Colossians 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 one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
As my two sons reached adulthood, I advised each to build a business wardrobe around a few classic articles. With these basics as the foundation, they could then adapt to different situations or accommodate fashion trends as they assembled the remainder of their wardrobe.
My first suggestion was a baby blue button-down shirt with beige khakis. Both can be mixed and matched in various ways to dress up or dress down.
The next priority was a white button-down shirt. Again, this shirt can be used in a variety of settings, from casual all the way to formal when paired with a tie.
Finally, a black sports coat. This useful article also ranges across occasions, paired with jeans or coupled in formal settings with dress slacks.
Again, they needed more than these four pieces of clothing. But these formed the bedrock upon which to construct outfits. Even in today's more casual environment, these classic articles of clothing still pertain.
The Apostle Paul recommended that the Colossians clothe themselves with a spiritual wardrobe of basic virtues: compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Atop all these, they should wear the overcoat of love.
People frequently ask me for the basics of a spiritual life. While they are usually thinking of spiritual disciplines like prayer and scripture, our mindset might begin further inward to the spiritual wardrobe we should wear. If we clothe ourselves daily with a spirit of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, we will go far toward the ultimate goal of loving God and neighbors.
This attitude can also change our approach to prayer and scripture. Both can guide us toward right living if we seek within them such spiritual wardrobe components as we enter the world each day. How much better would life be if everyone - if we - mixed and matched these basic Christian clothes to handle any situation?
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