It’s amazing how we feel different when we wear different sets of clothes. We choose particular clothes depending on where we might be going, or who we might be seeing. For example most people wouldn’t go to a wedding in shorts and a tee shirt, or play football in a three-piece-suit!
It was around 60AD that St Paul wrote a letter to Christians who lived in the city of Colossae. The remains of the city are in modern-day Turkey.
In his letter, Paul uses the metaphor of clothing to make his point. He told his readers that there are some clothes that they need to take off, and some they need to put on. He tells them to take off ten items of clothing: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, greed, anger, rage, malice, slander, and telling lies. Quite a list!
Continuing his metaphor, he then tells his readers to put on six other pieces of clothing instead. The first one is compassion which is all about showing sympathy and care for people who may be going through a tough time.
His second piece of clothing is kindness, which means being friendly, generous, and considerate to people without expecting anything in return.
His third piece of clothing is humility which is to do with not pushing ourselves forward, but allowing others to have the limelight.
The fourth is gentleness which is all about being sensitive to someone who might be feeling vulnerable in some way.
The fifth is patience which can mean waiting for something, or keeping doing something that might be challenging.
The sixth is love. The Greek language in which Paul wrote his letter has four words for love. The word he uses here is agapé which is primarily a love of the will rather than just of loving feelings. It is a love that is determined by the generosity of the giver, not necessarily the attractiveness of the one being loved.
So, with these six items of ‘clothing’ in mind, if you think about where you might be going tomorrow and a person you might meet, which of these metaphorical items of clothing do you think you should wear when you meet that person?