Jumpstarter 8 of 10

Ideas to help restart your discussion

Question 8

Wesley gives four harms of costly apparel—pride, vanity (desire to be admired), turbulent passions opposed to a “meek and quiet spirit,” and lust in both wearer and beholder—then asks, “Did you not desire… did you not design that it would do so?”; how do you respond to his accusation of intentionality, and how might you discern when your clothing choices are meant to attract admiration or desire rather than to please God?

Another way to ask: Wesley says people often dress to be admired or to stir desire on purpose—how do you react to that? How can you tell when your clothing choices are to please God versus to get attention?

Direct Answer Wesley’s accusation forces honest self-examination: he argues costly adornment often isn’t accidental but chosen to produce admiration and even stir desire. Discernment, in his framework, comes from watching your motives before God—especially whether you would dress the same if “no one was going to see you but God and His holy angels.”

Support from Transcript:

Harm #1: costly apparel “engenders pride,” and it is “scarcely possible” to wear it without “valuing himself because of it.”
Harm #2: it breeds “vanity,” defined as “the love and the desire of being admired and praised.”
Wesley appeals to conscience: “you would not take the same pains if no one was going to see you but God and His holy angels.”
Harm #3: it opposes “the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit,” and he claims outward adorning disturbs inward “quietness of spirit” and peace.
Harm #4: it “tends to create and inflame lust… both on the wearer and on the beholder,” then presses: “Did you not desire? Did you not design that it would do so?”

Discussion Follow-ups What practical “motive test” could you adopt before buying or wearing something—price, attention it draws, or whether it helps or harms a meek and quiet spirit?

Jumpstarter 8 of 10

Add your phone number?

Thank you!

Jumpstarter 8 of 10