Proper Dressing

For everyone who has ever received an offer letter for a job, you are congratulated, told the terms of employment and then given a start date as well as orientation date. Every serious corporation knows the importance of training and investing in their employees, for those who take short cuts, they end up paying for their mistakes big time.

As I was writing this morning I wondered what the correlation is between choosing a way of life and getting equipped for it. It is not enough to choose a way of life,you have to know how to work and function where you are. For as many as work in the corporate world, once you get employed, you are 'programmed' to reason,dress and relate in a certain way. The expectation is that you will become 'refined' and be able to grow within the organization. You are expected to go through orientation to know what the organization stands for, understand the corporate vision, know where to go if there is an issue, understand the purpose of every department, become trained and mature as an asset within the company. You can relate this to any area of life.

We have also been called to a way of life, a way of life of love. Here is what the scripture says: Colossians 3: 12 - 14 MSG

"So, chosen by God for this new life of love,
 dress in the wardrobe God picked out fr you:
Compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline.
Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense.
Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you.
And regardless of what else you put on, wear love.
It's your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it."

When you work in the corporate world or any organization that has structure and order, you are expected to behave in a civil manner, when you have an issue, you are expected to call the other party, try to sort things amicably. The story is no different when we choose to follow Christ. Our thinking, perception, orientation and disposition is expected to change and fit into God's own way of doing things.

As God's own children, He has chosen the kind of garment we ought to wear for us, let us adorn our lives with each item. It is no easy feat to forgive an offense quickly or be even-tempered when you think you are being walked all over, however, God is able to give you quiet strength to overcome challenges.

As you go into a new week, try and list the items in the scripture above and choose to wear each one at home, when dealing with a difficult relationship, at work, school or wherever you need to "dress" appropriately this week. May the joy of the Lord be multiplied in your life in Jesus name. Everything God has given you to make you happy will not become a source of sorrow to you in Jesus name.

Shalom!