When I say that I took the church clothes off, I mean it. I no longer wear suits, dress pants, or white shirts and ties with nice shoes to church. When I was a little kid my grandma would take me to a holiness church, which I am so absolutely grateful for and I am still grateful and love the holiness church with all my heart. But there was a time when I got older that when I would see a woman wearing pants in the church, I'd judge her and I'd think to myself, "Why can't she just wear a skirt? It's not that hard." Wow, has God changed my heart.
When I used to wear a new suit to church, I felt powerful, I felt like I fit in. Church was more like an exclusive club than the gathering of believers. I wouldn't have admitted it to you, or even myself, at the time but I felt holier. I felt like I was doing what was required of me. What simple way of thinking. In reality I needed to focus on the inside of myself rather than the outside.
"But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." -1 Samuel 16:7
God does not look at our height, weight, or whether or not you wearing a tie or not. He wants us to have clean hearts. I can remember countless times going to church where I looked good on the outside, I had a fresh hair cut, and a smile on my face but on the inside I was dying. I am not saying that these church clothes were the cause of my spiritual state, I'm saying they had absolutely nothing to do with it. Does this mean that we should go to church naked, or with revealing clothes? God forbid! I am saying is we have to learn how to look inwardly at ourselves!
"So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ." -Colossians 2:16-17
Let's focus on the things that matter. The salvation of souls and the issues of the heart.
-Jared
When I used to wear a new suit to church, I felt powerful, I felt like I fit in. Church was more like an exclusive club than the gathering of believers. I wouldn't have admitted it to you, or even myself, at the time but I felt holier. I felt like I was doing what was required of me. What simple way of thinking. In reality I needed to focus on the inside of myself rather than the outside.
"But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." -1 Samuel 16:7
God does not look at our height, weight, or whether or not you wearing a tie or not. He wants us to have clean hearts. I can remember countless times going to church where I looked good on the outside, I had a fresh hair cut, and a smile on my face but on the inside I was dying. I am not saying that these church clothes were the cause of my spiritual state, I'm saying they had absolutely nothing to do with it. Does this mean that we should go to church naked, or with revealing clothes? God forbid! I am saying is we have to learn how to look inwardly at ourselves!
"So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ." -Colossians 2:16-17
Let's focus on the things that matter. The salvation of souls and the issues of the heart.
-Jared