No Room for Status

  “And I want women to be modest in their appearance.” 1 Timothy 2:9

  Even now the clothes we wear, the jewelry we adorn ourselves with makes a statement about our wealth, our social standing.

  The lovely woman who led me to the Lord shared this story a long while back. They had suffered a terrible fire, losing everything they owned except for the clothes on their back. These were barn clothes, soiled and dirty. The only foot wear left was big, green rubber boots stained from tending their horses which, thankfully, had not been harmed in the fire. Reeling from the loss, they were encouraged to go to church and seek the comfort of God.

  They cleaned themselves up as best they could with no running water due to the fire. They sat in the back, their clothes wafting the incense of barn throughout the service.

  They tried to make themselves as small as possible in the very back row yet many a churchgoer turned and stared at them, the disgust and contempt clear on their faces.

  A few years later, she was able to share the events of those terrible days with the congregation. She shared how her daughter had gone to a garage sale searching for much needed household items. There was a box of old photographs on the table. They were of her mother's family. I don’t remember how they ended up on the sale table but a small piece of what was lost was restored by God. The seller gave them to the family.

  After sharing her story at church, a man came up to her with tears in his eyes. He apologized because he had been one of the people who had turned and stared. He apologized for judging her for her appearance.

  It is far easier for a wealthy person to dress down than it is for the poor to dress up. Our clothes automatically create a hierarchy. Hierarchy is not of God. Timothy is calling us to be humble and welcoming to all even through our appearance.

  All means everyone.

  I have to plead guilty for judging others based on appearance and (smile) gender. It can be so automatic I am not even aware it’s happening. I am trying to do better.

  It’s another of those subconscious lessons so prevalent in today’s society. Beauty and wealth is the sales pitch for everything from cars to beer to garbage bags. We are faced with a barrage of images setting up the misconceptions of what true beauty is. Hmmm...how does wealth have anything to do with beauty anyways?

  I need to keep in mind what Timothy said a couple of verses later.

  “For women who claim to be devoted to God should make themselves attractive by the good things they do.”

  I think we are far more attractive because of who we are: children of God, light bearers in a dark world. And that is the most important doing of all. AMEN!