Articles
Are You Dressed for Work?
Are You Dressed for Work?
by Doug Kashorek
We have increasingly become a more informal society. It is common to see baseball caps on
people eating at restaurants or ripped jeans at weddings. A recent picture on Facebook
compared shoppers of the 1960s to those today. Then, women wore nice dresses and men
suits and ties in Montgomery Ward; today … several waited in a Walmart line in pajamas!
Several times I’ve been mistaken for a manager when I have stopped somewhere out in public
while wearing a tie.
Has that informality carried over into our spiritual lives? I’m not at all talking about how people
externally dress for worship. No, this is about how we cover ourselves spiritually. We wouldn’t
expect a firefighter to race into a burning building without specialized apparel or equipment. Nor
would we respect a trooper who pulls us over in boxers and a tank top because it’s hot. And
who would trust a doctor who examines you in a bathrobe and flipflops?
This is what God told Jeremiah in 1:17. After telling him that He’d appointed him a prophet
who’d face much persecution and that no one would listen to, God says, “But you, dress
yourself for work; arise, and say to them everything that I command you. Do not be dismayed by
them, lest I dismay you before them.” In other words—plan to work, then work the plan! And if
we don’t dress, arise, and say (living spiritually unprepared instead), then we’ll struggle—a lot.
The first step in dressing for work is to obey the gospel. Galatians 3:27 says, “For as many of
you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” Then, there is the daily donning of armor
just “to stand” (Ephesians 6:10-18) as we face life during this difficult time to be a Christian. We
must watch what we focus on as “No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is
to please the one who enlisted him” (2 Timothy 2:4), so we can “walk in” the “good works” He
who enlisted us has “prepared beforehand” (Ephesians 2:10). Are you dressed for work?
