Sista Fashionista

A male friend recently commented that he thought so many Christian women are too often unattractively dressed.  His statement prompted me to consider where the line of balance ought to be drawn.  Is the appearance to be a big deal?  I don’t claim any fashionista status, and though one of my favorite TV programmes is What Not to Wear (WNTW) on TLC, I conclude that based on 1 Timothy 2:9 biblegateway.com, as women, our primary focus ought to be our inner beauty.  Nevertheless, the average woman is first seen before she is able to dazzle those around her with brilliance, good heart and positive thoughts.  This means that B-A-L-A-N-C-E is ¡muy importante!  To emphasize one over the other is to invite trouble.  Sure you can come as you are but who said you were to stay that way?  One valuable lesson I’ve learnt from WNTW is the need to get a few quality pieces (preferably those you can mix and make several outfits) rather than have a large number of inappropriate attire. These do not need to be expensive pieces either, generic clothes are as popular as generic meds – some of them are just as well made too so really there’s no excuse. 

I often use the story of an incident that occurred when I was a teen to both advise others and keep myself in check.  It was a Sunday morning and I was running late for church.  My dad started the car and threatened to leave so that I would have to walk to church (our church was a 15 minute, uphill, walk away).  To avoid having to endure such a sweaty undertaking, I rushed out of the house.

Body Lotion – check
Comb – check 
Make up – check
Purse – check
I would finish dressing in the church bathroom. 

20 minutes later as I was getting ready to enter the sanctuary I looked around, "where had I put my Bible?" …OOPS!

What’s my point here?  You’re going to have to ensure that your heart is right with God, that your attitude reflects that commitment and that those around you can testify to your genuine love for God and following Him.   But would it hurt if you didn’t look like you just rolled off the couch or your blind great-aunt dressed you?  Do something with your hair! Wear clothes that fit!  When Naomi told Ruth to go present herself to Boaz she told her to fix herself up, she couldn’t wear the clothes she’d been picking wheat in all day biblegateway.com.  Boaz knew Ruth was a nice gal, he’d already been wowed by her selfless actions; but there’s something about a well put together woman that just makes what she’s saying all the more interesting and convincing.

Then of course there’s the flip side, the white-washed sepulchre types who completely ignore the spiritual part of who they claim to be while they doll the outside.  They either look like the women who have no allegiance to Jesus Christ or they spend all their attention and money trying to be beautiful or sexy biblegateway.com.

Today’s word – BALANCE!