Business on top, party on the bottom is the best way I can describe my outfit these days. Ever since the pandemic, I have had most of my meetings online. Given this limited view, I have found my dress typically consists of a dress shirt, paired with gym shorts. It’s an odd look for sure, but it’s comfortable. What has been your style during these past few months?
When I think of biblical clothing, I don’t envision long robes and Birkenstocks, but Colossians 3:12-14, where Paul says, “As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.”
In our imperfect world, these clothing items are often hard to wear. At times they seem out of style as the world pushes us to focus only on our own wants and desires. Pronouns like “we” and “us” give way to “”me” and “mine” as we move toward individualism, leaving the collective behind. And at what cost?….Perfect harmony.
So how do we get our sense of fashion back? Embracing compassion, kindness, meekness, patience, and humility. Frederick Buechner says this about humility: “True humility doesn’t consist of thinking ill of yourself but of not thinking of yourself much differently from the way you’d be apt to think of anybody else.” In other words, a humble lifestyle, a lifestyle in perfect harmony with the world and with God is living the Greatest Commandment, which calls us “to love God and to love your neighbor as you love yourself.”
So, let’s get dressed up as we seek to understand someone else’s life. Let’s boldly walk the runway of life as we move beyond hoping the best for someone, but actively seeking love and justice for other people. Let’s clothe ourselves with love, as “me” gives way to “we.”
Youth of Geist Christian Church 