Many of us who live in big cities tend to dress informally, with jeans and trainers and sometimes sportswear like tracksuits and baseball caps; some people might label such a person as looking like a drug dealer or a street thug, or even a Hoodie! But for many, it is just a way of dressing and nothing more.
I am a Christian, and I often dress like this; I don’t see any problem with being an ordinary bloke and being a dyed-in-the-wool Christian; there is no reason I see to pretend to be something I am not; I think God wants us to be who we are, even if we look and dress like Hoodies sometimes; Hoodies 4 Jesus no less!
Some people from poorer and disadvantaged backgrounds lacking in self-worth may mistakenly think they need respect from other people; but the sad fact is that no one needs to’ get respect’ from anybody else for any reason. We need to respect others first, even if generally people don’t respect us; how can you respect yourself if you don’t respect others, and how can you respect others if you don’t respect yourself? There may be a thin line between needing and demanding respect; we all need to be respected and loved but this should come naturally from family and friends, even from neighbours and acquaintances. You don’t get real respect from people by threatening them in any way.
In my walk with God, through good times and bad, when I’ve been a good lad and at other times when I wasn’t really walking with God at all, there has never been a problem with how I dress. You can wear a hoodie and be a Christian! You can wear a baseball cap and be a Christian! You can be trendy and be a Christian; but it doesn’t matter if you’re not trendy!
You can be trendy and be a Christian; but it doesn’t matter if you’re not trendy!
ReplyDeleteWell thank God for that!! Keep up the fine work TC, Wikio listings are out tomorrow.
Haha! you made me laugh there! It is meant to be a little light-hearted, I'm glad you picked up on that!
ReplyDeleteTotally concur - I can't help wondering if Jesus wore a hoodie after the resurrection - cause his friends on the road to Emmaus didn't recognise him...
ReplyDeleteI agree. I am always curious as to how we think and subsequently behave. Taking extremes, in my personal research, I sometimes, when visiting a place for the first time, I wear clothes that are drab, old, cheap and second hand. On other occasions I wear clothes which were far more expensive, (also second hand although you wouldn't know it, thank you eBay,)colourful and conspicuous. I am in no doubt that I am treated differently according to what I am wearing, before I even say a word. It seems to me, that when we have little other information about a person, the way they dress is our first clue as to which pigeon hole we can quickly place them in.
ReplyDeleteHi Dave; that's certainly a thought isn't it, Jesus Himself wearing a hoodie! I'm glad you liked my piece, and thanks for the comment.
ReplyDeleteHi Joan; it is certainly true that most of us make snap judgements about people simply by how they dress; if someone dresses scruffily, we probably think they're 'cheap' in some way, or something negative at any rate. We rate them higher if they are wearing expensive-looking clothes. I think Jesus wants us to go beyond that, go 'the extra mile' in not judging anyone but seeing in them what He sees in us, a unique creation. Curiously enough, when I dress 'street' I think I do look a 'bit of a lad' and when I am going for an interview, I can look very smart! I'm happy with both.
Paul was all things to all people so that some may be saved, but his change never went so far as to confuse the identity of those who followed Jesus and those who follow the world. To know better is to do better and to be different is more attractive than to be the same.
ReplyDeleteHi Roger, thanks for the comment!
ReplyDeleteHi Tim and Roger,I agree. Jesus tells us to love everybody with the love of God. To love God above everybody and everything else, to love our neighbour as ourselves and to love our enemy. For me, being commanded to love my enemy comes as such a relief. It is not always easy and although at times, we will be challenged, is so much easier to love than than to hate and to love than be jealous and what is more, Godly love really does create instant, positive changes in our relationships. Thank you Jesus and thank you Tim for an interesting, Christian website.
ReplyDeleteHi Joan, thank you for the lovely comment! It is so much better to love than hate, even though I think every Christian at times can be drawn into worldly things such as hatred and sectarianism of one kind or another. I think when we hate, we bring troubles and even illness on ourselves. As you say, godly love does wonders for all our relationships. I return the compliment and thank you for your very interesting website!
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