Steps to Life

WEEKLY

# 26

The Christians Dress and Adornment

Dear Friend,

In the society of today, much emphasis is placed on outward appearance. Television, magazines, newspapers, all use physical appearance to catch the attention of their audience for various purposes. Advertisers lean toward the trend of using very attractive men and women to promote their products. Glamour and fashion fill the department stores and meet our eyes on billboards scattered along the highways. in our work, school, and play, much seems to depend upon how well we fit into the ideals that the world has set. But the Bible shows us that there is something of much greater value and importance than the outward appearance.

***

Plain Linda

The last stroke of the bell was dying away when Linda Dahl walked timidly across the schoolroom floor, and sat down in the nearest empty

"0, my, my!" whispered Jennifer Wilson across the aisle to her chum. "She is the plainest-looking girl I ever saw."

Elizabeth nodded her head very positively, and two or three others exchanged knowing glances. A few moments later a little piece of paper fluttered down at Jennifers feet from a desk top. On it was written: "Shes so plain. Shes Rocky Mountainy--all ridges and bubbles."

Meanwhile Linda sat very still, her great black eyes fixed on the teachers face.

Have you ever held a frightened bird in your hand, and felt its heart beat? That is the way Lindas heart was going. She was a stranger. Her father had moved to this place from a distant town, and she had walked to school that morning with a student who lived on the same street, but who had fluttered away into a little group of children almost as soon as she had shown the new girl where to hang her coat; and Linda, naturally a bit sensitive, felt very much alone.

This feeling was heightened when the bell struck, and one by one the students filed past into the schoolroom, with only a rude stare or indifferent glance, as if she were some specter on exhibition, When the last one had passed her, she clasped arid unclasped her hands nervously. "it is because I am so homely!" she thought.

A month or more went by. Somehow Linda and her schoolmates had not made as much progress in getting acquainted as one would have thought. The new girl was unobtrusive, attended strictly to her studies, and made few demands on those about her; yet it was true that there was among them at least an unacknowledged conspiracy to taboo her, or an understanding that she was to be ignored almost completely. This treatment Linda attributed to her looks, Ever since she could remember, she had been called "homely," "ugly," "plain," and similar names. Now, though she preserved a calm exterior, she could not help being unhappy because she was thus slighted.

One Monday morning a little flurry of excitement was visible among the pupils of the uptown grammar school. Elizabeth Weston had announced a party to come off later in the week, arid several of them had been invited.

"Will you invite Linda Dahl?" asked Jennifer, bending over her friend.

"I have been thinking about it," Elizabeth answered, slowly. "Miss Somers says she has the best lessons of any one in her class, and then she was so nice to Jimmy Flanders that day he sprained his arm. I have half a mind to." And so she did.

That night when Linda was telling her mother of the invitation she had received, she said, doubtfully, "I think I shall not go."

"Why not?" was the reply. "It can do "o good to stay away, and something may be gained by going."

So it chanced that Linda found herself at Elizabeth's home on the evening of the party. Her hostess met her smilingly. "She is really glad that 1 came," thought Linda. And she felt her soul suddenly warm to life, just as the thirsty earth brightens and glows and sends up little shoots of new green at a patter of summer rain.

The long parlor was decorated in green and white. The bright lights, the merry figures moving beneath, and the shining faces, half of which were strange to Linda, formed a pretty picture, and the girl moved here and there in the constantly shifting kaleidoscope with a freedom and happiness she had not known since coming to the town.

At last she found herself, with the others, sitting very quietly and listening to two girls play a duet on the piano. Then one of them sang a Scotch song. Within the warmth and richness of the song it seemed you could hear the warbling of birds and the melody of brooks. Linda heard a half-sigh close beside her. "I wish I could sing! Ive always wanted to be able to sing!"

Then for the first time she saw who sat there--a tall, beautiful, gracefully dressed girl whom she had noticed several times during the evening, and to whom everybody seemed to defer. She had heard vaguely that this was Elizabeths cousin, Sarah, and wondered if it was for her that Elizabeth had given the party. "And cant she asked, evincing instant interest. The girl turned toward her with a smile. "Not at all," she answered.

"Sometimes I used to try when no one heard, and once when I was in the hammock with my brothers little girl, I joined her in the song she was singing. She looked at me in a minute with a rueful countenance and said, 'Aunt Sarah, I cant sing when you are making such a noise! " Linda laughed. "1 havent tried much since," the tall girl added.

"We have singing lessons at school twice a week," Linda said, presently, "but I like the everyday lessons better."

"Do you?" asked Sarah. "I like mathematics and using a hammer and nails and saw. Mother says I should be a carpenter."

"But you dont look like one," Linda smiled, critically; and then continued: "We began physical geography this term. It is so interesting. And Miss Somers makes language beautiful; I cant help liking grammar!"

"Is that right," said Sarah. "1 never could understand it!"

Linda was laughing again. The tall girl turned more fully toward her inquiringly. "I was thinking of what Johnny Weeks said down in the primary room the other day," Linda explained. "The teacher asked him what 'cat was. I guess he was not paying attention. He looked all around, and finally said he did not know. She told him it was a noun. "There, he said, after some deliberation, 'kitten must be a pronoun. "Thus the conversation continued between plain Linda and Sarah.

An hour afterward, all the lights but one in the house were out. Elizabeth sat with her cousin talking over the events of the evening.

"And how do you like Linda Dahl?" she asked, and lent an eager ear, for Sarahs word could make or mar things irretrievably.

"Like her? I have never liked anyone better. Perhaps I would not have noticed, had you not spoken particularly about her."

"Well," said Elizabeth, "how is that?"

"Oh, she is all life and vivacity." said Sarah. "I thought you said she was so quiet and backwoodsy."

"But she was." defended Elizabeth. "1 never saw her-like this before."

"Then something must have awakened her. If anyone seemed ill at ease or lonely, she went to him or her, and before long they were talking and happy! I saw some of her schoolmates look at her wonderingly, and at least ~ne sneered, but I watched. She had just one thought, and that was to make everyone happy. You could have spared any one of the girls better; in fact, any three of them."

Long after Sarah had gone to sleep, Elizabeth lay thinking. "Jimmy Flanders," she said, and counted off one finger. Then she recalled another good deed of Linda, and then another. After all, it was wonderful how many she could reckon up, and all so quietly done. Strange she had never thought of them all together before. How could Linda be so happy and giving among so many frowns and slights?

The next forenoon session of the grammar school was well under way. Linda opened her history, and in it was a little slip of paper that she had used as a book-mark since that first morning. An odd spirit seized her, and almost before she knew it, she had gone up the aisle and laid it on Elizabeths desk. The next instant she would have given much to withdraw it. Elizabeth glanced down and flushed painfully. There it was: "Shes so plain. Shes Rocky Mountainy--all ridges and hubbles." But Linda was back at her work again, evidently unruffled. -

When the bell tapped for intermission, Elizabeth went to her. "Linda, I did write it. Oh, I am so ashamed!" she cried, and burst into tears. She hid her face on Lindas shoulder.

One of those smiles that somehow have the power of transforming the harshest features, swept over Lindas face, she squeezed Elizabeths hand. From that day, Linda slipped into the queenly place she had a right to occupy, and it was not long before everyone forgot her plainness.

Thai was the beginning. But as the years went by, the strangest thing began to happen to Linda, though she did not seem to notice. As she grew older and matured, the rough lines mellowed and softened; the short figure stretched upward until she was as beautiful as her dearest wish had pictured. But her real beauty always remained her gracious spirit of love and unselfishness and her tender regard for others. That is a beauty that never withers away, for its roots are planted in the soul.

***

God Loves Jewels

(But He Loves People More)

God must love jewels, for He made the gates of the New Jerusalem out of pearls and the streets out of gold.

And yet He has a reservation about gold, jewels, and precious stones for mankind. Its not that He doesnt want us to be rich or to look beautiful, but for quite another reason.

You see, one of Gods best friends became His worst enemy, and part of the reason was his inordinate love for precious stones.

The Scriptures say that, "Lucifer was the anointed cherub who covers" (Ezekiel 28:14). That means that he was next to God, for the "covering cherub" is the one who stands beside the throne, as symbolized in the earthly sanctuary. The Bible goes on to say that he was "perfect," the "seal of perfection," and "full of wisdom and perfect in beauty" (Ezekiel 28:15, 12). He was also loved of God, for it says that Jesus, the "Son of Man," lamented over his fallen situation.

Somehow, over the course of time, Lucifer became proud. - The Bible says his "heart was lifted up" because of his "beauty." He covered himself with "every precious stone . . . The sardius, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, turquoise, and emerald with gold" (Ezekiel 28:17, 13).

He came to the place where he loved his beauty and jewels more than God. This led to selfishness and rebellion and eventually to a nightmare of sin resulting in the death of Gods own Son.

When God first made the world, gold and jewels were plentiful upon the earth, but at the time of the Flood, along with the mighty forests that were buried making todays gigantic oil fields, so these precious stones were buried out of sight. Mens hearts, before the Flood, were filled with greed and violence, and out of mercy for man God hid these precious stones that had led to so much bloodshed.

A pastor was catching a plane in the Philadelphia airport when a member of the Hare Krishna movement offered him a book. Upon opening it, he was surprised to see their chief God decked out with all the jewels the Bible describes Satan as being covered with. Upon investigation he found that jewelry is associated with every eastern and heathen religion. Could it be that Satan is representing himself in these mystery religions?

And thus it is that God, though He loves beauty and though He wants mankind to be as happy as possible, nevertheless has concerns about mankind wearing jewelry because of the natural pride of the human heart.

Gods desire is to save mankind. But He knows that when we get to

heaven there is going to be an abundance of precious stones. How can He be sure that over a period of millions of years we will never make the same mistake Lucifer did and learn to love these created things more than the Creator Himself? There is one way He can know, by testing us here during this time of probation.

This world is a school in which we are to prepare for heaven. The Bible says that if we will be faithful over the little things here, we will be entrusted with larger things in heaven (Matthew 25:2 1, 23). But if He cant trust us with even a tiny diamond or piece of gold here for just a few years of probationary time, how can He trust us with the riches of heaven for all eternity?

Thus the Bible says that "women" should "adorn themselves in modest apparel with propriety and moderation, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly clothing" (1 Timothy 2:9 NKJ).

Again, the Bible says, "Do not let your beauty be that outward adorning of arranging the hair, of wearing gold, or of putting on fine apparel; but let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible ornament of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God. For in this manner, in former times, the holy women who trusted God also adorned themselves" (1 Peter 3:3-5).

Mary had unconsciously grown up with a love for jewelry. Probably she had heard comments as a little girl about how beautiful someone was because of some necklace or other ornament. This beauty and acceptance became associated with jewelry in her mind.

Though from the family of a Ford Motor Company worker in Detroit, she met a young man from a country town of Pennsylvania who gave her a beautiful diamond as an engagement present, and soon they were married and living in his home-town.

Soon the glitter of marriage was not shining as brightly as the sparkle of her diamond. He was not a Christian and was acquainted with the ways of the world. He had tried drugs, and his ideals and ways were not the same as hers. Within six months they were on the verge of divorce, and yet he loved her as much as she loved him. There just appeared to be no common ground for this marriage.

In trying to find a solution, they read in the newspaper an announcement about a coming Prophecy Seminar in a hall. Since nothing else had worked, and as they had nothing to lose, for they were ready for divorce anyway, they decided to try religion.

Almost immediately their marriage began to improve. And so, as they had received so much benefit, they continued to study the Bible. After four months of study, they both decided to be baptized and join their lives with Christ.

But one day while preparing for baptism, the pastor had them read some texts about jewelry. Like the rich young ruler in the Bible, Mary became convicted that the Lord wanted her to give up her beloved diamond.

The conviction was sudden and the response was instant. She blurted out, "If 1 have to give up my diamond to get to heaven, I can never go!" And like the rich young ruler on the verge of the kingdom, she turned away sorrowfully.

Two days later the pastor visited her and her husband in their home. There he met two other pastors who were quite worldly in their beliefs and practices, trying to soothe her conscience and convince her that God wasn'tt so particular. And yet, in spite of all their arguments, she knew in her heart that she had been convicted by the Holy Spirit, in accordance with the Scriptures, to sacrifice her idol.

Never before had she known how much that tiny piece of stone meant to her. Without her knowing it, it was her idol and her God. Though she would have denied it before, she now fully realized that it meant more to her than even heaven itself.

She knew the Lord had led her in her study to that point. She knew the Lord had turned her marriage around during the last four months of study. She had tasted the joys of a clear conscience; could she give it all up for a little stone?

The day came for the baptism and she hadn't gained the victory, but she came to the baptism anyway with the diamond and the rest of her jewelry all in place. She knew she would not be baptized without gaining the victory, nor could she stay away. She had come too far to turn back now. She approached the pastor and asked him to study and pray with her again. It was time for the baptism to begin, and there were several others awaiting baptism, but Mary and the pastor went back into his study, opened the Bible and studied everything it said on the subject.

For over an hour the congregation and other baptismal candidates waited for the pastor. They sang song after song, not knowing the cause of the delay. But a soul was tottering in the balances between life and death; would she again turn away sorrowfully to her private God or would she, like Levi Matthew, leave all to follow the lowly Jesus?

It is interesting that God never requires anything that is not for our best interest. He doesnt require us to lie on a bed of nails, go on long pilgrimages, or starve ourselves.

In Marys case, there was nothing physically painful, or humiliating, in not wearing her diamond. But it was her test, and she knew it. Satan, who was striving for her soul, was making it seem like the all-important thing in her life. At the same time, the Holy Spirit was also influencing her and painting the picture of Gods love and the value of eternal life. She was lingering in the balance.

Finally, after over an hour of prayer and study, with tears rolling down her cheeks she said, "I surrender." She had surrendered to the Holy Spirit. How surprised she was to find that she had a peace and joy from winning the battle over self that she had never known before!

That day twelve people were baptized, including Mary and her husband. Her baptism was not just a form as it is with so many, but it truly represented a new birth. The Holy Spirit could use her now as He never could before, and within a short period of time, she brought three new people to Christ, who were also baptized as she had been.

In every life there is some cherished sin that Satan has developed an intense desire for, The Bible calls it a "besetting sin" (Hebrews 12:1). With the rich young ruler it was his money. With Mary it was her jewelry. The cost of eternal life requires the conquering of our besetting sins.

May the Lord bless you as you study todays Bible lesson. You will find that it applies especially to today. 

With Love,

From your friends at Steps to Life