What are YOU wearing?

Isn't it funny that as a society we are often lead socially by what we are wearing. When we are younger and trying to socially fit, you tend to go with the look that most suits you  and your personality and then you go to the group that mostly fits that look you are currently wearing.

When I was a teenager (back in the 90's) I remember several social groupings, you had the "popular group" This mainly meant people who had money, either through their own work or their inheritance through their parental wealth. Either way the popular grouping wore designer labels at every event and you rarely saw them in the same outfits a second time. You had the "trying group" this group clearly wanted to be popular but if the truth was told their clothing was clearly the cheaper fashion than their popular friends having slight "knock off" designs so instead of having a fashionable logo on their tops they had a "normal placement" of an unrecognisable logo. I remember you had the group we called "sweaties" these consisted of alternative dress and wear; baggy t-shirts, baggy jeans, liked to hang around skating areas and have chains linked to their jeans and some important item like their keys. You had the "Goths", who if i remember correctly had everything black, clothes, hair, make-up and general accessories. Finally, you had the people who didn't really fit in any of the above grouping but tried to be bias and looked like they joined every group in some sort of way.

Now, I am not overly sure which group I fitted in, I think I was either in the trying group where I tried to be popular with dodgy knock-offs or I was the last group mentioned who tried to please everyone. I am not going to kid myself and say I was popular and I don't think I was a sweaty and definately too bright in colour to be a Goth.

But isn't it amazing that what defines the social setting, defines in someway either your character or the character that you wish to appear to be.

It isn't like it is a new thing either, my dad will quite happily tell me that when he was younger that there was a craze that meant you were a "Mod" or you were "Rockers". Mods would apparently dress in a "modern" dress and would ride Scooters, where Rockers would potentially have long hair, be dressed in black and leather and would ride a Motorbike.

Mods

Rockers

Its amusing to think that there use to be gang fighting with each group, especially when you think that we as a society would be beyond such a thing. But historically William Shakespeare mentioned Gang rivalry, we see in an alternate Shakespeare twist of Romeo and Juliet in West Side Story that there is gang warfare, and even recently you hear off football fighting, against an opposing team or opposing country, where one look at the football top meant that you would become aggressive. Social differences seems apparent to the way you dress, and then what character you must be like.

A friend of mine has bought a new coat, like all new things you try to wear it as much as possible. Which also sadly for the friends around them means that you get to be a little guinea pig to the possible combinations that the new item could be included with. This happened to me recently where I had to see this new coat and see of it presented well with some existing clothes for a morning church service. Strange really when you think of it, as going to church would make you assume that you wouldn't be judged on any social gathering that you are part of. Interestingly though this isn't the first time that being dressed in a certain way at church has cropped up. At my Confirmation service, my Godparents came in support of my progress in faith and they came "suited and booted" in their best clothes, me, on the other hands dressed comfortably as that was the way my home church encouraged. But when i questioned my Godparents, they said they were just "dressing in their sunday best" So as you can imagine when I now invite people to church I "warn" them to dress comfortably, if they therefore decide that they want to dress smartly they can, however, you very quickly see their dress code change on a later appearance within the church. But the more I think about it, the more I realise that I do it. I dress smartly, even though I may be comfortable, I still "make and effort" when I go to church.

Why?

How many coats do you have? I have lots of different coats. I have a light summer jacket, a waterproof fold away coat (or as my mum would say a cagoule), I have a thick winter coat, a coat that I would wear just when I am cold (yet it is lighter to wear than the thick winter coat) I have a dodgy denim Jacket, (that barely comes out) I have a light suit jacket that I wear for special occasions, a blue sports jacket that i would wear on a night out and a body warmer. I think when I counted it was 9/10 coats. Far too many I am sure for anyone, let alone any man.

We are so concerned that we have the right outfit or the correct coat for certain social situations, or public displays, we are almost fearful to wear the wrong thing at the wrong time. What we are wearing what we are allowing others to presume about our character by the things that we wear. I mentioned early that my dad was telling me about Mods and Rockers, and when questioned my dad would proudly admit that he was a Mod. So potentially following what my dad was telling my he would be "cool" and would be wearing the latest thing, the most modern thing to wear. Wow, I can't imagine my dad being so self concsious about what he wears. Especially when you see the outfits that my dad wears now!! Being a man in his 70's he has a "unique" fashion sense. He will quite happily wear tracksuit bottoms of any kind "Oh, they're just for comfort, easy to move, can get dirty and I don't mind working in them and sweating a little" (Nice Dad....Purely nice!) But with these tracksuit trousers on he will wear a 1950s style t-shirt or jumper, which clearly you can see he has had for the 40 plus years, that he clearly thinks suit him. Again on questioning his response will be "Well you always want to feel that you look good!"........and the worst thing here is he will tuck these into his tracksuit bottoms (which just for an extra mental image he has slightly too high up his torso) Now for the topping to this glorious outfit off, are clean, hard, and always sparkling black work shoes, something you would expect to wear with a suit. "Well son you never know when you need to look smart"

(This is NOT my dad...He would actually kill me if I put a picture of him up...This guy amused me though and I think helps with some visualisation!)

So a man who potentially was dressing to fit into a social group called Mods, who would dress to look fashionable and be ahead of the times, now wears "Shoes that you would only wear with a suit, polished and sparkling, a pair tracksuit bottoms that are pulled quite high up his torso, with an old fashioned t-shirt tucked well into his trousers. Now, as I stated early I don't think I have great fashion sense, I even think I have made some blunders, but seriously Dad!! My Dad no longer cares about his appearance, he would rather now just fit in to any scenario and not worry what he looks like, as potentially in his head he fits perfectly in to any social situation. But how great is it that my dad doesn't live in fear to be so conscious about what he is wearing? My father doesn't wear the coat of fear or social pressure any more. When you look at him, you may judge him as a crazy old man, with at times no sense. Well if truth be known, that kind of rounds my dad up to a Tee. But I look at him and see love and kindness that is also associated with such men, I look with envy that he has broken these social chains. He is not limited by that choice any more.

I think about several verses in the bible.

Matthew 6:25;
Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?

OR

Matthew 6:28;
And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin.

OR

Luke 12:27;
Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.

We get told time and time again that we shouldn't worry about what we wear, and to just be aware that we are loved, loved by God. Yet we all still do it.

When we prepare ourselves to dress a certain way, to fit in to what society seemingly see us as, we are dressing to present OUR character or at least what we want people to see as OUR character. But are then presenting to the world a very limited view. It always makes me smile when I think about The character Indiana Jones, when we see him teaching in the classroom we seem him looking like a steady english university professor teaching boring Archaeology, then the next time we see him as a fairly robust cool adventure hunter with a hat and a whip.

Dressing in the original pretence limits are views on what and who we are, when we should only be concerned with allowing ourselves to grow in God not restrict our growth with what we believe.

We are warned of this:

1 Peter 3:2-5;
Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight.

Allowing God to dress us doesn't mean that we need to walk around Naked either, before anyone says anything. It means allowing Him to dress us in better things, things that will show our true character.

We can read in Proverbs 31:25;
She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come.

We can be clothed in Strength, we can be clothed in Dignity, and being so allows us happiness, allowing God to dress us clearly allows to become a better character. Is this a one off verse that I am holding on to? No, of course not see below:

Romans 13:14;
Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature.

OR

Job 29:14;
I put on righteousness as my clothing; justice was my robe and my turban.

OR

Galations 3:27;
for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.

OR

Colossians 3:12;
Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.

There as you can see there are many different ways that we can get dressed, dressed by God, wearing the things that He wants us to wear, the things that can reflect Him and truly show OUR character. We can change our look to fit who we are called to be, who we actually are, God is not dressing us or shaping us for the now, the current fashion, He is shaping us for the future. God doesn't want us to worry, He doesn't want us to "wear" worry, He says it clearly in the verse above in Matthew and in Luke about do not worry. He doesn't want us wearing that.

I know that I wouldn't wear my thick winter coat in the height of summer, when it is blazing Hot, would you? No? I doubt anyone would wear a coat that would burden them, that is heavy on them, that doesn't suit the climate and more importantly makes us uncomfortable. We wouldn't do it to ourselves, and God definitely doesn't want us to do the same. Do not wear worry, take that coat off, strip yourself and allow God to help dress you. God didn't design us to be limited, especially to be limited by things that we are creating for ourselves. Don't clothe yourself with something that you don't want to be wearing, or seen wearing, don't allow yourself to just fit in socially.

I quite happily listed all the different coats I own above, but as a child I had two. My summer one and my Winter one. I look back and laugh now as these coats became my everyday coat for all occasions, it didn't matter where i was going or what I was doing they were just my coats. It's a bad habit in some ways, because without the correct guidance by my mum I would have just expected to wear my winter coat all the way through into summer. This nasty habit has carried through into my adult life. When something bad or negative happens I shove that coat on. I put that coat of sadness, fear, negativity or self doubt, whatever it may be and I wear it, I wear it and take to whatever occasion that I am apart of. But what I need to be doing more is looking up to my parent and asking for guidance, asking for help to take that coat off, is it time to be dressed more appropriately.

In Isaiah 61:1 and the Isaiah 61:3 we see:

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.

to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.

Each time we see that if we allow God to dress us, allowing the Spirit of God to be on us will change and turn the situation around. Allowing God to dress us might not create us to be the wealthy people in possessions but people will look upon us and see good, and they will see the goodness that God provides for us in our lives, He will make us Rich in spirit, Rich in Him. When things are difficult, when we are in the poorest moments, where we seem poor and low, it clearly tells us to praise, Praise God and allow Him to guide us and dress us as we will become Rich, we will become rich in him and allow him to turn our lives around.

Who wouldn't want to have good things in their lives? Who wouldn't want to be dressed by God and be ready in all situations? To be easily read bby others because the way we are dressed in Goodness rather than limiting ourselves to fit in with what others expect?

Dress well, dress in God and be comfortable in the situation you're in, as this will allow us to be good for God, ready not as a plain canvass for God to paint on, but a canvass that is stretched for growth to produce a better painting.