Participants: Dwayne Lemon, Lance Wilbur
Series Code: TKS
Program Code: TKS000042A
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00:29 Hello, I'm Dwayne.
00:30 And I'm Lance, and we'd like to welcome you 00:32 to another episode of TKS, a True Knowledge of Self 00:35 where we get to know ourselves from a biblical perspective. 00:39 In our last episode we're starting to venture 00:42 into another exciting topic. 00:44 We're talking about cultural expression. 00:46 We looked at those elements if you will of hip-hop. 00:50 You know, the basic four of MCing 00:52 and break dancing and graffiti art and DJing, 00:55 but they've been expanded 00:56 depending on what source you refer to 00:58 and it also is integrated obviously the fifth element 01:01 which we talked a lot about the knowledge, 01:02 the wisdom and understanding. 01:04 And then there's things like street fashion, 01:07 street language, street entrepreneurship and others. 01:11 And so when we look at these forms of expression, you know, 01:16 kind of the backbone of the culture. 01:18 This is the culture now applied 01:20 and the kind of the brand of the culture 01:23 and we saw that the Bible is not silent on this 01:27 matter either. 01:29 The Bible talks about expression, 01:30 the Bible has no problem with expression, 01:32 the Bible has no problem with culture in fact, 01:34 but we did see that once again there are guidelines 01:39 and how we are to express ourselves. 01:41 How, what expression is permissible versus 01:44 which is not. 01:46 And we saw that really expression is indicative 01:49 of what is in the heart, the condition of the heart. 01:53 And so when we think about expression, 01:55 we have to understand for example a verse 01:57 that we use that I kind of think expresses 02:00 this the best is Philippians 4:8. 02:04 And if we turn there again, I just want to read it 02:06 'cause this is gonna help catapult us 02:08 into this discussion for today's episode. 02:12 Philippians 4:8, it says, "Finally, brethren, 02:18 whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, 02:22 whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, 02:25 whatsoever things are lovely, 02:27 whatsoever things are of good report, 02:30 if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, 02:33 think on these things." 02:36 So it's really now the thoughts, 02:38 the thoughts that formulate our expression. 02:42 We have to pass these through this filter 02:45 if you will, this Philippians 4:8 filter. 02:48 And for ourselves and for the expressions of others 02:52 that we consume as human beings, 02:55 do they pass this test and if they don't, 02:58 then we have to answer the question, 03:01 are they beneficial or are they destructive. 03:05 And we have to, you know, 03:07 agree here the Bible is in agreement 03:09 that anything that violates the principles of truth 03:13 automatically are destructive and destructive 03:17 not only for the individual 03:19 but destructive for communities, 03:21 families and entire cultures. 03:23 So we're gonna talk about the expression 03:26 specifically in the context of fashion 03:28 not just street fashion but fashion in general. 03:31 What does the Bible, number one, 03:34 does the Bible have anything to say about it? 03:35 Number two, if it does, you know, where is that? 03:39 Because we see cultural expression in fashion 03:42 and, you know, a lot of people, you know, 03:44 go to extremes on one end or the other. 03:46 This is true. 03:48 But how can we find balance, 03:49 how can we know what the Bible says 03:50 and what are the principles that govern 03:52 how we interpret the expression through fashion. 03:55 Okay. 03:56 Well, I would first start 03:57 by just taking a look at the Book of 1 John 2. 04:00 And the reason why is 04:01 because you'll see why we're highlighting fashion 04:03 rather than let's say street language 04:05 or street entrepreneurship. 04:07 Even though we can touch on those things as well 04:09 in other programs, but the reason 04:11 why fashion is something worthy of in-depth study 04:15 is because it does fit so many molds 04:19 of what the Bible speaks of. 04:20 As an example the scriptures 04:22 tell us something about the world, 04:25 you know, that we, you know, 04:26 you hear this term the world a lot, 04:28 the world or worldly and things of that nature. 04:30 And I think we would do well to consider. 04:31 In fact perhaps before we do 1 John 2, 04:34 maybe it would be better to do some other verses 04:35 just to give more context. 04:37 Okay. 04:38 So what I'm first going to do 04:39 is I'm going to start at James 4. 04:42 Let's go there 'cause James 4 04:43 would probably make it more plain. 04:45 In James 4, the Bible makes a very profound statement 04:49 about the world and when we understand this, 04:53 it will help set a stronger foundation 04:55 for those who want to serve God 04:57 and to love Him and to know Him 04:59 and to do the things that please Him. 05:00 When we look at James 4, the Bible says in verse 4, 05:05 "Ye adulterers and adulteresses, 05:07 know ye not that the friendship of the world 05:10 is enmity with God? 05:12 Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world 05:15 is the enemy of God." 05:17 It's a very definite statement that James states here 05:19 that to be a friend or to be friendly with the world 05:23 and its ways, it is the enemy of God. 05:25 But the thing is, 05:26 is that what really constitutes the world, 05:29 you know, as we were looking at it here. 05:31 Well, if we were to look at 1 John 2 now, 05:33 it's gonna talk about things that make up the world 05:36 and then we can understand better why God hates this. 05:38 And He says, "Any of those who are friends of the world 05:41 are enemies of God et cetera." 05:43 It says in 1 John 2, 05:45 we're gonna look at verses 15 and 16. 05:47 It says, "Love not the world, 05:50 neither the things that are in the world. 05:52 If any man love the world, 05:54 the love of the Father is not in him. 05:56 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, 06:00 and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, 06:04 is not of the Father, but is of the world." 06:08 So when we're thinking of the world, 06:10 we're thinking about something that God disapproves of. 06:14 He does not want His people connected to it 06:16 nor reflecting it 06:17 and He does not certainly want us developing a love for it. 06:20 And then he goes on to tell us that the things 06:23 that are in the world 06:24 that He wants us to stay away from 06:25 are things that pertain to the lust of the flesh, 06:27 the lust of the eyes, 06:29 and the pride of life which fashion fits all three. 06:33 And this is why fashion kind of has a greater highlight 06:35 than some of the other elements that were mentioned. 06:37 Fashion definitely promotes lust of the flesh, 06:41 it definitely promotes lust of the eyes, 06:43 and it definitely promotes pride of life. 06:45 It is for these reasons that we have to give some attention 06:49 to the subject of fashion and there is no way 06:52 that we can cover this in-depth, 06:54 you know, in the depth that it deserves. 06:56 So we kind of have to look 06:58 at some key principles from the Bible 06:59 and then see what the Lord says. 07:01 One of the things that you will find 07:02 that's really, really huge 07:04 in the practice of many in hip-hop culture 07:07 is tattooing the body. 07:09 It is something that individuals do especially 07:13 when they want to honor friends, relatives, 07:16 even some of their ancestors, 07:19 et cetera throughout hip-hop culture 07:21 and they want to honor them by putting a tattoo 07:24 on their body and saying whether they love them, 07:26 telling rest in peace and all these other things. 07:28 But the Bible does have a very specific statement on this 07:31 that we can find in the Book of Leviticus. 07:33 In Leviticus 19, the Bible speaks on this point 07:37 and it says in Leviticus 19. 07:40 And again I want us to remember that you, this is why, 07:45 you know, I learned something a long time ago 07:46 as we get ready to look at Leviticus 19. 07:49 When I was growing up, 07:51 I saw pictures of a white Jesus, 07:56 white angels, white patriarchs, white prophets, 08:00 and white apostles, et cetera. 08:02 So when I looked at the Bible, 08:03 it appeared to me very, very European. 08:06 And this is what people were filtering, you know, 08:08 they were pushing this in my mind real hard. 08:11 They were saying, "Hey, you know the Bible stay away 08:13 from it, it's not for black people," 08:15 and all these other things. 08:17 And I started to buy into it quite a bit, 08:18 and I went to an extreme 08:21 where I started to reject the Bible. 08:22 Now I know that the Bible is very much centered 08:25 in all nations, kindred, tongues and people. 08:27 And as Acts 17 says, "We are all made of one blood." 08:30 So I respect that principle today 08:32 and that's what I stand by, praise God. 08:34 But back then I had to admit that, you know, 08:36 some of these prejudices 08:37 and things were being heavily pushed in my mind. 08:40 Well, when I started to look at Afrocentricity 08:43 and started to try to identify it in the Bible 08:46 which I did, there's lots of it in the Bible. 08:48 But even outside of the Bible, man, 08:50 I started buying African everything. 08:52 I mean, I would get, you know, African dolls 08:55 and I would get all sorts of shirts 08:57 that would represent different tribes of Africa 08:59 and you know and I had to learn not everything 09:03 from Africa was good. 09:05 Right. 09:06 And you know, and believe it or not 09:08 that was kind of like a shock to me at a time in my life 09:09 because, you know, 09:11 I was having through hip-hop culture 09:12 push so hard the Asiatic, African Asiatic black man 09:17 and you know we are the original men 09:19 and, you know, all these things 09:20 that was really pushed real strong. 09:22 So I began to think because of the pigmentation of my skin 09:26 that this kind of elevated me to a God like level 09:30 and now I'm feeling like, yeah, I'm the man, 09:32 you know, I have certain powers 09:33 and authorities that was ordained of me 09:36 because "I'm black". 09:38 Well, as I started to have my mind open more, 09:41 you know, I began to see not everything 09:43 from Africa was good, 09:44 and it was educational 09:46 because there was a lot of heathenism, 09:48 paganism, there was a lot of child sacrifice, 09:51 there was voodoo. 09:52 There was a lot of things that took place in Africa 09:54 that was not good. 09:55 And we have to understand that and the way I found out 09:57 they weren't good was comparing it to Scripture. 10:00 Well, one of the things you would find is that 10:02 there was a lot of tattooing, 10:04 there was a lot of different tattoos and writings 10:06 if you will that was put 10:08 or painted on the individuals of different tribes 10:10 to represent certain things. 10:12 And that would be kind of the credence to today 10:14 while someone would say, "Hey, this is why tattooing 10:17 is okay even especially of those 10:19 who have deceased and passed on." 10:21 But when we put this thought to the test of Scripture, 10:24 we see that the Bible says in Leviticus 19:28, it says, 10:29 "Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, 10:35 nor print any marks upon you, I am the Lord." 10:41 So God made it clear, 10:43 I don't want you cutting up your body, 10:44 I don't want you putting these markings upon your body. 10:47 Remember we looked at a principle 10:49 in 1 Corinthians 6 10:50 that stated our bodies are temples 10:53 that God desires to dwell in. 10:55 But He said I bought your body, 10:57 I bought it with the precious price 10:59 of My Son's blood, 11:00 therefore glorify God in your body. 11:04 And the way that you glorify God in your body 11:06 is that you would do what the Bible says 11:08 as it relates to what is the glory of God. 11:11 In Exodus 33:18 Moses said, "Lord, show me Your glory." 11:16 In verse 19, God says, "I'll show you My goodness 11:18 and proclaim My name." 11:20 In Exodus 34, God reveals His glory 11:24 and proclaims His name to Moses in verses 5-7. 11:27 He says the Lord, the Lord God, 11:29 merciful, gracious, longsuffering, 11:31 abundant in goodness and truth, 11:33 keeping mercy for thousands, 11:34 forgiving iniquity and transgression in sin 11:36 and that would by no means clear the guilty, 11:38 visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children 11:40 and to the third and fourth generation. 11:42 God revealed His character 11:44 so when you think of the glory of God, 11:46 you're thinking of the character of God. 11:49 And God says, I want you to glorify Me in your body. 11:52 And God does not, 11:54 did not ever put any prints upon Himself 11:57 except the ones that was inflicted upon Him 11:59 that we might be saved from sin 12:00 which was those marks in His hands. 12:02 But all these paintings and all these other things 12:05 are not to be brought upon our body. 12:07 This was a prohibition that was given from the Word of God. 12:09 And this was just another example among many others 12:13 where God wanted there to be a clear distinction 12:16 between His people, His family and those that rejected Him. 12:20 Correct. 12:21 So this is why God wanted us to always live by His words 12:25 because He knew the effects that it would have. 12:27 God wanted us to understand that the way we adorn ourselves 12:31 whether it's with markings or even clothing, 12:33 God always had a plan. 12:35 I'll give a good example of this in Numbers 15. 12:37 In Numbers 15 God actually wanted 12:40 even in our clothing for us to be a witness. 12:43 Because I appreciate your point 12:44 and I feel like right now is a good time to build on it 12:46 where God wanted us in our representation of ourselves 12:51 in the expression even of our clothing. 12:53 God was actually giving us instruction imagine that, 12:57 God giving instruction on what we should wear, 12:59 how different the world and the church would look, 13:02 if individuals understood you can't even wear 13:04 what you want to wear, 13:06 you can't even just put on what you want to put on. 13:07 You have to go to the Word of God first 13:09 and receive instruction from the owner. 13:10 Yes. 13:12 Well, the Numbers 15, 13:13 the Bible talks about it in verse 38 13:15 and look at what God says here 13:17 as it relates to even things to put on your clothing 13:20 and notice what is says, 13:22 "Speak unto the..." 13:23 Verse 38, "Speak unto the children of Israel, 13:26 and bid them that they make them fringes 13:29 in the borders of their garments 13:31 throughout their generations, 13:33 and that they put upon the fringe of the borders 13:36 a ribband of blue. 13:38 And it shall be unto you for a fringe, 13:40 that ye may look upon it, 13:43 and remember all the commandments of the Lord, 13:46 and do them, and that ye seek not after your own heart 13:50 and your own eyes, 13:52 after which ye use to go a whoring 13:54 that ye may remember, and do all my commandments, 13:56 and be holy unto your God." 13:59 So God wanted to make it clear that even in your clothing, 14:02 I want you to wear clothing in such a way 14:04 that when you look at it, 14:05 it reminds you that you belong to Me 14:08 that you are the commandment keeping family of God. 14:11 This was the influence that God wanted to have 14:14 when we would come in contact with other societies. 14:16 That people would literally see us and they would say, 14:19 there goes the people of God. 14:21 And it was a beautiful plan that the Lord had. 14:24 I must admit my wife and I had an experience one time 14:27 when we were in a store. 14:28 And we believe very strongly in having our girls 14:31 because remember I said I have two boys and two girls. 14:33 So my two boys 16, 14, my two girls 15 and 13. 14:37 And, you know, as developing young ladies 14:41 we wanted them to understand Christian modesty 14:44 which is gonna be the next point 14:45 we need to build on. 14:47 In Christian modesty it is imperative 14:48 that we understand God wanted women to have 14:50 what's called a chaste reserve. 14:53 You know something where they are not just 14:54 letting themselves out for every common individual 14:57 to see and to gawk at and to lust that. 14:59 But to have a reserve to make it clear 15:01 that I am a woman of God, 15:02 I have a respect for myself 15:04 and I'm not going to let you see my anatomy or physiology, 15:06 it's none of your business. 15:07 And in this way, God wanted to make something very plain 15:11 through clothing to communicate to society. 15:14 So one day my family and I, we were at a store 15:17 and we were in the city getting some things 15:19 we needed to get. 15:20 And when the people were just simply, 15:22 we noticed that people just kept looking, 15:24 they kept looking at my wife 15:25 and they kept looking at my girls, 15:27 they kept looking at my wife and looking at my girls. 15:28 And I don't know why they were looking at first 15:30 'cause I can't read minds. 15:31 But when they came, eventually this couple they came over 15:34 to us and they said, 15:36 "Excuse me, are you Christians?" 15:38 And we were saying, "Well, thank the Lord, yes, you know, 15:42 why do you ask?" 15:43 And they said, "Your dress." 15:44 They said, "We notice that the way that you were dressing 15:46 and carrying yourselves even through your children 15:49 that it made a statement." 15:51 And I'm thinking to myself, praise God, 15:53 wouldn't it be wonderful 15:54 if individuals can actually look at people 15:56 and just by the image before they even speak 15:59 they can say, "You must be a servant of God." 16:02 And that's essentially that's the expression, 16:05 I mean that is what the society and culture, hip-hop culture, 16:09 pop culture is striving for is the idea 16:13 that I can put on these clothes and I'm making a statement. 16:16 That's right. 16:17 Or the lack there of, I'm making a statement 16:19 based on what I'm presenting to the world. 16:20 That's right. 16:22 And the contrast is in Christian culture 16:27 we dress in ways or at least we should 16:30 'cause not all Christians do this, 16:31 but we should dress in a way 16:33 that when individuals come in contact with us, 16:36 their minds somehow ascend from the object 16:41 to the creator of the object. 16:42 That's very powerful, that spoke volumes to my girls, 16:46 you know to know my clothing made somebody think about God. 16:51 That was powerful to them and that was a lesson. 16:53 But when you think of hip-hop culture, 16:55 when you see all these fashions, 16:56 we think about the creature. 16:58 We are focused on the individual 17:00 and we're focused on them, 17:01 and at best the creator of their clothing 17:03 which might be the various names in fashion today. 17:06 But there is not a reflection of God, 17:08 there is not a reflection of a most high God 17:10 that is making a call to holiness 17:12 as being demonstrated in the clothing. 17:14 Well, the Bible says in 1 Timothy 2, 17:18 this is dealing with the principle of modesty. 17:21 It says in 1 Timothy 2, how God instructed, 17:25 now granted, I am talking about women here 17:29 and it is not to be chauvinistic at all, 17:31 but you will find that the theme 17:33 throughout the Bible was that it was dress 17:37 was often a subject that had to be addressed with women. 17:41 Because fashion affects women stronger than it affects men, 17:43 it's not that it doesn't affect men 17:45 but it affects them stronger. 17:47 It's kind of like sports, sports will sooner affect men 17:49 more than it would affect women. 17:51 Right. 17:52 There's exceptions to the rules but that's just the general. 17:53 Yeah, exactly we're talking about in the general populace. 17:56 So when you look at 2 Timothy, 17:58 the Bible says in 2 Timothy 2:9, 18:00 "In like manner also, that women adorn themselves 18:05 in modest apparel, 18:07 with shamefacedness and sobriety." 18:10 And then it says, "Not with brooded hair, 18:11 or gold, or pearls, or costly array, 18:14 but which becometh women professing godliness 18:17 with good works." 18:19 So the Bible encourages our sisters to dress in a way 18:22 that is modest. 18:23 And the reason this is important 18:25 is because I read a verse in the Bible 18:26 that blew me away when I read it. 18:28 Because it was speaking specifically 18:30 about a woman's clothing 18:31 and not necessarily about her behavior. 18:34 It was found in Proverbs 7. 18:36 It's the absolute contrast 18:37 to what we just read in 2 Timothy 2:9. 18:41 The Bible says in Proverbs 7, I want you to watch this 18:44 because I thought it was very interesting. 18:46 It says in Proverbs 7:10. 18:49 It is talking about a woman 18:51 who is living the lifestyle of a harlot, 18:53 however it makes a profound statement 18:56 in Proverbs 7:10. 18:58 It says, "And, behold, there met him a woman 19:02 with the attire of an harlot." 19:07 Now what this verse is saying here 19:09 is not that the woman herself was a harlot 19:12 but that her clothing referenced harlotry. 19:16 And we know that the Bible clearly condemns harlotry, 19:19 God condemns fornication and prostitution 19:22 and all these other things. 19:23 Well, here it is that the Bible is showing 19:25 that clothing does have character, 19:27 clothing does make a statement. 19:29 And it's not that hip-hop culture 19:30 doesn't know that, 19:31 it's just that they may be proud of the statements 19:33 that are made. 19:35 Exactly. 19:36 Because often in hip-hop culture what do we see? 19:38 We see tight clothes, we see things that fit really tight, 19:41 things that reveal a ton of flesh, 19:44 things that often are confusing, you know. 19:46 And when I say confusing, 19:47 sometimes the women look like men 19:49 and the men look like women. 19:51 Their clothing that is unhealthy, 19:53 things that are too tight, 19:55 squeezing against the body restricting it, 19:57 restricting the person from even being 20:00 able to take a deep breath, you know. 20:02 Go ahead. 20:03 And it's just that, you know, the fashion, 20:06 trends can go and come and go and ebb and flow 20:09 but the principles that are undergirding the expression 20:12 in the fashion, 20:14 whether we're talking about street fashion 20:15 or, you know, just general fashion 20:17 or high fashion. 20:19 They're always trying to push an envelop, 20:21 they're always trying, you know, 20:22 change and be different. 20:24 So it doesn't matter really, you know, currently, 20:28 this is the expression, 20:30 it's what principles are governing the expression. 20:33 And if it is a violation of principle of truth then, 20:37 you know, whether it's tight or bagging in many cases, 20:41 it could still fall under immodesty. 20:42 That's correct. 20:44 And this is why God wants us to embrace His words of truth 20:47 because quite honestly these type of counsels 20:50 if received they are a protection to our sisters. 20:54 They are an incredible protection to our sisters 20:57 because unfortunately some of the most horrible crimes 21:00 can take place because of stimulus 21:03 that is happening in a beholder's mind 21:06 as they see all of what they see 21:07 in front of them and even though 21:09 they were already battling with their demons, 21:11 this helps ignite the force of those demons 21:13 rather than put at bay the force of those demons. 21:16 So God actually was thinking of protecting His children 21:19 when He gave instructions on how to dress. 21:21 But I think there's an important point 21:23 to make here now because we're Christians, 21:25 we're showing the biblical principles 21:26 as it relates to dress 21:28 and God definitely does not endorse immodesty, 21:30 the revealing of one's flesh 21:32 and particulars of their body and these type of things, 21:35 that these things should be covered. 21:36 The Bible talks about 21:38 the covering up the shame of thy nakedness, 21:40 but at the same time we do need 21:42 to look at a portion of Scripture 21:43 that we would do well to consider. 21:45 Okay. It's in 1 Peter 2:9. 21:47 The Bible says something about those of us 21:49 who name the name of Christian. 21:51 When we accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, 21:53 the Bible lets us know that we become something. 21:56 And it's spelled out beautifully in 1 Peter 2:9. 22:00 So here's what it says, in 1 Peter 2:9 it says, 22:03 "But ye are a chosen generation, 22:07 a royal priesthood, 22:09 an holy nation, a peculiar people, 22:13 that ye should shew forth the praises of Him 22:15 who hath called you out of darkness 22:18 into His marvelous light." 22:20 So this is what God is saying to those of us 22:21 who have come out of the world, 22:23 that's actually what the word church means, 22:24 its Greek word Ecclesia, 22:25 and it means the called out ones. 22:27 We know what we were called out of now. 22:28 We were called out of darkness and into God's marvelous light 22:32 and those who respond to that calling, 22:33 God refers to them as a royal priesthood. 22:37 Well, looking at that point, 22:39 let's take a principle from Exodus 28 22:42 in relation to God's instructions 22:43 to the priests as it related to clothing. 22:47 It says in Exodus 28 22:49 and we're gonna just look at verses 1 and 2. 22:54 Here's what the Bible says, 22:55 God was giving instructions to the priest. 22:58 And He says in verse 1, 23:00 "And take thou unto thee Aaron thy brother, 23:02 and his sons with him, 23:03 from among the children of Israel, 23:05 that he may minister unto me in the priest's office, 23:08 even Aaron, Nadab and Abhiu, and Eleazar and Ithamar, 23:12 Aaron's sons." 23:13 Verse 2, "And thou shalt make holy garments 23:17 for Aaron thy brother for glory and for beauty." 23:23 So notice that God says 23:25 when the clothing was to be made 23:27 that the priests were supposed to wear, 23:29 it was supposed to be for glory and for beauty. 23:33 Now we briefly touched on glory, 23:35 the fact that the clothing we wear should obviously 23:38 be reflective of the very character of God. 23:41 So if God is pure, our clothing should represent purity. 23:44 If God is a God of love or any principle of virtue 23:48 that you connect to the character of God, 23:49 even in our dress 23:51 we can manifest these principles as well. 23:54 God is neat by the way. 23:55 You know, you remember when Jesus rose from the grave, 23:57 He didn't just take the wrappings off from Him 23:59 and throw it on the floor in the tomb. 24:01 The Bible specifically says that He took it up 24:03 and when He unwrapped Himself... 24:05 Oh, when the angel unwrapped it off of Him, 24:06 He would go ahead and fold it and lay it side by side 24:09 in the tomb. 24:11 Jesus was very neat about how He handled things, 24:13 clothing that's one should be very neat, 24:15 it should fit as well 24:16 and it should definitely represent these principles. 24:19 But it also says for beauty. 24:21 God believes in looking beautiful. 24:24 The problem is the world has said 24:27 when you tattoo yourself, 24:28 when you put on all these colorful cosmetics, 24:30 and when you put on all this jewelry, 24:32 and a lot of these things, 24:34 this is how you demonstrate beauty, 24:36 when you reveal your body and let the people, 24:39 the world see all of the particulars of your body, 24:43 this is how you reveal beauty. 24:44 But in the eyes of God, 24:46 beauty is something that is reserved. 24:48 You know something that was beautiful to God, 24:50 it was the sanctuary. 24:51 The sanctuary was absolutely beautiful. 24:53 It was loaded with some of the best elements 24:56 that were in existence from gold to brass, 24:59 to silver to bronze. 25:00 It had wonderful curtains and all sorts of writings, 25:03 it was beautiful. 25:05 Wait a minute, another word for sanctuary is temple 25:08 and we are the temple of God. 25:11 So we should reflect beauty in our clothing 25:14 but you have to also keep in mind 25:16 that beauty was reserved. 25:19 Was everybody allowed to just simply see 25:20 inside of the sanctuary? 25:22 No. 25:23 No, they were not, they could behold it from afar 25:24 and they could see, 25:26 but they were not allowed to see the particulars 25:27 inside the sanctuary. 25:29 So what's the lesson for us? 25:31 That means that when we dress, 25:32 we should dress in ways that are decent 25:35 and that look good, 25:37 but we should make sure that the particulars are concealed. 25:41 That only the one that is deemed or privilege to be, 25:44 one's husband or wife has a right to look 25:45 inside the secrets of the body temple. 25:48 These are little practical lessons 25:49 that God gives us on how we can see, 25:52 how biblical fashion is very, very different 25:56 from the fashion that is being promoted 25:58 throughout hip-hop culture. 26:00 And so we're gonna have to talk a little bit more about this 26:02 in another episode 26:03 because we're looking at a situation 26:05 in which again the Bible 26:08 is not rejecting the idea of fashion. 26:10 It's not rejecting the idea of expression, 26:12 it's not rejecting the idea of beauty, and individuality. 26:16 It's not even rejecting that, there's no, you know, 26:20 unity does not mean uniformity. 26:22 Right. That's very important. 26:23 Yeah, there's no idea 26:25 that we have to all dress exactly the same, 26:26 the same colors, the same this, the same that. 26:29 But they are guidelines, they are guidelines 26:31 and God does not want us again, you know, wandering around, 26:34 groping in darkness 26:36 or just making random decisions on our own. 26:38 Right. Amen. He's going to give instruction. 26:41 Because we, essentially, 26:42 we have to admit that we cannot be trusted. 26:44 And it is proven when you look at hip-hop culture today 26:48 and you look at how the several incredibly 26:51 famous artists today, 26:53 when you see how they're dressing themselves, 26:54 it is shameful. 26:56 Yeah. 26:57 This is absolutely exciting, a powerful statements, 26:59 there's a lot of principles that we're learning. 27:01 We're gonna have to pick this up 27:02 because there's a lot of, a lot more to talk about 27:04 when we talk about this expression 27:06 in the context of fashion. 27:08 We also have to understand that 27:10 while there are all these degrees of fashion, 27:13 street fashion, high fashion 27:15 they all are subject once again to the principles 27:18 that God outlines in His Word. 27:20 And if we are not willing to subject ourselves 27:22 to the principles that God outlines, 27:24 then we have to question our motive, 27:27 we have to question where our heart lies. 27:28 We have to question if we are truly interested 27:31 in uplifting society and not doing 27:34 what we were warned to do in Hosea 4:6 27:39 to reject knowledge 27:41 which will result in destruction. 27:43 So I want to encourage you to continue, join us again, 27:46 invite a friend because we're gonna continue 27:49 to look at not only some of these subjects, 27:51 but the practical solutions to some of these things 27:54 that we're presenting, some of these challenges. 27:56 And I want you to always remember Proverbs 2:6, 28:00 where it says, "It is the Lord that gives wisdom 28:03 and out of His mouth comes knowledge 28:05 and understanding." 28:07 God bless you. |
Revised 2017-09-05