Posted April 25, 2019
“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.”
- COLOSSIANS 3:12
Every day I ask myself the question, “What should I wear?” I have my favorite clothes that I choose based on color (my favorite is blue) or comfort (stretchy pants) or a need to “dress for success.” What we wear says a lot about us, and I think the same is true of what we “clothe ourselves in” as Christians.
Clothing reflects our personality and tends to make a statement to the world around us, either that “I am a well-dressed, confident person who likes herself,” or “I don’t really care what others think of what I’m wearing, because I like it!” For Christians, we may dress to please ourselves, but perhaps we need to think about how what we are wearing affects those around us.
Imagine going to your closet tomorrow morning, and having a choice between anger or compassion, critical spirit or kindness, pride or humility, legalism or gentleness, frustration or patience. Whether you realize it or not, you choose from this list every day by deciding either to live for yourself or to invite the Spirit to manifest his fruit through you. Some of these clothes look really good on you, but some definitely do not! Some make you feel more secure about yourself, but if you are honest, as a Spirit-filled Christian, some just don’t seem to be “fitting” anymore.
We might question why some of these garments would even be found in a Christian’s closet. Perhaps it is time that we started getting rid of some of these old clothes and do a bit of “spring cleaning.”
Holy Spirit, please help me to do some honest closet cleaning and to choose to wear spiritual clothes that honor God and are a witness to the world of my transformed life in Christ. Amen.
Go Deeper — As you stand at your wardrobe or closet today deciding what to wear, also decide what attitude you are going to put on, especially if you are concerned about something that will happen that day.
