Open Heavens daily devotion: DRESS TO BE ADDRESSED

Open Heavens 26 May 2015: Tuesday daily devotion

DRESS TO BE ADDRESSED

Memorise: And they said, An Egyptian delivered us out of the hand of the shepherds, and also drew water enough for us, and watered the flock. - Exodus 2:19

Read: Exodus 2:16-20 (KJV)

16 Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters: and they came and drew water, and filled the troughs to water their father's flock.

17 And the shepherds came and drove them away: but Moses stood up and helped them, and watered their flock.

18 And when they came to Reuel their father, he said, How is it that ye are come so soon today?

19 And they said, An Egyptian delivered us out of the hand of the shepherds, and also drew water enough for us, and watered the flock.

20 And he said unto his daughters, And where is he? why is it that ye have left the man? Call him, that he may eat bread.

Bible in One Year: 2 Samuel 18:1-19:15, Mark 14:32-52

MESSAGE:

Many of today’s Christians don’t pay attention to their physical appearance. They have overstretched the fact that physical appearance may be deceptive at times.

Although the Bible confirms this to be true in Proverbs 31:30, it is also true that what you show on the outside is a reflection of who you are on the inside. In my culture, there are two sayings of the elders which appear to contradict, each other, but which contain eternal truths that cannot be wished away. The first one says: “The way you appear determines the level of respect people will accord you.” In other words, if you dress like a slave, you will be treated like a slave.

The other saying is: “A gorgeous dress does not guarantee nobility. “That is to say, a slave can dress like a king but this does not make him a king.

The experience of Moses when he fled to Midian confirms the truth that a person is more often than not addressed based on the way he or she is dressed.

Moses was not an Egyptian; he was Hebrew, but he was called an Egyptian by the daughter of the priest of Midian. Why did they call him an Egyptian? It's most certainly because of his general appearance. The lesson we should learn from this story as Christians is that we should allow what is inside us to reflect on the outside. For instance, if you are actually saved from sexual immorality, your manner of dressing must not promote it.

Many years ago, some foreign teachers came to teach in our Bible College, and they taught our students that how they dressed did not matter, rather, it was that which was inside of them that was important. To correct this wrong teaching, I went to the nearby market to buy two similar oranges. The only difference between them was the fact that one was yellow while the other was green. I took the oranges to the class, showed them to the students and asked: “Given an option to choose, which one would you choose out of these two oranges?” they chose the yellow orange because according to them, the yellow one would be sweeter. Then I further asked how they arrived at this conclusion, since they had not even cut them open. They replied, “The outside appearance shows what is inside.” That drove home the message.

When you dress in a way that people begin to wonder whether you know the difference between the “public” and the “private” parts of your body, then you need to learn Christian dressing ethics. Christians should allow the Holy Spirit to guide them on their physical comportment as becoming of saints. Others may dress inappropriately, but children of God cannot.

Action Point: Look into your wardrobe, bring out any attire that promotes lust and sexual provocation and get rid of them. Let your wardrobe be born-again.