"Why is it so easy to get caught up in the latest clothing trends and fashions? I know you don't see it on me as much as some but I'm just as guilty as the next ...person bc in my heart I WANT to wear stylish things and have cute hair, etc... But picture Jesus with me ..what would he wear?? What would you notice first? Somehow i picture a very humbly dressed man shining out with so much care and compassion you don't notice anything besides that PURE, unselfish, LOVE. And I don't think he'd hide it behind all those fluffy, cute, layers..lol. Seriously though..it does bother me to see so many Christians dressed so sharp when their next door neighbor needs more love and attention than their clothes do. They (our neighbors) could probably be incredibly blessed with the time and $ we spend 'spiffing up' if we would focus more on eternal souls than our own selfish appearance. After all..God sees our heart. This is a reality check for me..and anyone else who cares. Am I the only one who is disappointed by people who hide the love of Jesus under stripes, ruffles, and designer logos? Their fire dims a little in my eyes so how does it look to people who don't know Jesus? Can they find the humble man we talk about if we dress so opposite of what He is?" ~Credits to Amy Swartzentruber
Recently I had been mulling over something similar but down a different line....What about our houses? Yes, I believe we need to keep everything neat and clean...(otherwise I go bananas) But, do we really need to have the latest Pinterest project on the workbench and changing the things on our walls? Does it really matter if we don't have a grapevine wreath w/ a burlap rose or bow? Yes, it adds comfort and makes life cozy but as Christians are we called to be comfortable and cozy? (disclaimer here....I think my house is quite cute, cozy, and comfortable....so I am NOT free of all this) Jesus, the One who we are supposed to be becoming like didn't have a pillow to call His own. Much less plush carpet and soft couches...
What to do to change all this....Idk really...maybe I should move to Liberia....Reading "Tears of the Rain" lately has opened my eyes even more...Mom has talked about Haiti for years about how terrible it is there....but I think in comparing from what I can picture from the book in Liberia and what I've seen of pictures of Haiti that Liberia is worse...much, much worst..........in 3 days they went to MANY orphanages w/ between 50 and 100 children who were mostly starving and dirty....most of them sick or lice or fungus or sores....There is constant fighting within 2 hours of their mission....and once they went to Sierra Leone (which is like going to Georgia from here....maybe a couple hours journey) they encountered at least 3 checkpoints where all the soldiers wanted was food....and then on the way home they came thru 3 or 4 different checkpoints where the soldiers 'looked' evil and carried big guns and the only way the got thru was by Prayer.... We don't even have a clue...Life is too good...We Americans don't even know what truly following Jesus means....Do we just need to "get back to where the church stands strong, back to where there's a right and a wrong, back to where it's black and white.....back to the basics" of the Christian life? Are we to nit picky? Why do we need to have all the rules in our churches? Is it because we are not truly patterning our lives after the One Who Matters?
(Don't get me wrong, I am quite content w/ the "rules" of our church....I just think it's sad when we are trying to push them....cause really if we are following Jesus, we would probably want to go over and beyond what the church asks of us anyway....)
There....That was my rant for the day....Feel free to throw me in the gutter....Maybe I'm not thinking straight...This is just some thoughts that have been rolling about in my head....Thanks for listening! :-)
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