Monday, February 05, 2007

No one wants to see that

The scripture in Doug Fletcher's sermon at WHPC on Sunday was from Colossians 3 and it included verses 3:12-14 "Therefore as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity."

Doug's sermon was mostly about these fruits of the Spirit and forgiving grieveances, moving on, etc. What resonated with me initially, however, was the concept of clothing oneself with these virtues - as opposed to remaining naked, as it were.

So much idiocy and ugliness is defended with claims that one is simply "being real" and not trying to hide anything. There's a difference between hypocrisy and prudence, between what I'm thinking and what I'm going to say. That difference doesn't mean I'm two-faced or a scoundrel, it just means I have little regard for my own nature. I need to consciously clothe myself with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. I embarass myself when I go out underdressed.

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