The Well-Dressed Christian

COLOSSIANS 3:12

INTRODUCTION

Americans give a lot of attention to their clothing.

On cold days Charlotte and I walk in Lindale Mall for exercise.

We notice that there are more clothing stores than any other kind of shop.

We often get catalogs in the mail full of pictures of attractive models wearing handsome clothing.

We wear clothes to cover our bodies—which generally aren’t especially beautiful.

We wear clothes to protect ourselves from the elements.

We wear clothes so we will look nice for the people who look at us. Attractive clothes can be a mark of respect for others who have to look at us.

Here is a verse from Colossians about clothes: “As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness and patience” (Colossians 3:12).

You’ve noticed, Paul isn’t talking about literal clothing. He is using the idea of clothes as a metaphor for how we are to adorn ourselves in a spiritual sense as we live among our friends and neighbors.

I. Just as it is important to wear appropriate clothes out of respect for other people and for our own sense of confidence, so it is important for us to clothe ourselves with the virtues—or graces—appropriate to God’s chosen people—as Paul says, who are “holy and beloved.”

A. Putting on these graces, it isn’t like putting on garments that call attention to our good taste or make us look stylish.

It is more like putting on a uniform.

Policemen wear uniforms to mark them out from other people.

So do nurses, and letter-carriers, and soldiers, and firemen, and airline pilots.

The uniform keeps them on their toes. The one wearing the uniform strives to serve appropriately as a member of his or her profession.

The uniform gives us confidence that that person will serve us according to his or her expertise—whether it’s nursing, or putting out fires, or carrying the mail, or catching law-breakers, or piloting the airplane.

B. When we Christian believers wear the graces of compassion, kindness, lowliness, meekness, and patience, we are constantly reminded of why God has put us into the world.

God has not put us into this world to gratify ourselves but to serve him by serving people he loves—and that is everyone.

He has put us here to spread his love and kindness around the world.

Many years ago an older friend told me this: “I used to think that I was put on earth to be happy and to make other people good. I have since learned that I am put on earth to be good and to make other people happy.”

That is what God expects of us. That is why he tells us to put on—to clothe ourselves—with these attractive virtues. I call them “graces” because they come from God.

II. These “graces” come from God. They are not natural.

A. I used to teach young children. I will tell you that compassion, kindness, lowliness, meekness and patience do not come naturally.

They have to be learned. You know how hard it was to teach these virtues to your children.

You also know how hard it is for you to maintain those habits in your life.

Even when we know how we should behave, we often slip into the opposite habits—habits of selfishness, unkindness, pride, self-assertion, and impatience.

It’s a life-long project to change from the natural “me-first” attitude we are born with to the godly attitude of living to bring love and happiness into the world.

B. Notice that each of these graces has to do with helping others to be happier.

Each of these graces involves putting the interests of another person above our own.

Each of these graces makes us more useful to other people.

Each of these graces involves some kind of sacrifice.

Each of these graces requires the help of God.

C. Let’s look briefly at each of these graces and consider how we can—with God’s help—build them into our lives.

COMPASSION

Compassion doesn’t simply mean feeling sorry for someone. I can imagine that the priest and the Levite who were going down the Jericho road felt sorry for the man who had been beat up by the robbers. But the Samaritan not only felt sorry, but he stopped—at great danger and inconvenience to himself—and helped him.

Compassion is to feel the hurt in another person’s heart—and then to do something kind.

It could be a hug, a word of encouragement, a prayer, a gift—or  even just being a good listener.

KINDNESS

Kindness is more important than perfection.

In fact, you are not very holy if you are not very kind.

One of the rabbis said, “Kindness is more important than wisdom, and the recognition of this is the beginning of wisdom.”

Kindness is hard for some people because it is hard for them to put themselves in another’s place.

So kindness is a character trait that we should pray for and work hard to show in our lives.

LOWLINESS

Lowliness is an old-fashioned word for humility.

The ancient saints used to say that humility was the foundation for all the virtues. One of the saints said, “If you want to build a tall house of virtues, first plan for yourself a deep foundation of humility” (Thomas Hilton).

Humility is to realize that we are—each of us—sinners and fall short in many ways of what we should be.

Humility is to think about my faults instead of the other fellow’s.

Humility is to forget myself in my concern someone else.

Paul wrote in Philippians:

“Do nothing from selfishness or conceit, but in lowliness of mind count others better than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to your own interests but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which you have in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:3-5).

MEEKNESS

“Meekness” is another word for “gentleness.” To the ancient pagan Greek mind humility and gentleness were shameful. One of their philosophers, Celsus, derided the Christ and because they worshiped as God, a man who lowered himself to wash the dirty feet of his disciples.

To be meek is to be gentle, courteous, considerate, tenderhearted.

Gentleness seems to the world to be weakness. But it takes a strong person to be always gentle.

A pine tree stood on a mountainside. One day a tiny seed fell out of a pinecone on that tree and fluttered to the ground. It fell into a crack in the rock and finally sprouted—a tiny, weak shoot. But the shoot grew into a plant, and the plant into a sapling, and the sapling broke the rock. In its gentleness was its strength.

In the Soviet Union all the power was with the government. And the government was intent on stamping out faith in God. All the powers of the political system united themselves to destroy the church. The government controlled the educational system and the children were taught atheism in the schools.

Most of the churches were destroyed or turned into warehouses or museums. A generation grew up without God.

But there were people who kept believing. They were the grandmas, the babushkas. The babushkas kept going to church. The babushkas kept the faith.

And eventually the political system crumbled and the power of the state collapsed, and the church remained.

The grandmothers had won. The grandmothers had kept the faith alive. And now the churches are growing stronger, and people are again worshiping in Russia.

Jesus was weak. When he was arrested, he did not resist. When he was abused he did not curse his enemies but trusted in God.

And the cross, the point of Christ’s greatest weakness was also the source of his greatest power.

From Christ’s meekness and gentleness and helplessness came the great victory—the victory over sin and death and the devil.

Jesus calls us to follow in his path, the path of meekness—and strength.

PATIENCE

The patience Paul is recommending here isn’t the patience of someone who is working a 1000-piece jigsaw puzzle or the patience it takes to learn a new language or to refinish a dining room set.

It is the patience of a teacher with a student who can’t understand.

It is the patience of a mother with a disobedient child.

It is the patience of a wife with a husband who has annoying habits.

The word used for patience here also means forbearance and mercy.

It also means forgiveness. When we are patient with people we forgive them.

III. As you think about clothing yourself with compassion, kindness, lowliness, meekness, and patience, you are probably thinking—as I do—It’s impossible! I could never be this kind of person.

The only thing I can do is point you to Jesus, our Savior.

Jesus embodies all these qualities—compassion, kindness, lowliness, meekness, and patience.

The more we learn of him…the more we walk in his company...the more we reflect on his life as recorded in the gospels …the more we will grow into his likeness.

Do you have a Bible? Get it out today and begin with Matthew…or Mark…or Luke…or John, and read about Jesus.

We won’t grow these graces so much by striving for them as by living with Jesus until his life begins to shine in ours.

I should warn you—

You won’t see the graces that adorn your life.

The more holy you become, the more you will be aware of how far short you fall of being all you should be for God. You will not feel yourself to be a godly person.

But others will see Christ in you.

CONCLUSION

A little girl was taken to visit a great cathedral. She was especially impressed by the beautiful stained glass windows in which were depicted various saints of God.

She asked her daddy, “Who are those people in the windows?”

“They are the saints,” her father replied.

“Oh, now I understand,” his daughter said. “Saints are people the light shines through!”

Does the light of Jesus shine through you?

The more you think about Jesus, the closer you live to him and let him live in you—the more like Jesus you will become.

Then you will be wearing Christ’s uniform—the clothing of compassion, kindness, lowliness, meekness, and patience.

People will see goodness in you.

People will see Jesus in you.

And you will be fulfilling your destiny as a child of God.