I've had a couple days like that recently. A few weeks ago, I watched that show What Not To Wear. I have very mixed feelings about that show. I love how the two hosts just blatantly ridicule people for the way they dress. I love seeing even worse clothes in other people's closets than what is in mine. I love knowing there are lots of other people out there who dress the way I do (not very thoughtfully, most of the time). I secretly love the idea of picking up tips and advice about how to dress better, since I am unfortunately very clueless about clothes and looks. But I don't like how much the show focuses on externals, especially in a culture that already ties so much of women's (especially women's) worth to their looks. I also don't know if I could let myself spend $5000 on a new wardrobe when people are hungry and starving and suffering from preventable diseases. I always wonder if they ever invite someone to be on the show who refuses because they don't want to spend that much money on clothes. I've decided that the only way they could get me on the show is if they agreed to give $10,000 to a humanitarian cause in addition to $5000 to me. Ha!
Anyway, immediately after watching the show that morning, I encountered this in my daily lectionary reading:
As God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against each other, forgive each other...above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. - Col. 3:12-14
A bizarre fantasy played itself out in my head then, a silly dream about a TV show that dared people to clothe themselves with kindness and humility and compassion. Instead of teaching people to find the perfect dress and the perfect shoes, the hosts would follow people around with video cameras and catch them finding ways to put on gentleness and patience. I pictured the end of the show, where all the friends and family gather to see the transformed person, and they would all be cheering at how this person learned to put on love. If only we got that kind of encouragement from society...what a world this would be.
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