How do you dress for work? Do you have a standard uniform, complete with a branded shirt or nametag? Do you always wear a dress with heels, or a suit and tie? Or, does it depend on the day? Monday’s are office days for me, so as I write this, I’m wearing jeans and sneakers. Other days, I dress up for appointments.
If we are wise, we dress for success. What that looks like depends our role. However, when it comes to our souls, we can all put on the same uniform that Paul suggested for the Colossians:
"… clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience… Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity." (Colossians 3:12-14 NIV)
Whether we serve customers or work with an internal corporate team, most of us interact with people at some point in our workday. When we do, have we dressed our attitudes for the interaction?
I like to use this Colossians scripture as part of my morning routine. Just as I make sure that I brush my teeth and put on the appropriate attire for my workday, I take time to mentally “clothe” myself with the attributes described here.
I also put on my spiritual armor. I like to remind myself that I “dress” my soul for engaging with people, and I “armor up” for spiritual battles. Ephesians 6:12 says, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”
Did you catch that? Our struggle is not against people—"flesh and blood”—but against spiritual forces of evil. Do you know how helpful that is? When my co-worker annoys me or a customer is rude, it helps to remember that they are not the enemy. We are both under attack, and not by each other. Whether you believe in literal demons or not, the mental picture of being on the same team and having a common enemy can help us respond better. I can be annoyed at the enemy of frustration or fear rather than the person in front of me. I can see my coworker as a comrade-at-arms, fighting in the same battle that I am.
The daily routine of clothing myself with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, forgiveness and love engages my mind and heart for the work day and helps me to stay relational even when it’s hard.
How do you dress your soul for the day?