Because It's Important Part 4

My husband was severely disappointed when he realized our clothes fast did not mean the absence of clothing for seven days. I.love.him. :)

To be honest, I would have been happy to live in my bath robe this week if it meant I could have coffee when I woke up; wonderful, delicious, smooth, and satisfying coffee!! Thank you Jesus for coffee!!

This week we have limited the number of clothes we are wearing. Some of us have selected 7 articles of clothing, (not counting under garments) and some are working from a small sack of clothing. Some are only using 7 toiletries, (shampoo, conditioner, deo, tooth paste, base, mascara, and blush) and some are getting ready for the day in 7 minutes. Again, the particulars of each fast is really not what we are going after, rather digging into what scripture has to say about clothing. And surprisingly for this christian educated school girl, it says a heck of a lot more than just, "be modest!" :)

Bottom line, God is very interested in getting to the compass of our hearts regarding the what in our closets, and why is it in our closets. And again, Jen isn't talking about whether or not your daisy dukes are too short or whether your skinny jeans are too skinny. It's much richer than that. Why do we have so much in our closets? How much weight do we put on what people think about our clothing? What insecurities are we masking and satisfying with our clothes? What do our closets say about our hearts? (ouch!)

A good exercise is to stop right now and go and count every item of clothing in your closet. You might be surprised at the number. Now think about the percentage of clothing you have worn in the last year. Now calculate that each item has cost you twenty dollars (we all know most items probably cost more than that) and see what the grand total is glaring you in the face.

Ouch.
Ouch.
Ouch.

While this fast physically is not as hard for me as the food fast, the content of this particular chapter and the corresponding verses is magnifying some entitlement areas in my thinking and it HURTS!

Here are some fantastic thoughts from Jen to carry you through the rest of the week.

"I imagine standing in front of Ethiopian families, who are too poor and sick to raise their own babies, and as I glaze upon their hopelessness I imagine them calculating what I've spent on clothing alone, realizing that same amount would've kept their family fed and healthy for 30 years."

"Very few spiritual leaders seem concerned over how much we spend on fashion, or the bondage we are in to public opinion, or how many of our clothes are made by the hands of children and slaves, or how fashion is a trite, insulting topic globally, or how Jesus told us to clothe the naked and quit showing favoritism to the well-heeled and clean the inside rather than spit-polish the outside. It is reduced to a moral issue, excused from being an injustice issue."

Happy Clothing,
~Sara