Chapter 33. Paula Pious meets Terra and Jim. Judge nothing rashly concerning the words or deeds of others. Thomas à Kempis. The constant need for a Christian to go counter to popular trends may easily develop into a sore habit of fault-finding and turn him into a critic of other men's lifestyles without charity. George Verwer. In Chapter 22, we talked about the New Testament teachings on modest dress and adornment.
When Paula Pious first decided to live by these teachings, her obedience was solely tied to dutiful servant obedience. She obeyed God because He gave these commands, and she wanted to please God. Inwardly, however, she wished He had never given such rules. She hated the way she looked without makeup, and she sorely missed her glittering jewelry and designer clothes. However, she could now look down on other women who were disobedient in these areas, and that gave her great pleasure.
In fact, she thought she could decipher everything about other people's relationships with Christ merely by looking at how they groomed and dressed themselves. Ugh, she thought one day when she walked past a woman in the supermarket aisle wearing heavy makeup, artificially bright magenta hair, tight jeans, and a Jesus T-shirt. What worldliness! I wonder what kind of Christian she thinks she is.
Paula was only picking up a few groceries that day, so she decided to carry her sacks out to her car rather than use a cart. Glancing at her watch as she walked out of the store, she stepped off the curb awkwardly, twisted her ankle, and tumbled to the ground. Cans and oranges rolled across the parking lot. "Oh no! Are you hurt?" a kind voice asked her. Feeling her ankle, Paula slowly responded, "I'm not sure. My ankle really hurts." "Well, just sit here on the sidewalk and don't move," the voice replied.
"My husband will be here in just a minute, and I'll have him check it. He's a paramedic." Paula turned to see who her benefactor was. She gulped as she saw the woman with the bright magenta hair. "By the way, I'm Terra," the woman said cheerfully as she picked up Paula's groceries. "I'm glad to meet you," Paula forced herself to say. "I'm Paula." She struggled not to roll her eyes when Terra's husband joined them. He had long hair and a ring in one ear and was wearing a Jesus T-shirt that matched his wife's.
"Hi, I'm Jim," he introduced himself cheerfully. Terra explained what had happened, and her husband checked Paula's ankle. "I don't think anything's broken," he reassured her. "But we can take you to the emergency room if you like." "No, that's not necessary," Paula replied. "I think I'll be okay if I go home and give it some rest." "Do you live close by?" Terra asked. "No. I mean, yes, I live about a mile from here.
I'd phone my husband Jeff to come get me, but he's out of town." "No problem," Jim announced, his long hair blowing in the breeze. "We'll help you to the passenger seats of your car, and then Terra can drive your car to your house. I'll follow in our car." Paula meekly assented, then thought, "Oh no, I don't want these creeps to know where I live. They'll probably rob me. Why did Jeff have to be gone this week?" Jim and Terra helped Paula to her car and drove her home. They then helped her to bed.
"We need to put an ice pack on your ankle," Jim explained. "Do you have one?" "Actually, I don't." "Do you have an ACE bandage?" "I'm afraid not," Paula replied, shaking her head. "Don't worry," Jim reassured her. "We've got an ice pack in our freezer. We don't live very far away, so I'll run over and get it. I'll be going right by Walgreens, so I'll pick up an ACE bandage. Terra will stay with you. Meanwhile, let's get your ankle elevated." Using some pillows, Jim elevated Paula's ankle.
"Oh, I almost forgot," Jim added. "Do you have any Advil or aspirin?" "Yes, there's some Advil in the bathroom," Paula replied. "Great. Terra can get it for you while I'm at Walgreens," Jim declared as he headed for the front door. Paula and Terra had a pleasant chat while Jim was gone. He was back in 20 minutes, triumphantly displaying an ice pack, an ACE bandage, and even a pair of crutches. "I had forgotten we still had these crutches lying around our basement.
A few years ago, Terra sprained her ankle while ice skating. I think you'll find them useful." Jim carefully wrapped Paula's ankle with the ACE bandage and placed the ice pack on it. "You should keep the ice pack on for 20 or 30 minutes several times a day," Jim explained. "Thank you so much," Paula responded with a lump in her throat. She then reached for her purse. "How much do I owe you for the bandage?" "Not a thing," Jim replied firmly.
Jim and Terra made sure Paula was comfortable and that she had everything she needed. "Paula, you get some rest now," Terra advised. "I'll be back around six with supper." Terra waved off Paula's protest as she and Jim headed for the door. Terra was not only back at six, but she checked on Paula every day that week. She brought more meals and even cleaned Paula's house. What Paula learned.
As Paula got to know Terra and looked past her appearance, she realized what a sincere Christian Terra was and what deep love she had for others. In fact, she had to admit that Terra surpassed her when it came to the second great commandment. This brought Paula to some real soul-searching. She realized that she couldn't assess everyone's relationship with God based solely on dress and adornment.
She could perhaps accurately assess their level of obedience in the area of modesty, but not their whole relationship with God. As she examined herself, Paula recognized something else. Something dark she didn't want to admit, but she finally faced up to it. She realized she had actually resented people who dressed more stylishly than she and who adorned themselves more. But why? Paula asked herself. "Do I resent Christians who use tobacco?" No.
In fact, she was happy that being a Christian had protected her from tobacco and all of the health problems that go with it, not to speak of the added expense. She didn't envy those who get to smoke. She delighted in being free from tobacco. She finally realized her problem. She didn't delight in God's laws on modesty and adornment. She obeyed those laws, but she didn't delight in them. That's why she resented others who didn't follow them.
Paula also realized that if the only way she could obey God's commandments on dress and adornment was to feel superior to those who dressed immodestly, then there was little to gain by obeying God. Self-righteousness, spiritual pride, and resentment are greater sins than immodesty. Paula's obedience in this area has now grown from dutiful obedience to love obedience. She appreciates that God's laws on modesty are for her own good. She is glad to follow His counsel.
This new appreciation of God's laws on modesty and adornment has helped her not to be resentful or feel self-righteous toward those who dress immodestly. They're the ones missing out on the blessings that flow from obedience. She also appreciates that their disobedience may not be a matter of the heart at all. They may think they are dressing modestly. Perhaps they never received any teaching in this area, or they could be following their preacher's counsel. Paula in no way minimizes the sin of immodesty.
On the other hand, she no longer elevates God's laws on modesty above God's laws on love. She delights in dressing and adorning herself modestly, but she delights even more in growing to love her neighbors. Paula is discovering the joys of the kingdom life. What Terra later learned. One day, when Terra was visiting Paula, she asked, "Listen, I hope you don't think I'm being too nosy, Paula, but can I ask you a question?" "If it's not too personal, I may not answer it," Paula replied with a chuckle.
"But go ahead and ask." "Well, ever since I met you, I've wanted to ask you why you dress so weird." Paula couldn't keep from laughing out loud. "Why do I dress weird? That's a good one. Here all along, I've been wanting to ask you why you dress so weird." Both the ladies howled with laughter. When they finally recovered, Paula invited Terra to sit down at the table with her so she could show her something in the Bible. She opened her Bible to 1 Timothy 2 and asked Terra to read verses 8 through 10.
"I desire therefore that the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands without wrath and doubting, in like manner also that the women adorn themselves in modest apparel with propriety and moderation, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly clothing, but which is proper for women professing godliness with good works. So I dress the way I do out of modesty and simplicity," Paula explained.
The irony is that throughout most of Christian history, from the time of Jesus until about 1900, a Christian woman could dress modestly and simply without looking strange to others. It's only in the last century that modest Christian women have stood out as different. "Well, sure," Terra replied as she chewed on her gum. "But I always thought the way I dress was modest. I don't show much skin." "Listen, I'm not here to judge you," Paula reassured her. "And it's true that you cover most of your skin.
However, what you don't realize is that your jeans and T-shirt reveal every curve of your body. I can assure you that it attracts men's attention." "I never thought of that," Terra responded soberly. "Hmm, you've made me think. It honestly never occurred to me that my getup was immodest. Now, mind you, I'm not going to dress like you, but I am going to talk with Jim about this tonight." Sins that easily ensnare us.
Judging is truly a sin that can easily ensnare anyone, especially those who set their sights on the kingdom life. As we've said, it's also a very serious sin. Next, we're going to look at another sin that easily ensnares us. The problem with this next sin is that most Christians think it's a minor offense, but it's not.