Until then we encourage you to visit our sister blog, https://www.lordletmegrow.com/freebiblestudy for new material.

WHAT NOT TO WEAR

I get Pinterest emails often with pins about what not to wear at different ages. I’m not sure anyone gives that a second thought the way people dress today. We have truly gone “casual,” even, what used to be the most formal events. Pants have become the normal attire for every occasion for ladies, and men rarely wear dress shirts and ties with their slacks.

This is not a list of things not to wear on our bodies, but this is a list of things we should not wear in our hearts and minds. What we wear on our physical bodies affects our feelings about ourselves, but what we wear on the inside greatly affects every aspect of our being.

I recently read an article by Courtney Carver, and her message struck me as something Christians need to consider. Though her article had no religious content, I think there are an abundance of Scriptures that will support the three things she mentions.

The first thing she suggests is to stop wearing the guilt of your past. I think all of us feel guilty about something in our past. No one is without sin, and no one can escape this life without regrets over past mistakes. The thing we don’t want to do is to let that dominate our lives to the point that we can’t live the life God wants us to live.

Guilt is that feeling of having done something inappropriate, sinful, or having failed to meet some obligation. God gave us that feeling in order to touch our hearts and help us feel remorse or shame for what we did wrong. It is good to have a conscience and feel remorse or shame for mistakes, but living forever with guilt for wrongdoing will destroy a person. Judas is an example of such destruction. He knew he had done wrong, but he took the destructive way out and took his own life. God would have forgiven him, but Judas didn’t choose that path.

King David had a multitude of sins about which to feel guilty. He committed adultery, he lied, and he ordered a murder all for a woman he had no right to have. He even deliberately disobeyed God. His reaction was to repent and ask God’s forgiveness. Did he forget what he did? No, he didn’t; but he moved on. He did not dwell on his past mistakes. How could he do this? He had God’s promise that He would forgive him. Though David had to pay for his mistakes, he still was called “a man after God’s own heart.”

The apostle Paul had a lot about which to feel guilty. He persecuted Christians, but he changed his life. He still remembered what he had done, but he was grateful for the Lord’s forgiveness.

The second thing we should not wear is the pressure to prove ourselves. This equates to trying to be something we are not. Whether good or bad, trying to be like someone else or trying to prove you are a certain way is not what God wants in our lives.

The Children of Israel wanted to be like the nations around them. They wanted a king. Sadly, they caused themselves much heartache because they were not like everyone else. They were God’s chosen people. They already had a king. Their kings led them into idol worship and other sins that defamed the name of God.

Ananias and Sapphira wanted to receive the praise for donating the proceeds from the land they sold for the needy Christians. Sadly, they lied about what they received for the land, and their lie cost them their lives and their souls. They both had an opportunity to repent, but they didn’t.

Sometimes we try by our dress, our actions, our words to make ourselves appear something we are not. Some people want to appear to have more money than they actually do. Some will lie about their education to appear smarter. Some do good deeds for the sole purpose of being praised for their efforts, much like the Pharisees did. Jesus said their good deeds were for the wrong reason, to be seen of men. They wanted to appear to be more righteous than anyone else.

The third thing we should not wear is other people’s expectations and judgments. Why do we try to please others with our choices? It is because we want to be accepted. That is the reason so many young people get into trouble. They do things they know are wrong because they want everyone to like and accept them.

King Solomon wanted to please his wives, so he built temples and altars so they could worship their gods. Pilate wanted to please the people, so he consented to the death of Jesus.

When we belong to Christ, guilt, trying to prove ourselves, and living for others’ approval should not be part of our spiritual wardrobe. We need to be what God expects of us, not what others think. We cannot control what others think, and we can’t really change who we really are.

These are the things we need to “wear.” We need to “wear” an attitude of loving ourselves and the Christian life. We need to “wear” trust in God and trust in who we are as Christians. We need to trust our ability to care about others but not because of how they feel about us. We need to “wear” our passion for living according to what God expects.

The writer of Hebrews offers us the best advice for what we should wear. “Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he had said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you’. So we can confidently say, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?’” (Hebrews 13:5-6).

Sandra Oliver