Church of the Holy SpiritSong

1 Comments:

COHSS said...

”Dressing The Part”
Pastor Tom Millner
July 20, 2008

Colossians 3:5-14, Ephesians 4:22-24; 5:1-2, Romans 13:14

“Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.”

“…and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.”

“clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature.”

Today’s fashion industry is built around its ability anticipate and emulate those designs that will most likely be accepted by a large enough population to make it profitable for them to manufacture the apparel. Cotton, polyester, silk, and all sorts of blends constitute the material or fabric. The value the consumer seeks is the created illusion that results from “putting on” these clothes that in our minds (and we hope the minds of those who gaze upon us) we appear different (more appealing, attractive) than we would otherwise. Façade plays a greater role in our actions than we sometimes acknowledge.

Last week we were in St. Petersburg, Russia where we had the opportunity to tour “Peterhof,” often referred to as the Russian Versailles. The grounds and the mansion are magnificent. Gold glitters everywhere as a reminder of the grandeur of the reign of the Russian Czars (never mind how cruel and inhumane they were at times). At closer inspection, however, the entire estate internally is a “façade.” Made to look the part – the original was virtually destroyed by the Nazi’s during their occupation in the early 1940’s. What we see today is only a faint illusion of what was truly the grand palace of Peter the first. Even the original was crafted as a “show place” for the then royal, rich, and famous - A place to “show” how the Russian rulers were as significant as those in Europe and Britain. Although a faint replica of what must have been the original, it was no less awe inspiring and beautiful.

In our scripture today we hear the admonition of St. Paul to, in so many words, dress the part as Christians. We see so many examples of Christians on religious broadcast stations and even in the news media these days. Influenced so easily by what we see, it’s easy to be deceived into believing that “dressing the part” looks like what we would detest looking like. I've heard people say… “I can't pretend … I have to be real.” “I can't stand pretense.” “Why can't we just be real.” Let’s take a closer look.

Many folks are turned off by some of the modern day media Christians because their talk and their walk don't match what so many inherently believe SHOULD be the Christian’s talk and walk. Often, descriptors such as the following are used to describe the very public demonstration of “Christian:” Bigoted, hateful, exclusive, hypercritical, judgmental, narrow minded, mean spirited, condescending, aggressive, and hurtful. None of these words are used as attributes of the Christian in scripture. These folks have had one fashion faux pas after another – giving a poor witness to those who so desperately need the Good News of Jesus Christ. It’s unfortunate that so many are deceived into believing that this attire is “Christian.” Here’s what Paul had to say about that:
“Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.”

What does it mean to clothe ourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience? What does it mean to “put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness?” Let’s first look a bit at what we already do.

For those who find it offensive to “put on any pretense” let me submit that the statement is no more than poppycock. We wake up with pretense and we go to sleep with pretense. None of us would dare reveal the REAL us as we perceive the REAL us, because on our deepest level, we feel the REAL us is grossly unacceptable – now that’s REAL! Because we believe that, we go to all sorts of extremes to “cover up” what we REALLY believe about ourselves. We put on the garments picked so cleverly from our cover up closet that mask what we believe others will surely see, if we aren’t properly dressed. Sometimes we get so frustrated and down because it appears that our so cleverly chosen garb no longer works to get us the emotional gratification we seek as we stroll through life’s perceptual cat walk. Some of us hang on to this unattractive garb for extended periods of time, wallowing in a pot of self pity, praying someone will rescue us by affirming that this garb is not so bad after all. When our cover up no longer works, we go back to the closet of human deception and select yet another fashion fraught with fabulous flair, but frank failure to accomplish its intent. Before long we recognize yet again “this dog don't hunt!” Of course we, as humans, have known that since Eve and Adam bit the fruit, but we continue to try to cover up before each other and God anyway. If we're going to cover up, don't you think it’s about time to forever change the wardrobe?

Colossians 3: “clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.” How on earth can I do this? I don't know about you, but I can't MAKE myself be more patient. C.S. Lewis describes it as having “a rat in the cellar.” We go about doing our merry things, putting on the garb that we believe represents the presentable self, holy and pleasing self, before God and others – sometimes unconscious of the little vermin that roam around in the cellar. Neither you nor I can change what has been termed as our inherent temperament. That rat seems to always be in the cellar. We can redecorate – even reconstruct the upper levels, but the cellar still holds its rat. What, in heaven’s name are we to do then? Everything we try fails to really accomplish the task – we keep coming back to our failed agenda. We enjoy the “spiritual” high we’ve just experienced as we leave the parking lot and are cut off by the rude so and so deciding the turn right from the left lane – and our blood boils. There’s the rat again. Where’s the patience and forbearance scripture just told me to put on? Oh RATS! There goes that temperament again. How on earth can I change this? I can't – only GOD can change it. And, He changes it from the inside out while we're addressing the outside in.

Yep – It’s doing what Paul tells us “clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.” And let God take care of the rat in the cellar. He has plans for that little rodent to be turned into something radiant – shinning like a star. Neither you nor I can change that base nature we possess – only God has the power to do that. He has promised that If we give ourselves to Him – wholly and completely, He will change us to reflect the perfection of His Son. Our task is NOT being perfect, but being perfectly submissive to Him. That means putting on an outside that reflects the goal of the inside.

“clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.”

What does your outfit look like? Compassionate, kind, humble, gentle, patient, forgiving – with a covering of love? Only God can do something about the rat – the outfit you put on is YOUR choice! What will it be?

6:05 AM