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Balanced & Beautiful
Dressing for the Glory of God
Part 1
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TEST OF A LEGALIST
by Laurel Damsteegt, Part 1
Sensitivity over clothing has
existed ever since the garments of light disappeared and we
began sewing our own fig leaves. This makes sense, because few
issues are more personal than what we eat and what we wear. Both
become who we are!
We may not even feel particularly good about what we wear or
eat, and still feel highly protective. If someone makes a
critical remark about our diet or our dress, we feel they are
aiming at the very core of who we are. We cannot easily separate
ourselves from our exterior. The body is an expression of the
soul just as much as the soul is an expression of the body.
So. . . who do you dress for? Have you thought about it? Does it
really matter, anyway? Keep reading—you may just find some
surprising answers
Dressing to please others
Isn’t how I dress a
personal matter, and no one else’s business? Not really. Even
though we are personally accountable for how we dress, most of
us dress more for the affect on others than for ourselves. Think
about it! Why would a woman ever subject herself to narrow-toed,
pinching shoes with 3-inch heels? Probably no one would argue it
is because they are so comfortable. Instead, she wears them
because she feels they give her the look she wants to achieve.
Men aren’t immune, either. If a man learns that a young woman
he admires likes to see him in blue, suddenly an
almost-forgotten blue sweater becomes his favorite. If we want
to land a well-paying office job, we don’t show up for the
interview in worn-out jeans and a faded sweatshirt, no matter
how clean, warm, or comfortable they might be. Most of the time,
the way we dress is not just our personal preference. We dress
to please others.
Dressing to please God
Perhaps you say, “God does not care how I look. He loves me,
not my clothes.” Of course God loves you, no matter how poorly
dressed—or even undressed—you are. God’s love is not
dependent on what we wear—or who we are. And we cannot make
Him love us more by what we wear.
We come to Him “just as we are,” but we do not stay that
way! When we love the Lord, we long to please Him in every
possible way. We give ourselves to Him unconditionally, and
allow Him to work a transformation within us. This involves
radical changes, but it has nothing to do with His acceptance of
us. Instead, it has everything to do with our acceptance of Him.
When we choose Jesus as Lord of our lives, we want to please Him
in every aspect of our lives—even in our clothing.1
Learning to please God
But how can we know how God wants us to dress? We discover what
delights the Lord by examining His Word and submitting to His
revealed will. This is not miserable, dreary work. In fact, when
we give our heart to Him, He changes it and gives it back to
us!2 Things we used to adore we find distasteful and
inappropriate. The new heart delights in doing exactly what He
likes! Our tastes change and even our nature is altered.3 Then
if He so much as intimates that He likes something, we rush to
do His bidding—not out of fear or from force, but because we
really prefer it that way! In doing what we like, we actually do
His will. “If we consent, He will so identify Himself with our
thoughts and aims, so blend our hearts and minds into conformity
to His will, that when obeying Him we shall be but carrying out
our own impulses.”4
This is the miracle of the new heart, the essence of the new
covenant. And what is more, He enables us to do exactly as He
asks. Nothing is too hard for God!5 “As the will of man
cooperates with the will of God, it becomes omnipotent. Whatever
is to be done at His command may be accomplished in His
strength. All His biddings are enablings.”6
Of course, if our hearts have not been changed, following His
wishes is hard work. We have to struggle against ourselves in
order to please Him. There’s a word for this: legalism.
Are you a legalist? Here is a test. Do you find something in
Scripture that is terribly disagreeable to you? This may show
that you need to ask yourself some very basic questions: Have I
truly given my heart to Jesus? Is He Lord of my life? “There
is no use in telling you that you must not wear this or that,
for if the love of these vain things is in your heart, your
laying off your adornments will only be like cutting the foliage
off a tree. The inclinations of the natural heart would again
assert themselves. You must have a conscience of your own.”7
This is why dress and ornaments (and other “non-salvational”
issues) can actually be an index to what is really going on
inside. Are you willing to submit to such “minor” points? If
not, you may need to honestly examine your heart. Could it be
that your loyalties are divided between God and the world? Take
some time to listen to the still small voice of the Holy Spirit
as He whispers a hushed request!
Part 1
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1. Colossians 2:6.
2. Ezekiel 11:19, 20; 36:26, 27.
3. Psalm 40:8.
4. Ellen White, The Desire of Ages, page 668.
5. Jeremiah 32:27.
6. White, Christ’s Object Lessons, page 333.
7. White, The Review and Herald, May 10, 1892.
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