Dressed for Success
Rhonda L. Wain
. . . Clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature. (Romans 13:14)
If I were to ask you, “Do you want to be successful?” Who wouldn’t answer, “Yes!” to that question? Most people would jump at the chance to be successful. But the world views success as the haves versus the have-nots. He who has the most toys, friends, money, etc. wins. Right? The list goes on and on. This is how the world defines success.
The Bible defines success much differently. When a person gets up in the morning, the first thing they usually do is shower and put on their clothes. You wouldn’t think of going to the office in your birthday suit! And yet, the majority of us go through life naked and ashamed.
Adam and Eve fell from grace through a simple act of disobedience. It was then that their eyes were opened to the realization that they were naked and had no covering for their sin. Genesis 3:7 states that the first thing they did upon this realization was to sew fig leaves together as a covering for themselves. Adam proceeded to tell God that he was afraid “because he was naked” (v. 10). He was exposed and laid bare before the God that is all-seeing. Nothing is hidden from Him. Psalm 139:7 says, “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?” Adam’s and Eve’s attempts to provide a covering of fig leaves was an outward manifestation of a much deeper problem. In a spiritual sense, they were inappropriately “dressed” because they were not “clothed” in righteousness. Simply put, they did not trust their Heavenly Father to have their best interest at heart. Any fashion conscious person makes it a priority to have a great relationship with their tailor. It is the tailor’s responsibility to make the individual look their best. Isn’t it amazing that some would trust their tailor more than the God of this universe who created them! Any truly wise person knows that true success begins with a reverence and fear of God. Proverbs 9:10 (NIV) says, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”
You may say that the individual who clothes themselves with the Lord Jesus Christ is naked before God, nothing hidden, fully transparent——but not ashamed. They are covered with the precious blood of Christ. Now that’s success!