John
________________ I would like to answer the Bible question on earrings, by saying that whether it’s a man or a woman, to wear earrings or any other jewellery, other than the wedding ring, we must have not our mind fully set upon Jesus! And I hope I will not be misunderstood. Although the Bible doesn’t say anything bad about it, yet we have a Scripture in Genesis 35:4, where before Jacob and his people returned to Bethel (place of worship), he asked everyone to take off all the golden rings and earrings and he hid them under a tree! I believe that it doesn’t take much to understand the reason why Jacob decided that they had to go to Bethel …”clean”. They went to Bethel, where the presence of God was, to worship Him and they wanted to go without any human artificial beautifying thing, other that their clothes. We are always in the presence of God, and for a born again Christian to run after the worldly things it’s not a sign of being …fully satisfied with Jesus! I believe that if a person has to wear any jewellery otherwise he or she doesn’t feel OK, that person has a spiritual problem! Unfortunately we have seen what is happening in our churches by following the worldly fashions! Little by little, instead of taking the church to the world we have taken the world into the church! So, the Bible doesn’t say anything bad about it, but the Bible doesn’t say many other things, like …smoking or playing cards or bingo! Does that make it right? Where is our spiritual understanding? God bless you.
In Christ, Your Missionaries Abel, Anna, Joy-Rachel and Joshua Aureli
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Hi. reading over the answers to the above question. I think its terrible for men to wear earrings, but in this day and time its hard to tell men from women. Women wears pants and shirts like men and bobs off their hair like a man and some men wearing long hair and earrings . The bible tells us to be holy and acceptable unto him. I don’t wear earrings, make up or any kind of jewellery except my watch and wedding ring. To me wearing make up is nice but too much will attract attention. I think the natural look is prettier. This a deep subject. Love
Jeane
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No, it isn’t. From what I know about the earrings when men would wear them it was a sign they didn’t believe in Jesus or wasn’t a Christian. If I am wrong I would love to have the answer and where I can read it in the Bible, verse and chapter. I read the King James.
God Bless,
Belle