What Not To Wear

Do you remember the TV show, "What Not To Wear"? During this time of lockdown and 'Stay at Home', many interesting things have been worn that will never be seen in public. It reminds me of the moment during my husband's long recovery from back surgery. We decide to get out of the house and make a dash to the local theater for a change of scenery. As we waited for the movie to start I looked down and my eyes widened - before laughter burst out of my mouth and eyes. I had different shoes on each foot. Clearly, what not to wear! 

What have you worn during the last few months? I know one woman that wore the same yoga pants every day, except for laundry day. Perhaps you tried on some clothes from that box in the back of the closet. You know, the one marked “Will-fit-again.” Relax, this devotional is not about weight, it's about choice.

This morning when you went to your closet what did you choose? Something to make you feel good, something comfy, something old, or something new? The Bible has some specific instructions for these choices. In Colossians 3:12 we are told we cannot just wear whatever we want, we are called to do better, to choose wisely, to be holy! “Since God chose you to be the holy women he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience” (NIV).

Since God chose us… we must! He loves us and calls us to be holy! God chose us to wear the best, He chose us to display Him to the world. He did not leave us unprepared, He fills our closets with everything we need for life and godliness. He puts mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience on the hangers but we must put it on. Don’t reach for the will-fit-again box of thoughts. It might be a good time to get rid of it. Just a few verses earlier Paul tells us that we must get rid of all anger, wrath, malice, evil-speaking, filthy talking, and lying. He says get rid of the old and put on the new self. I wish that getting rid of our old way of thinking was as easy as taking a box of outdated clothes to the curb. It's not. Three things keep us going back to our old ways.

First, we believe that we need to defend ourselves with anger, wrath, malice, or speaking evil of others. That’s a lie. There is a better way dear friends, don’t take revenge… leave room for God's wrath. "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord, according to Romans 12:19. Leave room - don’t take over the situation, let God do what He promised to do. Leave room for God…perhaps leave the room as well. 😀

Secondly, we believe that being holy is unattainable. God is holy, we are not. Would God tell us to be something that we could never be? “His divine power has given us everything (Yes, everything!) required for life and godliness (How?) through the knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness” (2 Peter 1:3). When God calls us to something, He always supplies the means to do it. That’s what He means when He tells us, we can do all things through His strength in us (Philippians 4:13). He thinks we can be holy, so go for it. 

Thirdly, we are afraid to fail so rather than fail we claim we can’t. Imagine a child learning to walk, we open our arms and encourage them, but they fall. We don’t scold them. We stand them up, hold our arms out to them, and cheer them on. That is how our Heavenly Father cheers us on. He says be like Me. We try and fail. He picks us up, dusts us off, and cheers us on until we are like Him. 

Now we know what not to wear and what makes us look most like our Father.