Best Dressed

In high school I was nominated for six superlatives. I remember saying to myself, “Wow, that’s more than anyone else in the class!” I was pretty happy with myself at the time. I mean, who wouldn’t be? You might be asking, “How do you even remember such things?” My answer is simple. Back then, such accolades really meant something to me. I’d play them off in false humility as if they didn’t really mean anything, but they did - trust me - so much so that for years afterwards, when I was feeling blue or my self-esteem was low, I’d draw upon my high school reputation for a sense of reassurance that I wasn’t all that bad. It’s hard to forget such things, even when they are ungodly.

One of the superlatives I received was Best Dressed. To this day, my family teases me about it because my choice of clothing back then was questionable. I’m not sure how to describe what I wore, but suffice to say that I followed the trends very closely, even set some. My efforts got even more extreme when I lived in Hawaii for a few years afterwards. Looking back, I can’t help but giggle; but only about the styles I wore, not the underlying motivation. The latter makes me sad.

What was my motivation, after all? To be totally transparent, it was to be accepted by my peers. I lacked the one thing that really would have delivered me from this bondage. I lacked Christ. I was dressed up in all of the latest fashions, using copious amounts of Dippity Do hair gel, and prancing around school grounds like a fool, all to establish my self worth among a group of people who were striving for the same things. I was king of the hill, governor of the mansion, and, oh yeah, I also received Best Personality, so I was well-liked to boot! Little did we know that I was the poster child for a type of social cancer. I know that now. Sadly, many of my classmates still don’t. They are still living under the curse of what might best be called ‘the law of the land,’ where citizens are deemed upstanding by their adherence to an economy based on self-righteousness.

In the world, superlatives make you righteous - they add to your account. And since you are the one primarily adding to your own account, we call this self-righteousness. Everyone’s keeping score, you see. The more points you have to your name, the more worthy you are to hold your chin up in the company of others. Superlatives recorded in high school yearbooks memorialize our self-esteem. It’s all an awful trap.

Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things again is no trouble to me, and it is a safeguard for you. Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of the false circumcision; for we are the true circumcision, who worship in the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh, although I myself might have confidence even in the flesh. If anyone else has a mind to put confidence in the flesh, I far more: circumcised the eighth day, of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the Law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to the righteousness which is in the Law, found blameless.

But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.
I, like Paul above, denounce the superlatives I received back in high school. Is it fun to reflect on such things? I guess if we keep it superficial, then making fun of my goofy style back then is OK. However, it’s not fun at all to think about the motivation behind it. Instead of dressing up for the world, I should’ve been dressing up for Christ, with Him, to be precise.

But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.
The Greek word for “put on” is enduo, which means, “to clothe, in the sense of sinking into a garment.” In high school, I had a wardrobe at my fingertips, and an apparent sense of style that garnered a lot of attention. Today, I only have one outfit that is worth wearing. And you know what? The world doesn’t give me any more superlatives. I guess it no longer approves of my style; or shall I say, Christ’s style.

[In] reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on [enduo] the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.
In my basement, there’s an old jean jacket and some other duds I have kept over the years as reminders of my former self. Once in a while I sift through the rack, try on some of the items, and without fail, I laugh out loud to myself. Heck, the stuff doesn’t even fit anymore, not just physically, but most importantly, the garments don’t fit who I am anymore. Christ has changed me from the inside out. The best dressed Man of all time has given me access to His pristine wardrobe.

He who overcomes will thus be clothed in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.

I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see.
I’m not sure exactly how I fare today in terms of dress, but I don’t really care like I used to. Sure, I want to look nice, but that’s just a vestige of my own flesh at work in me. I guess being presentable is the more accurate goal nowadays when it comes to my clothing. I suppose I just don’t want to make anyone else stumble - LOL. All joking aside, to be honest, if a person stumbles over my “putting on” Christ, then I’m good with that, for that is one of the ways by which He wakes up unbelievers to the Gospel. I’d wear anything to achieve that end.

The Best Dressed people are those who have put on Christ.

Love in Christ,

Ed Collins