Clothe Yourself
“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.” (From the Christian Bible)
Clothing gives a first impression. Like it or not, clothing makes a statement, even though we all know that fine feathers don’t make fine birds.
So, with what are we clothing ourselves? The Bible gives great advice about how to clothe ourselves. The statement above comes from Saint Paul. He tells us to clothe ourselves with certain attributes. Let’s look at those attributes and what it might mean if we were to ‘clothe ourselves’ in this way.
Compassion; clothe yourself with compassion. Well, what sort of a person would you be if you clothed yourself with compassion? If you were completely covered in compassion and the first thing that others saw all over you was compassion. You would be a lovely person to spend time with; that is guaranteed. Compassion is lovely. Compassion makes room for people, it seeks to understand, it takes time to listen. Compassion cares.
Kindness: clothe yourself with kindness is the next statement. Definitely, if we clothe ourselves with kindness, we soon will be surrounded by friends. Everyone wants to be close to a person who is kind. Kind people are lovely people. Kind people make the world a better place, they make their school a better place. Kindness makes our homes better places.
Humility is true beauty. Oh sure; the media tells us that beauty is about physical attractiveness. Yeah right, as if! We are not fooled for a moment, because we have all met physically attractive people who are not humble. And without humility, beautiful people are never truly beautiful people. On the other hand, anyone who has met a person clothed in humility knows how beautiful humility makes us. Inner-beauty beats outer-beauty every time.
Gentleness is under threat in society. Should I clothe myself in gentleness when society labels being gentle as weak? Instead of gentleness, society loves cranky outbursts, petty outrage and childish tantrums. Shunning others according to ever-changing popular standards of fake correctness is the new social obedience. However, the wise among us know that gentleness is strength. Showing gentleness shows true strength.
Patience waits without worrying. Patience isn’t agitated. Clothing ourselves with patience will mean we are unhurried, unruffled, unflappable, unshakeable and very likely a whole lot healthier than when we live driven by impatience. Consumerism’s constant message of ‘don’t miss out’ urges us into worrying. But patience ignores that clatter and clamour. Patience is selfless and serves others with gentle humility.
Parents and staff, let’s clothe ourselves as the Bible tells us to. Let’s do it for the sake of our students. We want them to see the loveliness, beauty, wisdom and health that come from following the good counsel of the Bible’s lessons.
David Gleeson, Principal