Fashion Statement

This morning I read the story of David and Goliath and saw something new. Now I have read this story countless times and yet there is always a new way of seeing when we read stories over and over. That is why we can also watch movies many times without getting bored. There always seems to be more to see and grow from in good stories that are told well.

Anyway, back to David. When David was getting ready to fight Goliath, Saul gave David his coat of armor and helmet to wear to fight the giant. After getting all suited up and walking around a bit, David tells Saul, “I cannot go in these, because I am not used to them.”  In the past, I have heard this story described from the pulpit many times and what has been emphasized is the fact that David was young and so the armor was probably to big for him. While this might be true, this is not what the story says. David did not say “This armor doesn’t fit, could you find one my size?” The fact that he was “not used to them” is repeated twice. David was confident and comfortable in his own skin. He knew who he was and was willing to go into battle as David, not wearing someone elses armor.

I have never been much into fashion.

It seems that in our culture we clothe ourselves to go into battle with the world of acceptance. We hang all sorts of items from our bodies as an expression of who we are and how we want to be seen by others. We have all sorts of etiquette when it comes to clothing.

When I was a little girl, I hated Easter because of what I had to wear to church. The fancy dresses were always itchy and uncomfortable. Do I look happy in this photo? I actually liked church but I disliked the fashion statement that I was forced to make. I couldn’t wait to get home and change into comfortable clothing. Those dresses did not express who I was very well. This kind of “dressing up” has never appealed to me. Growing up in the sixties, girls were not allowed to wear pants to school. I hated this rule because it made life difficult on the playground. It is hard to play your best in a dress. When I was in the seventh grade, the school finally changed the dress code for girls allowing us to wear pants to school. I was very excited about this change but my mother was not. She would only let me wear pants on Fridays, however, I finally wore her down.

So, do the clothes that we wear really define who we are?

For David the answer was no. He felt uncomfortable in Saul’s attire. David knew that “the clothing did not make the man.” He was tuned into himself and into the power of the God he loved and served. I seem to recall another time when he was ridiculed for dancing naked before the Lord.

I guess he just wasn’t much into fashion either.

When people see me, I don’t want it to be my clothes that impress them. My desire is to shine the light of God on those I meet along the way. And in turn, I do not want my focus to be on the exterior of others but rather to see them as God sees them.

So what does God see when God is looking at you?

These words from the letter to the church in Galatia say it well:

 So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

Galatians 3:26-28

May you be clothed in Christ today.