Have you ever had to tell a friend (or, God forbid, a spouse) that something they were wearing just did not look very good on them?  That is not an easy thing to tell someone but sometimes it is necessary.  Better to tell a friend that what he or she is wearing is not very flattering than to let them go out in public looking bad.  Love demands that we make hard choices sometimes.

Inspired writers of the Bible compared how we live to clothing ourselves.

Psalm 132:9 (ESV)

⁹ Let your priests be clothed with righteousness, and let your saints shout for joy. 

Romans 13:14 (ESV)

¹⁴ But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.

We should all strive to put on Christ and be clothed with righteousness.  Sadly, some of God’s children clothe themselves with the world instead of with Christ.  It is not a very good look.  We put on Christ by living according to His will and ways and we put on the world the same way, that is, by living according to its ways.  The Word of God encourages us to avoid doing this.

Ephesians 4:17 (ESV)

¹⁷ Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds.

Paul’s exhortation, not to walk as the Gentiles, is a warning to the saints at Ephesus not to live like the world.  This continues to be a valid and worthwhile exhortation today.  As Christians, we are constantly faced with the temptation to live like the world.  Most people desire to fit in with the crowd.  Even in Christ, many find themselves wanting to live, dress, and talk like the people around them.  This is not something new for the people of God.  The Jews demonstrated such a propensity when they demanded to have a king like all the nations (1 Samuel 8:19, 20).  Do you find yourself wanting to walk like the world?  If so, the encouragement of Paul should help.

Romans 12:2 (ESV)

² Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

The word conformed means to act in agreement with or to go along with prevailing customs.  Paul tells us not to do that.  Why?  Because to do so is to put on the world and it is just not a good look for the children of God.

Instead, we should be transformed.  The Greek word for transformed is metamorphoō and means, “to change or transfigure” (Strong’s Greek & Hebrew Dictionary).  We get the word metamorphosis from this Greek word.  Webster tells us that a metamorphosis has to do with a change of form.  As God’s children, we should have experienced a metamorphosis.

2 Corinthians 5:17 (ESV)

¹⁷ Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

Are you a new creation in Christ?  If so, it is being reflected by your new garment.  You are not living like the world around you.  You are not gratifying the desires of the flesh.  Instead, you are bearing the fruit of the Spirit, being clothed with Christ instead of the world.  This is something people can see about you.  They see that you are different because the glorious light of the gospel is shining forth from you, and God is glorified by it.

Living like the world might be easier.  If we do so, we will be like the majority and man will praise us, but it is not the way to heaven.  We all need to decide who we want to put on in life.  We can attire ourselves with righteousness or we can put on the ungodly garments of the world.  If you have decided to clothe yourself with the ways of the world, I must tell you, it’s not a very good look.  Change your garments before it is too late.

As you wind down for the night, think about these things.