May I Look at Your Wardrobe?

Jesus is in my home!!! He is everywhere with me. I handed Him the keys to all my doors and asked Him to watch over the order in our house of happiness and love. But He politely returned the keys to me, making it clear that the closed doors of my soul can only be opened by me. He respects my choice and gives me freedom in making independent decisions.

I understood that the Lord perfectly knows which of my rooms He needs to enter. And if I do not want to let Him somewhere, He sadly steps back, remaining the same loving Friend. But I also noticed that if I say no to Jesus in response to His knock on one of my closed doors, He stops knocking on other closed doors. I know how to fix this, but I do not always want to. In my house, there is a basement called "worldly pride". In this place, I love to bring people from the street, my neighbors, strangers, sometimes friends, but if Jesus wants to go down there, I find a thousand excuses to distract His attention.

I noticed that every time I am about to go somewhere and put on appropriate clothing, the Lord stands at the door of my closet and knocks, asking: "May I take a look in your wardrobe?"

I do not like it when my friends start rummaging through my underwear, but I cannot refuse Jesus. He carefully examines my wardrobe and divides the clothes into two categories, leaving them in the closet. On the right hang decent things, and in another place are all the rest.

I have a question: "Lord, what difference does it make what I wear? The main thing is that I believe in You and love You?" But at the same time, I understand that I am showing hypocrisy. I wait for an answer.

The Lord makes me understand that clothing is a business card for many people, by which they determine my belonging to the world or another society. And I am a priest of the living God and must always remember this when I go out among people. This means that clothing should be clean, not torn, decent, modest, corresponding to my gender and the time in which I live. It should not advertise this world.

On some items, Jesus put the stamp "love of the world", but I cannot understand why He did this, because I paid crazy money for them, and they correspond to the latest fashion trends. I simply do not want to accept my Friend's tastes because then I will feel like a "white crow".

But Jesus does not change His preferences, and His expectations correspond to high standards. And when I agree with Him and accept the clothing reform, He asks me what I will do with the items He rejected. Of course, I will leave them, let them lie, they might come in handy sometime. But Jesus makes it clear that they can become a net for me. I do not understand such an approach and want to better understand this issue. I invite Christ to a conversation and present my counterarguments. He calmly listens to me and explains that in my life, nutrition and clothing are simple tests of loyalty, by which the invisible world can easily determine the state of my heart. However, woe to me if I make this a criterion of my salvation and a measure for evaluating the spirituality of my neighbors.

I realize that I do not fully understand what was said, but Jesus convinces me that first changes occur in the heart, and then in external manifestations. A person must understand God's requirements and expectations with their mind and live in obedience.

When I go to a store to buy clothes, Jesus very much wants to be nearby, waiting for my invitation. The Savior desires that I let Him into all spheres of my life so that He has the opportunity to help me in everything.

When I choose clothes for myself, I do not simply ask to be given something I could wear. I pass by hangers and counters, paying attention to things that I like. I go with them to the fitting room. I look at myself in the mirror. I make sure the size matches. I look to see if the item suits my color. Does it correspond to other clothing items? I imagine how I look from the side, if there is a resemblance to my favorite movie actor. I think about whether my friends will admire me. Then I decide to buy this item. Already at home, I put it on and go out among people. My clothes did not accidentally end up on me; I chose them.

The enemy of the soul presents the world with fashion novelties and suggests to people how sexy these items are. He convinces people that everyone will desire them. Then he takes these things and brings them to God's children, assuring them that they are decent and comfortable. And when the heat comes, Satan convinces me that I should lighten my clothing so that air can freely blow over all parts of the body, and that it does not matter how it looks from the outside. And those who will express their dissatisfaction with my appearance can be boldly declared fanatics or Pharisees who understand nothing about life. I am not naked, just lightly dressed.

The enemy of the soul has created an even more sophisticated culture of naked bodies and made it so important and necessary for all people that if I refuse it, I begin to be considered crazy and put on a blacklist of strange people. Beaches and pools have become a familiar place where the view of my naked body is considered quite decent because the body needs sunbathing. And I even ask Jesus to be with me and bless me with rest and an even tan. And my dear sisters have such graceful body parts that it is very pleasant for the eyes to examine them. And the fact that they are slightly covered with rags does not prevent me from seeing what beautiful forms the Lord has given them. My thoughts are pure. I rest and disconnect from the whole world to simply lie in the sun, read the Bible, and think about nothing.

And then I hear a knock at the door of my heart and the question: "What are you doing here?" "I am sunbathing, Lord! Lie down next to me, I have time to communicate with You!" And in response, I hear: "Do you not know that you are wretched and naked!" What strange words. "I am not naked, I have swimming trunks on, do not record me among nudists, I have not sunk so low."

And then I thought. Since the Lord characterizes me in this way, then it must be so. But I cannot throw the culture of recreation out of my head; I grew up in it, I do not know what can replace such pastime. My whole life loses meaning if I do not go on vacation to the sea or lake. That is the whole point. I save all year for a vacation and spend these funds on my pleasures for two weeks, and then post my photos on social networks to delight friends with the views of nature that my eyes have contemplated. And if I remove this from life, I can fall into depression.

But the Lord says: "You are naked, and I advise you to buy white clothing from Me so that the shame of your nakedness will not be seen."

What should I do? Again, I received a "blow to the head". I so want to be in Eternity, but at the same time, I want to sunbathe on the beach. How can I combine these? The "balcony country" does not suit me at all. Why is my dear Jesus so picky? He probably does not understand my need for rest. But I will try to listen. How boring.

Lord, help me understand You! I am used to living differently, and Your requirements are foreign to me!

I enter the sanctuary. I come to myself. I need a new heart. Right now. Here. I will not let You go until You bless me! Save me, Lord, from myself!

Reflection Questions for this Chapter

1. What did you understand from this chapter?

2. Is it important to God how I dress?

3. What constitutes indecent clothing? Where is the measure of decency?

4. What does decent clothing look like?

5. What should I do if people come to our gathering in immodest clothing?

6. Please read Exodus 20:26; Isaiah 47:2-3; Deuteronomy 22:5; Leviticus 21:10; Matthew 6:25 in light of this chapter.