Supplemental note Colossians 2:20-23
Some years ago the practical reality of this passage was made clear to me in the experience of a friend whom I will call George. George managed a Christian retreat center. The retreat center offered full service week and/or weekend programming. It was pretty popular and was booked about 50 weeks a year. They had a wide range of clients from youth groups to senior adults events, family reunions, military groups, business leaders and religious groups from almost every segment of society. Religious groups made up the largest segment of the client base and youth programming was the bulk of the religious clientele. The director, George, shared with me an observation I don’t think I will ever forget. He said the group that had the highest level of sexual promiscuous behavior was a highly conservative religious group. They were typified by their conservative stand on dress, appearance, and conduct, particularly for women. The ladies and girls would wear no make up or jewelry. They didn’t cut their hair or if they did only rarely and the older women would wear it in tight buns on the back of her head. Their clothes were plain and were mostly ankle length skirts, button shirts buttoned to the top button and frequently tennis shoes, but never sandals. For this group the ritual of modesty was a priority!
However once at the retreat center and programs were underway no group had a greater tendency to have teen couples disappear into the woods and copulate. These were very modestly dressed kids. This is not to say modestly dressed kids are always sexually promiscuous. Nor is it to say modesty in some way was the culprit. It is to say that a long skirt and a high button shirt are powerless to control lust. “It is as easy to flip up a long skirt as a short one” to quote George. All their rituals and rules have the appearance of righteousness, “…but are of no value against fleshly indulgence” to quote Paul. Something is very wrong in our faith and heart when we imagine that any rule or regulation can accomplish what is only possible by relationship with God the Father through the Son and activated by the Holy Spirit.
“Lord, move me to purity by the power of the Holy Spirit. AMEN”
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