“Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.” (Colossians 3:12.) We have God-given, Holy Spirit activated clothing. It’s heavenly clothing – let’s choose to put it on! Our outer garments are not a reflection of our inner selves, our actions are.
These spiritual things are more lasting than spending money on Christian louboutin, Chanel, Kenji, Connor, Yves Saint Laurent or Myer doesn’t it? Why do we need to be careful what we wear? “All things are legitimate (permissible-and we are free to do anything we please) but not all things are HELPFUL (expedient, profitable and wholesome). All things are legitimate, but not all things are constructive (to character) and edifying (to spiritual life.)” 1 Corinthians 10:23 AMP.
People tell themselves that it is OK to wear this and that, it’s part of our freedom. But Paul says if my freedom makes YOU stumble I should voluntarily give it up. (1 Corinthians 8:9; Romans 14:13-23.) We have been exhorted to live for the Lord and other people – not ourselves. This world’s stuff can so easily take over our thinking and our lives. Our biblical focus, however, is to look like Jesus, and He cared about people. He wasn’t politically correct (PC) – He was Almighty God correct. (AMC) Let’s choose to take into account the fact that we can make other people stumble with what we wear, say, or do.
We live in this current society – we work, play, and interact with others – BUT —WE live by a totally different value system. Simply because we follow Jesus. Jesus Himself spoke about worrying about what we wear or eat, and He clearly made this whole subject about FAITH – not polyester, cotton or pure wool! Father God looks after lilies and daisies, so this means we can be sure that looking after US is one of His priorities. That’s where our faith needs to be. These things are not about legislating rules – instead we are to treat them as God’s loving council over our lives, so we can stay in step with what the Spirit is doing.
The Israelites walked about in the desert for 40 years and their shoes and their clothes did not wear out! Selah! Father God has proved He knows how to look after clothes better than we do! People who worry about having the proper clothes, or fashion’s latest supposedly, cool clothing etc. are being distracted from the main objective – Christ’s likeness. We can choose to reflect Him, or we can reflect the current trend. That choice is always ours. Our primary aim is to wear things that don’t cause others to sin, but at the same time, let’s deliberately choose to ‘wear’ qualities that are rarely seen in this world.
Like Paul says in Colossians, our garments are about loving others – and they describe spiritual things, not clothing labels. The things we concern ourselves with, matter – however this does not mean we have to dress like a rag bag. It means specific clothes and foods can drag us away from our main purpose … loving Him and others. God cares about those things. Plus – He promises He will provide for us.
Trust me, it is actually easier to learn to love others like Jesus does, than it is to wear a pair of Christian louboutin $4,000+ shoes or a haute couture dress! When we become slaves to our appearance, we are not choosing to reflect Christ-like qualities into this world. It is now about who the other person can see when they look at you. Can they see Him, or a fashion label? His clothing brings life and more life — that other stuff is designed to be instantly obsolete.
As we “consider the lilies’ we need to remember that we too, like those lilies are here one day and gone the next. Are you cheered up yet? Let’s choose to make our first thought about His legacy. God’s wardrobe for us reflects His beauty, and love toward others. Ours can be merely a reflection of how much available cash we have!
It is too easy to be distracted into caring about dressing to please, or attract others. Mainly because we’ve left behind what Jesus told us we are here to do, and perhaps we think we need other people’s adulation and approval – because it provides instant gratification. When we choose to live in His love, our whole perspective changes. ‘Things” don’t matter – anything we have is a blessing from Him.
Dressing decently is a deliberately chosen act of love toward other people. It seems to me that the less material that is used to make a garment, means whatever you bought is immediately more expensive. I can appreciate that we are all not the same, and part of that self-expression is how we dress. Remember the first thing that Adam and Eve did after they disobeyed was try to cover themselves, because they realised they were naked in God’s sight? The next time you have to have these shoes or that dress, consider the lilies. And remind yourself ‘fashion-schmashion!’ Blessings 👋.
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