Sunday was supposed to be hot; really hot. Like 108 degrees. I have this little denim shirt that’s slightly off the shoulder and it seemed like a great shirt for crazy hot weather. But was it a great shirt for church? I hem-hawed back and forth and finally Mitch said he liked it, so off we went. That was the first tug of war in my spirit.
During worship, my soul was pricked again, when I realized that my focus on Jesus was distracted by my self-consciousness! I didn’t want to be thinking about me or my shirt…I wanted to be thinking about Him!
But all that paled the moment Hans started his sermon. I kid you not, he says, “How should Christians dress?” I’m not kidding, that’s what he said!
As I tried to physically become part of the upholstery, and barring that, make my escape, I thought, “The one time – one time! – I bare my shoulders, Hans decides to preach on Christian modest dress.
You know, this is also why I don’t lie. I will always get caught. Always. In my younger days, when I had one foot in heaven but insisted on maintaining one foot in the world, I was bitter about that. Everybody else could get away with stuff. But not me.
Protected from My Own Foolishness
Now, I’m grateful. I realize that the Holy Spirit’s giving me a little poke and saying, “I don’t think that’s a very good idea.” It makes me feel protected…yes, even protected from my own foolishness. Have I ever told you my favorite verse in Isaiah? Isaiah 35:8? I’m reminded of it here. It’s best in the New King James Version:
A highway shall be there, and a road,
And it shall be called the Highway of Holiness.
The unclean shall not pass over it,
But it shall be for others.
Whoever walks the road, although a fool,
Shall not go astray.
It’s comforting to know that even though I act the fool sometimes, He still won’t let me go astray.
By the way, you should definitely go to Hans’ sermon on our church website. Look under Sermons and Blogs. The link is also in the show notes of today’s podcast. His text was from Ephesians and he talked about taking off the old self (once and for all) and putting on the new self. Oh, that kind of clothes! It was an excellent sermon.
But I still won’t be wearing anything off the shoulder to church ever again!
Are you grateful when God protects you from your own foolishness? If you’re willing to share, I’d love to read it in the comments below. No judgement.
I couldn’t help but giggle….I knew exactly where this was going. I have seen a complete change in what seems to be acceptable dress in our church by some and your outfit would have been very modest in comparison! Thanks for the laugh!!!!
In retrospect, it was kinda funny, especially when I realized the text Hans was preaching from. But this kid is still gonna keep the skirts long and shoulders covered from now on!