Like it or not, our laundry tells a story. I never really paid attention to what was in my laundry until recently. I was folding and putting away a load (by far the worst part of laundry) and noticed it was overwhelmingly full of pajamas. “Where are all my regular clothes? What did I do last week – just sleep?” I realized it was just telling the new story of my life, which is working from home. If I have meetings or am teaching on camera, I’ll at least sport a ‘regular’ top, but most days I’m in my PJ’s. To say the least, I was convicted about this new story my laundry was telling – even though no one saw it (of course, now everyone reading this knows). I was determined to get out more, or at least get dressed more – even though I didn’t ‘have’ to.
Now, when I do laundry, it’s a reflection of my week. Did I get out of the house other than Sunday for church and Wednesday for Bible study? Did I exercise at all? “Clothes make the man,” said Mark Twain (as did Shakespeare and the ancient Greeks). So who am I according to my clothes? It’s a sobering thought.
Even more sobering is the realization that we also wear spiritual clothes each day. Scripture has a “laundry list” of spiritual clothes we are supposed to put on (see what I did there?). There’s the classic warrior outfit, aka – the full armor of God, which includes head-to-toe specific gear for us to wear in order to stand against the devil’s schemes. See Ephesians 6:10-18 for the full battle-dress description.
Then there’s the more demure outfit described in Colossians 3:12-14: “Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.” If we are being honest, that is a difficult outfit to wear.
Then I also noticed a Scripture with a clothing reference that’s right in front of me most days. It’s on my Bible cover AND the bookmark inside my Bible. The dreaded Proverbs 31 woman: “She is clothed with strength and dignity.” Another ouch. Most days I don’t feel strong or dignified.
So what spiritual clothes am I wearing on a regular basis? Am I even considering what I am ‘putting on’ each day? What spiritual clothing would others say I portray?
We sure notice what other people wear on the outside. (Side note – My favorite garment-watching happens to be at amusement parks – the clothing choices can be quite entertaining). However, we also notice how we are treated, which comes from what we wear on the inside.
So as we get dressed each day, don’t just think about what you’re wearing on the outside, but on the inside as well. Who will we encounter who needs compassion and kindness? What conversations might we have that will require strength and dignity? What opposition might we face that will need our armor of God?
And at the end of the week, when we take a spiritual laundry day, may it be that we wore more goodness than evil, more kindness than anger, more forgiveness than bitterness, more strength than weakness, more love than hate, more humility than pride, and more joy than strife.
INTERTWINED 