What not to wear...

Photo by Seth Doyle on Unsplash

I will admit it. I would gladly go on national tv and be humiliated about my bad clothing choices in order to get rid of my old stuff and be shown what to wear...and given the money to buy it!

I used to love the show "What Not to Wear." I didn't always watch the entire program, but I did like to tune in to at least see the "tips" and the final transformation. I was amazed at the difference you could see in the people by the end of every program - a difference that seems to be not only in their appearance but in their whole being. Can what you wear really make that much difference?

Honestly, I know clothes make a difference. Once, many years ago, I prayed about why it seemed that people did not take me seriously and felt that nudge in my heart to look at how I was dressed. At the time I had on old jeans and a sweatshirt. I remember praying, "but God, the Bible says man looks on the outward appearance but YOU look on the heart!" Then I 'heard' the reply - "What is the first part of that verse?"

Well, man looks on the outward appearance....

"I see your heart but as long as you are on this earth, you will deal with 'man'. How you carry yourself makes a difference."

After that conversation with God, I did change the way I dressed and I did see a difference in the ways others reacted to me; but I'm not sure if it was because I dressed differently or because when I dressed differently, I acted differently as well! Sort of like what you see on that program. I carried myself differently, I walked in more confidence and assurance and people reacted to that difference.

Knowing that people (including me) react to others according to outward appearance, shouldn't it then be very important what we wear? Now, I am NOT the person to give fashion advice, but perhaps I can find a guideline that even I can use on a regular basis on what TO wear. The Bible has some really good advice in that area. "Clothe yourself in righteousness", and "Put on the whole armor of God" are good places to start. Then today I stumbled across this verse: 

Colossians 3:12-14

The Message (MSG)

 12-14So, chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It's your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it.

Finally - fashion tips that even I can understand. 

You know, one of the biggest things I noticed about that show is that they didn't really focus on what NOT to wear...oh they showed the contestants how bad their choices had been up to this point, but the rest of the show was spent showing the people what TO wear. As a Christian, that's how I want to spend my life - not spending all my time shining a light on what others do WRONG, but shining a light on how good things can be.

You know, one of the biggest words used by people at the beginning of that show is "but it'scomfortable" or "that won't be comfortable"...focusing only on physical comfort. By the end, they find something they desire far more than that physical comfort - they find something within that is willing to leave their comfort zone and move into a new comfort - comfort with who they were meant to be. They also usually discover that the new way of dressing isn't really uncomfortable at all!

Don't know about you, but I think I'll have some new things to think about this morning as I get "dressed" to face the day. I have been given a new "wardrobe" and the best part of it all - the price has already been paid. 

Oh, and on a side note, I often tell my daughter, "You are a precious jewel, a gift from God. Don't dress in such a way that it looks like that jewel is displayed on the reduced for quick-sale rack."  You get my point.

Have we bought the lie???

This was written quite a few years ago, but I vividly remember the encounter with this woman. I think it was the first time I really stood up for what I believed in such a vocal way. 

Tomorrow is the 4th of July...a time of celebration! There will be hotdogs, apple pie, and probably a few impromptu baseball games. Water slides, watermelon, and water....okay, I don't have another water word. There will be laughter, honoring of veterans, and hopefully, prayer for our nation, because no matter who you ask, you'll probably hear that despite our celebrating, our nation is in trouble.

Some will say the problem arises from recent court developments. Some will say the problem arises from our lack of reverence for human life. Many will point at the prevalence of government in our lives. Some will say it's the liberals. Some will say it's the conservatives. I'm thinking it may be something different. I'm thinking it goes all the way back to Genesis and a tiny little lie. A question actually.

Recently I had a conversation with someone who is MUCH more educated than me. She is, no doubt, a wonderful person. Very intellectual and has a heart to help others. I will not say a bad thing about her...but we definitely did not agree. To be honest, I'm not even sure how our conversation took the turn that it did, but within moments it became evident that she believed in evolution as opposed to creation. Her arguments were that while God created, He used evolution to do it. (I've heard this argument before.) She also believed much of the Bible to be metaphorical in nature. Needless to say, we disagreed.

Since that conversation, I seem to see articles on creation everywhere I turn! You see, I believe that TRUE science points TO creation...and while I am not a scientist, there are many scientist who agree with that point of view. If one buys into the idea of evolution for creation, there are a number of issues you must then wrestle with. For one, how then did sin enter in through one man? How did Jesus come as the second Adam and die as a sacrifice for that sin? (We disagreed on this as well, by the way.) How can you deal with Jesus speaking of Old Testament writings as fact? Either He was ignorant or a liar...neither of which I can agree with. But all these arguments are really not the purpose of today's random thoughts. It's identifying the root of our problems....

Is it possible that we bought the lie? You know, in the garden that's what started the ball rolling. In Genesis 3:1, "Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” Did you get that? It started with questioning what God said. The enemy craftily inserted doubt into the legitimacy of God's Word. It was the meshing of an idea that was NOT of God with something that IS of God. Verses 4 & 5: "⁴ “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman.⁵ “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Seems he forgot to include the part about the knowledge of good and evil being because they would experience separation from God's presence and the beauty of the life they knew.

Is it possible that the "problems" our nation, even our world...and yes, we ourselves face are due to buying the lie that has woven itself into our books, our tv shows, and our minds. It's a subtle one...just a little bitty question. Did God really say? Or, the idea that God's Word is a collection of metaphors, not to be taken literally? Yes, I realize there are some pretty hard parts of the Bible. I'm thankful that God does not require me to gouge out my eye...it does not sin so getting rid of it really wouldn't fix the problem. Plus, and far more importantly, Jesus died for my sin. Yes, that literally happened. It's not a metaphor or just some feel good story. Nothing I can do would "fix" the problem anyway.

I'm sure there's more to all of this than my puny little mind can embrace, but this is really just a collection of MY random thoughts. Maybe we allowed the "lie" to weave its way into our lives and before we knew it, it was like the ferns that looked so lovely in my yard until they took root everywhere and started to choke out my rose. I really didn't think it was any big deal to begin with. It was so tiny and looked entirely harmless. Yeah....tell that to my rose that it killed. (Check out my previous blog, "The Pruning Process...")

I don't want to buy the lie. I believe God's Word is true...and I want it to shape everything I do. I know I have a long way to go...but recognizing that truth is truth is the first step. Maybe then, we can truly ask for God to bless America.