“Dress For Success” Colossians 3:12-17
There’s a TV program that I sometimes watch with Brenda that’s called “How Do I Look?”
On this program, a woman is nominated by her friends for this TV program because her friends believe that she needs to exchange her out of style, ugly clothes for new in style beautiful clothes.
Usually, the woman who needs to change her wardrobe doesn’t know that she needs to change her clothes and resists the efforts of her friends and the TV hostess to get rid of her old clothes. Most of the time, the woman who needs to change her wardrobe believes that others think that she looks good in what she is wearing. She also generally believes that the way she dresses expresses on the outside who she thinks she is on the inside.
An example of this might be a 45 year old mother of three children who wears a style of clothing that would only look good on her twenty year old daughter. Another example could be a 25 year old woman who wears clothing that would look better on her grandmother than on her.
A time of caring confrontation from the woman’s friends takes place on the program when different articles of clothing from the woman’s closet are placed on a table. The friends tell the contestant how ugly a dress or a pants outfit makes the contestant look and the TV show hostess takes each garment & throws it into an air chute that carries it away to the trash. Sometimes the woman protests because that kind of clothing is all she’s ever known or been comfortable with, but the clothes are thrown away regardless.
In each case, the woman not only needs to change her clothing, she also needs to change her self-image as well as well as her clothing. In short, she needs a complete make-over in her attitude about herself and about her clothing.
The purpose of the TV program is to help change not only the exterior presentation of each woman on the program, but also to help her find a positive internal identity that will match the external new look she will show to her family and friends at the end of the program. The TV hostess gently and patiently leads the contestant into a process of properly understanding who she really is and what clothes she should wear that would accurately reflect that new-found identity to others. A whole new wardrobe of clothes is then selected by the contestant to match her newly discovered identity. As part of the program, the new wardrobe is given to the contestant.
It is amazing to see the difference that new clothes, a new haircut and a new self-identity makes. Prior to the presentation of each contestant, a “before photo” is displayed on a large screen to contrast the “old” look with the “new”. One “Special dress” is chosen for the presentation that takes place at the grand finale of the TV program. Truly the ugly duckling becomes a swan! During the grand finale, the contestant radiates a new found confidence as her friends and family members affirm how lovely she now is because the old is gone, done away with and replaced by the “New You” look.
After this presentation of the contestant to her friends and family, the TV hostess then presents an additional gift which will help the contestant to achieve success in pursuing her life’s ambition.
In a similar way in today’s passage of Scripture, the Apostle Paul is both acting like the friends of the woman needing a make-over and acting like the TV hostess who helps the contestant find her new identity and learn to “Dress For Success” in life.
The Apostle continues the theme in this chapter with which he began this letter, that is, with a positive affirmation reminding the saints of Colossae of their worth and value in the sight of God. He also, like the friends in the TV program, calls certain actions and attitudes inconsistent with their real identity in Christ.
In today’s passage, notice how the Apostle Paul identifies the Colossae believers in verse 12a; chosen ones, holy and loved.
Notice the new wardrobe of clothes that the Apostle Paul tells the Colossae believers to put on in verse 12b; compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.
Similar to, but different from the TV hostess, the Apostle Paul is leading the saints to “Dress for Success” with the difference being Spiritual Success as the goal.
In addition to the new wardrobe of internal attitudes, the Apostle Paul encourages the saints to behave in new ways that are consistent with their new attitudes in verse 13; bearing with each other, forgiving others just like Christ has forgiven them.
The “Special” article of clothing that the Apostle Paul notes is the garment of UNIFYING LOVE in verse 14, similar to the “Special Dress” that the TV program contestant wears for her grand finale presentation.
The Apostle reminds each saint of the gifts that God gives to them to help them realize His goal is for their spiritual maturity in verses 15-17, similar to the TV hostess giving a gift to each contestant to help them realize their life’s ambition.
What’s in the wardrobe of your life? Are we spiritually “Dressed for Success?”
As fellow travelers on the road of life, what is our inner attitude toward ourselves? Do we properly value ourselves as being valued by our Lord? Do we celebrate being chosen? Do we celebrate being already considered holy in the sight of God because of what Jesus did for us on the Cross or are we trying in some way to earn God’s approval, maybe because we haven’t fully grasped our GRACE-BASED identity of being ALREADY APPROVED in Christ? Do we realize that God loves us because He IS Love and expressed the length to which He would go to reclaim the children that He has loved before the foundation of the world? Do we know that we ALREADY are loved children of God, that He loved us and made provision for us even when we considered Him to be our enemy? Why is it that when we first began to respond to the Gospel we believed and received Him and His love but after the passage of time, we somehow dress like His love and grace are not as full AFTER we become His child as it was before? Perhaps we fellow travelers need to take another look at the Lord and rediscover our true identity again?
Why is this important? Because ONLY when we know who we are in Christ that we are able to then pass that on to the brothers and sisters of GBC! We can’t value others fully and help them Dress for Spiritual Success if we ourselves are not dressed for Spiritual Success. If we have the same misunderstanding of who we are and what our potential is, just like the contestant on the TV program, we will be unable to positively lead and encourage brothers and sisters to Dress for Spiritual Success. An incorrect or a negative self-identity among us is contagious! If we do not know who we are in Christ and dress accordingly, we can’t lead GBC brothers and sisters to discover that God doesn’t love them less AFTER they become His child than He did when they weren’t!
Could it just be that we need to gently and lovingly remind one another that we must clean out our wardrobe and dispose of the old clothes of the past negative self-perceptions and negative behaviors that we sometimes wear? Could it just be that we need to gently and lovingly remind one another of the beautiful clothes and wonderful gifts of love, peace, authority in life, worship and gratitude that the Lord has for each of us? Could it just be that when we model this kind of clothing before brothers and sisters that they will begin to believe that they too can have a new make-over complete with a new wardrobe and wonderful gifts from God?
Could it also be that when we model both the positive inner identity we have been given in Christ and the outer matching spiritual clothes, those who don’t know the Lord will be more inclined to give us a hearing when we share the Gospel with them? Could it just be that what an unbelieving world needs to see in us is a wardrobe change, an on-going make-over as we grow and celebrate the Lord’s generosity to “who so ever will”?
Again I ask, what’s in the wardrobe of your life? Are you “Dressed for Success” Spiritually? Let us all apply the teaching of verse 17 as we select different clothes to wear in the future; that is, “whatever we do whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”