Dress the Part?

If you know me, I'm not a shirt and tie guy. As a matter of fact, if I ever wear a shirt and tie with dress pants to church to preach in, I can't even get in the front door without everyone giving me the business! I really only bust those clothes out if I had a wedding or funeral the day/night before or on Mother's Day!
When I came to this church back in 2010, I had an encounter at the entrance door that will forever change me as far as clothes go. As I stood and greeted people as they entered into the church, someone from our church had brought a neighbor. She introduced me then she said to her visiting neighbor...You see I told you you could wear what you're wearing, look what our pastor has on. That statement told me something about a previous conversation that these two ladies had had and I wasn't even there to hear it. This lady from our church invited someone, which happened to be her neighbor to church and this neighbor offered up this excuse as I have heard by so many...I don't have anything to wear!
Shame on us for relaying the message that people have to dress a certain way to worship our Lord. Some of the most ungodly, lowdown people in life get up every workday and put on a shirt and tie and we for some crazy reason feel that is more godly than a nice pair of jeans and an un-tucked shirt!
The reason that I brought this up is I was questioned by someone in town. Today I went to the local hospital to check on one from our church who is still recovering from surgery. I did as I always do, I pulled into the clergy parking space. I usually back in because that way I can use my back-up camera and get as close to the cement pillar to leave plenty of room for people as they pull in to the covered garage. As I am backing into this spot, an older man is waiting on me in his truck. As I put my truck in park and began to exit the vehicle, he pulled around past me and waited. As I got out, he said...Young man, that parking is for pastors. I said I am one. He looked at me up and down as I was standing there in shorts and he said..."Dress the Part Then" and sped off.
I thought about that man as I entered into the hospital and what he said. I realized that I wasn't dressed as he thought I should be as a pastor. I also realized that he is so wrong. I was "the part" as I went in and prayed with this woman. I was "the part" as I went to the room next to her and prayed for a complete stranger as I always do on my hospital visits. I was "the part" yesterday as I did the same thing in Nashville and as I will again tomorrow and me being "the part" really didn't depend at all on how I was dressed.
I thought about you and I and more important than you and I "dressing the part" in life is that you and I live the part. The world is full of imitators, one's who look or dress the part but are nothing but. Sad to say, that is why the world has such a bad image when it comes to Christians...too many looking the part and very few living it!
When my life is over, what I desire most is when people and my Lord think of me, they think of one who didn't just dress the part but one who lived it! The Apostle Paul states in 1 Corinthians 11:1...to be imitators of me as I imitate Christ. What Paul was saying was don't follow or imitate me for who I am but follow or imitate me because of who I am following. Imitating Christ...Living the part instead of dressing the part is what the world really needs to see and will make much more of a difference than a dress shirt and tie!

Consider Your Ways...Pastor John

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