Clothes To Bear

“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.” (Colossians 3:12)

One of the most popular presidents in history, Theodore Roosevelt, said this, “The most important single ingredient in the formula of success is knowing how to get along with people.” I find that hard to argue with because, at the end of the day, every single part of your life and mine is all about relationships.

Just think about it. Your spiritual life is determined by your relationship with God. Your vocational life is determined by your relationship with your employees, your boss, and your fellow workers. Your social life is determined by your relationship with your friends. Your marital life is determined by your relationship with your spouse and on and on it goes... At the end of the day, what life is all about is making those relationships work.

In the third chapter of Colossians, Paul shares with us three things we must do daily, continuously, and personally to get along with each other and have great relationships. Let’s talk about the first one day and we’ll cover the other two tomorrow.

The first thing we must do is wear certain clothes before others. Paul begins by saying that if you truly are a follower of Jesus, if you truly love Jesus, you are going to live for Jesus and look like Jesus. You’ve got to wear his clothes, so he says, “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience” (Colossians 3:12).

One of the biggest decisions we have to make almost every day of our lives is what we are going to wear. It doesn’t matter whether you are going to work, to the grocery store, or to the doctor. We don’t have to give a second thought to what we are to wear spiritually. Let’s just stop and ask ourselves this question, “If every day we put on the clothes of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience, don’t you think we would all get along?”

Dear Lord, I know one of the greatest gifts you’ve given us as humans is the ability to be in relationship. I pray that you would help me clothe myself the way Paul instructs so that I can have stronger, deeper, healthier relationships that ultimately honor you. In Jesus’ name, amen.