Let me start off by saying that I'm not trying to be judgmental here. I really, really do not intend to come off that way. That being said, let me proceed to judge an entire segment of modern culture--hipsters. Don't get me wrong--I like hipsters. I have a lot of friends who are hipsters. I pretended to be a hipster for about 5 minutes back in '07. Let me tell you why I ended up not being a hipster. Frankly, I just wasn't very good at it. I was/am just too normal. Of all the hipster distinctives, the apparel was always the hardest part for me. I like indie music and a good cup of tea. I enjoy the great outdoors and home remedies. The clothes though...it just takes so much effort. There's something about blue jeans and a Michigan shirt that just work for me. I actually do enjoy plaid shirts, well-trimmed hair, and unusual footwear, but I just don't have the time or energy to invest in going through all that. And that was before I kids! How, I ask, does anyone with kids manage to be a hipster? Even with all the money in the world, how could you manage to spend that much time on your appearance?
That's really what I want to discuss today. The hipsters aren't the only ones who spend a bunch of time making sure every aspect of their appearance is well-manicured. It seems everyone in our culture is obsessed with their appearance, usually under the guise of self-expression. Most of my generation seems to be caught somewhere between vanity and self-loathing. We define ourselves by our appearance more and more as our culture becomes increasingly more visual.
Now, for those who are avowed atheists, this makes sense. The flesh is all they have. Their bodies will be nothing more than worm food when they die, so they need to get the most out of life while they can. What really gets me is when I see professed Christians, pastors even, demonstrating just such an obsession with their appearance. Certainly we all struggle with this a little bit. I'll be the first to say that vanity is something I have to fight. I have tattoos. I like my hair cut in a specific way. I care about the clothes I wear. Nobody's perfect. That being granted, the Church's modern focus on fashion seems to border on the extreme. To put it Biblically, we're focused on earthly things instead of heavenly things. We're carnally-minded. To me, it's a sign that we're lacking something in our faith. Our focus is less on Christ than it should be.
I think this comes through in the clothes we wear to church. I am not one who really believes that wearing your "Sunday best" is a big deal. After all, New Testament worship is in spirit and in truth. The outer trappings are, in most cases, inconsequential. We're told very little about what sort of garments should be worn for worship (one exception being 1 Corinthians 11). I think it's a heart issue. Why do you wear the clothes you wear to church? If you seek to honor God by dressing up, so be it. To me, however, it still reflects a focus on our appearance that, frankly, is not grounded in Biblical thought. The Bible, specifically the simpler era of the New Covenant, does not place much value on our clothes. It tells us that we should be modest, but that's about it. It actually tells us that we should not focus on how people dress, which, we could infer, means we should not focus on how we dress.
Is this just my generation? I doubt it. This is a human thing. We get so caught up with the here and now and lose focus on what's really important. This is why the New Testament consistently harps on the need for endurance and purposeful living. The authors of the New Testament urge us to keep our eyes on Jesus, lest the cares of this world corrode our faith. The author of Hebrews calls us to follow the example of Jesus Christ, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who endured suffering for the sake of the joy that was set before him. If we really understood the hope that we had in front of us, we would care much less about the trivialities of this world. If there were more of Heaven in our hearts, there would be less of this Earth upon our minds. So, while there's nothing wrong with making sure we are respectable, presentable people, I do think we need to beware imbibing our culture's distraction with our appearance.
So, it's not the hipsters that I want to pick on, after all. It's pretty much everyone. We all put too much focus on this world. For those of us who are believers, we need to be constantly reminded to keep our eyes on your Savior and let the incidentals of this world go. For those who are not believers, I would invite you to look to something that is beyond this world. There is a hope that transcends this world. There is a God who puts all of these outer trappings into perspective.
That's really what I want to discuss today. The hipsters aren't the only ones who spend a bunch of time making sure every aspect of their appearance is well-manicured. It seems everyone in our culture is obsessed with their appearance, usually under the guise of self-expression. Most of my generation seems to be caught somewhere between vanity and self-loathing. We define ourselves by our appearance more and more as our culture becomes increasingly more visual.
Now, for those who are avowed atheists, this makes sense. The flesh is all they have. Their bodies will be nothing more than worm food when they die, so they need to get the most out of life while they can. What really gets me is when I see professed Christians, pastors even, demonstrating just such an obsession with their appearance. Certainly we all struggle with this a little bit. I'll be the first to say that vanity is something I have to fight. I have tattoos. I like my hair cut in a specific way. I care about the clothes I wear. Nobody's perfect. That being granted, the Church's modern focus on fashion seems to border on the extreme. To put it Biblically, we're focused on earthly things instead of heavenly things. We're carnally-minded. To me, it's a sign that we're lacking something in our faith. Our focus is less on Christ than it should be.
I think this comes through in the clothes we wear to church. I am not one who really believes that wearing your "Sunday best" is a big deal. After all, New Testament worship is in spirit and in truth. The outer trappings are, in most cases, inconsequential. We're told very little about what sort of garments should be worn for worship (one exception being 1 Corinthians 11). I think it's a heart issue. Why do you wear the clothes you wear to church? If you seek to honor God by dressing up, so be it. To me, however, it still reflects a focus on our appearance that, frankly, is not grounded in Biblical thought. The Bible, specifically the simpler era of the New Covenant, does not place much value on our clothes. It tells us that we should be modest, but that's about it. It actually tells us that we should not focus on how people dress, which, we could infer, means we should not focus on how we dress.
Is this just my generation? I doubt it. This is a human thing. We get so caught up with the here and now and lose focus on what's really important. This is why the New Testament consistently harps on the need for endurance and purposeful living. The authors of the New Testament urge us to keep our eyes on Jesus, lest the cares of this world corrode our faith. The author of Hebrews calls us to follow the example of Jesus Christ, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who endured suffering for the sake of the joy that was set before him. If we really understood the hope that we had in front of us, we would care much less about the trivialities of this world. If there were more of Heaven in our hearts, there would be less of this Earth upon our minds. So, while there's nothing wrong with making sure we are respectable, presentable people, I do think we need to beware imbibing our culture's distraction with our appearance.
So, it's not the hipsters that I want to pick on, after all. It's pretty much everyone. We all put too much focus on this world. For those of us who are believers, we need to be constantly reminded to keep our eyes on your Savior and let the incidentals of this world go. For those who are not believers, I would invite you to look to something that is beyond this world. There is a hope that transcends this world. There is a God who puts all of these outer trappings into perspective.
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