Uniforms for Jesus?
Sunday, May 8, 2011 at 4:19PM
We were in line for lunch. Suddenly I had a revelation. No, not a vision from God, but a realization that I had observed something about the two men in line ahead of us. They were Mormons. But with such a revelation I needed confirmation. So I walked around the line to look at the food to choose, looked out of the corner of my eye, and saw they had name tags as Latter Day Saints. Mormons have a period in their lives when they are missionaries, and no doubt these young men were in that period.
I thought all day about the uniforms the boys were wearing, and the uniforms we all wear in life. I thought of two incidents in the church where I used to serve. One of my self-appointed jobs was to help a certain type of visitor we used to get. I was a member of a particular denomination, and our main “competitor denomination” met down the street. There were great differences between us—or so it seemed at the time. Each denomination was founded by man with the same last name, a father and a son who no longer spoke to each other. Sometimes there was confusion about who met where. Both congregations met in Union halls on the same street a short distance apart. But I could always tell when we had a visitor that had made that mistake by the uniform the man wore: suit, tie, and most importantly a brief case. The brief case was “the tell”—the dead give-away. Most male members of the “other” denomination carried them. I imagine that they had an element of practicality, but the main use was to give the member an aura of business-like seriousness. Yes, those in my denomination were serious about our religion too, but oh, how my friends and I made fun of their uniform!
The second incident was when the founder of our denomination, the son, gave a message about proper attire for church. While he planned to introduce no requirements, he wanted to encourage suit and ties among the men. We in leadership were pleased because many members of our congregation did not dress as well as would have liked. Coincidently my wife and I had received a care package from my brother in law. He was a pastor for the other guys, the father’s denomination. He felt that he needed to have a fresh variety of ties, and as a result he had many ties he no longer needed. So we took the ties and gave them away free to anyone who wanted one. We were totally surprised that this was offensive to a portion of the congregation. The one the most offended was also the best dresser in the congregation. No doubt he saw an attitude condemned in James 2:
1My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism. 2 Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in filthy old clothes also comes in. 3 If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s a good seat for you,” but say to the poor man, “You stand there” or “Sit on the floor by my feet,” 4 have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? 5 Listen, my dear brothers and sisters: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? 6 But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? 7 Are they not the ones who are blaspheming the noble name of him to whom you belong?
I did not understand why the man was upset at that time. I understand better now because I realize that I too had a uniform I wore. The uniform included a suit and tie, but also meant a uniformity of thought. I would look in the mirror and see the outward uniform, and be glad. But the mirror could never reveal the interior, the man who made fun of others and their uniforms while pretending he had none.
Jesus taught about the dangers of our uniforms.
Matt 23:27 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. 28 In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.
While I am sure that Jesus wore the culturally-correct clothing for his time, including the distinctive phylacteries, He advocated a different way of looking at things. Earlier in this chapter he said this:
23 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. 24 You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.
What I had done with my uniform was to strain at a gnat and swallow a camel. Our uniforms, in themselves, are not wrong. There was nothing wrong with the uniform the Mormon boys wore that identified them: the dress pants, the very white shirt, the tie, and the very very short hair. The danger is when we rely on these uniforms as crutches to support our religiosity. Instead we need this:
Rev 7:14 I answered, “Sir, you know.” And he said, “These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
If we are transformed within and from above, the uniform may still appear, but it will be the outward expression of an inward truth. Not a religious garb designed to deceive. We cannot make anything white by dipping it in blood, but God can.
Leaving Babylon 
Reader Comments (2)
I used to be into uniforms took, but CREW CUTS are an absolute must for all true believing men, AND THATS THE TRUTH!
Eddie H. Nessul
Amboy California
You are lucky to live in Amboy. Obama's stimulus package paved the main road there.