Fashion Flub

Always ready for a bargain, I decided I’d go along with my local grocer’s 10%-off everything offer. It involved promoting the state’s professional football team, the Seahawks.  If a customer wore a Seahawk jersey to shop on a Seahawk game day, he’d get that 10% discount. Remembering my husband had a blue Seahawk sweatshirt, I pulled the familiar color off a hanger in his closet and hurried out the door with my shopping list in hand. After filling my basket, I showed up at checkout and said,  “I wore a Seahawk shirt to get today’s special discount.”

The clerk glanced at me and muttered, “A Seahawk jersey.”  “Oh,” I replied, concluding that sweatshirts didn’t come under their “jersey” rule. I didn’t pursue the conversation as there were many customers behind me.  When I got home and took off the sweatshirt, I realized I’d put on another of his sweatshirts, same blue, but this mischievous, old-age message: “I don’t want to, I don’t have to, you can’t make me, I’m retired.”

My blunder has caused gales of laughter among family and friends. Somebody said, “You’ll figure out a blog from that.” Well, I did think of a few things.

*Our clothing can be a billboard of our values.  I’ve seen too many that are offensive beyond words. They’re good for the gutter, and no more.  I’m reminded of a story told of the 19^th century Russsian priest, Father John of Kronstadt. Unlike other clergy of his times, he purposefully went into the impoverished villages near his cathedral to interact with the people.  In the slums, he’d get down in the gutters where drunks were sleeping off their hangovers. He’d cup the man’s chin, look in his eyes and say, “This is beneath your dignity. You were created to house the fullness of God.”  Some of today’s clothing offerings are clearly beneath the dignity of a child of God.

*Our clothing is not all that should clothe us:

“Clothe yourself with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature.” –Paul, Romans 13:14
“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion,kindness, humility, gentleness and patience...Bear with each other...forgive...over all these virtues put on love.” –Paul, Colossians 3:12-14.
“Clothe yourselves with humility toward one another.” –Peter, 1 Peter 5:5
 

That’s the way it should be for those who wear the garments of salvation (Isaiah 61:10)!