God didn't make me wear tube socks...

In high school athletics we wore gym shorts (the short ones, not the ones down to the knees) OVER our sweat pants when it was cold outside. If it was hot, we wore those short gym shorts without the sweats, but with tube socks up to our knees. Oh, the good old days… Of the fashion trends of the 70’s, it would be difficult not to call that the most embarrassing. Who started that trend anyway, and why!?

There are plenty of “what were we thinking?” examples of past fashion. But there have also been many trends that hit the mark, and have endured the ages. We can still ask, though, why and by whom they began.

The origins of many styles are known, like Jackie Kennedy and her over sized sunglasses, or “Daisy Duke” and her shorts. But some are more obscure, like high heels that can be traced back to ancient Egypt where butchers wore them to keep their feet clean when slaughtering animals.

It may surprise us to know that God also started fashion trends. He gave great detail to the priests for the robes they were to wear (Exodus 28 and 39). The “why” for that was that it set them apart in their role. But that didn’t start a trend. In fact, it would have been an incredible sin for a layperson to have copied that style.

My recent reading in Numbers 15 struck me, though, with a fashion trend that God, apparently, did start. In verses 38 and 39, God told the people of Israel (through Moses) to,

“make for themselves tassels on the corners of their garments,”

He even gave them the “why” for this accessory, in verse 39,

“to look at and remember all the commandments of the LORD, so as to do them and not follow after your own heart and your own eyes.”

These tassels were to be worn as ornaments, not for admiration but to put them into a mind of service, obedience and purity (similar, I suppose, to tying a string around our fingers to remind us of something important).

Reading and contemplating this made me think about the crosses that so many of us wear today, me included. Specifically, it made me wonder if those put us into a similar spirit of mind, as the tassels were to serve for His people back then. I must admit, I don’t think they do. Most of time they are worn as a fashion accessory, especially where the cross is worn outside of our clothing on a necklace. Sometimes they are worn under our clothing, like I do.

Here is where a potential problem arises. Sometimes they are worn solely for fashion, which is another topic on its own. But they are also often worn as a badge of our religiosity. Wearing our faith as a badge, whether shown or hidden, is a very dangerous thing, especially where we want to show others, or even ourselves, how “religious” we are. (Understand, I’m not claiming this to be the case wherever we see someone wearing a cross, but to certainly be so in many of those occasions.)

Our faith in God is NOT an honor upon us, but is an honor upon, and glorifying to, Him. When we desire recognition for having a great faith, it is a prideful thing. This is not to be confused with wanting others to see Him in us. That IS glorifying to Him. But it is also FOR His sake, not for ours, and should be seen by the way we live our lives, with a humble spirit – which is the opposite of self-pride. Desiring recognition for a greater faith is also a desire for being recognized as being more worthy, and is what the Pharisees (those Jewish leaders in the Bible who set themselves apart as distinguished by their strict observance of the law) desired when they enlarged the tassels they wore.

But they do all their deeds to be noticed by men; for they… lengthen the tassels of their garments. – Matt 23:5

How, then, should the cross be worn? That, of course, is a personal decision, but I do have a perspective. What if we consider that when we wear our cross, we also bear our cross? To me, wearing our crosses should be a reminder, like the tassels that God commanded be worn 3000 years ago. They should remind us of our brokenness, that without carrying His cross to His death, up the hill at Golgotha, our death would be eternal. They should remind us that we should be willing to die to self in order to follow Him, enduring whatever comes with that. Bearing our cross is a much deeper topic than is done justice here, but can be covered in His own words:

 “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it. For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world, and loses or forfeits himself? For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His glory, and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. But I say to you truthfully, there are some of those standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God.” – Luke 9:23-27

So, God started a fashion trend. He did so with the purpose that it serve as a reminder. But that wasn’t His only purpose. In verse 40 He says that they should wear the tassels so that they remember His commandments “and be holy to your God.” Again, a whole discussion in itself it is as to what it means to be holy, but it’s enough for me to consider how I’m wearing my cross.

From now on, every time I put on my cross I’m going to see a question mark and ask myself, “am I being holy to my God?”

That’ll look a lot better than knee high tube socks!