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I’m going to step out on a limb and say that the 70’s were by far the worst years in the era of fashion. I should know …….. I wore some of it ……….

Back in the day, before the internet ……………. No, no, no, no. This was long before the internet.

Back in the day, before the shopping mall and Walmart, everyone waited with anticipation for the new JC Penney or Sears catalog to be delivered. When it arrived, we all thumbed through it for days picking our next wardrobe.

I’m sure I asked for it ……….. I did that a lot. When I was around the age of 12, that would have been 1972 at the height of the fashion phenomenon, my mom ordered me a pink plaid jean outfit to wear to school. Think blue jean jacket with Levi’s type metal buttons, only in pink plaid, with matching pink plaid jeans …………… mmm, mmm, mmm…….. Yep………. I actually wore it……… regularly.

I’m not gonna lie …………. I still get a little embarrassed thinking about it.

John 13:3-9

³ Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; ⁴ so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. ⁵ After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

⁶ He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”

⁷ Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”

⁸ “No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.”

Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.”

⁹ “Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!”

When Jesus finished eating his final meal on earth, he proceeded to teach his closest friends about humility and service by washing their feet. This was a task that was reserved for the lowest servant in a home, yet Jesus, the Lord of the universe, took that position.

Being somewhat embarrassed by the gesture, Simon Peter voiced what everyone else probably thought. “Jesus, what are you doing?! You shouldn’t be washing our feet; this is not your job. If anything, we should be washing yours! No, I will never allow such a thing!”

But Jesus made it clear, “If you are unwilling to permit this and adopt the same attitude and be willing to do the same, then you have no future in my kingdom.”

Peter’s response, though off the mark, is a good one. He recognized that his sin was much deeper than just a layer of dust on his feet. It covered his body from top to bottom and if one part was dirty, all of him was dirty.

Mike Rowe made the TV show Dirty Jobs popular by finding some of the most disgustingly dirty tasks that are necessary to keep our society moving and filming himself helping with those tasks. He made himself a servant in an effort to entertain but also to demonstrate that the job doesn’t change the man. All jobs can be performed with dignity.

There is a saying – “It is not the clothes that make the man.” Appearances mean little. It is what is inside a person’s heart that directs their actions and it is the demonstration of love through our actions that will impact the world. That was the message Jesus wanted Peter to understand. The way to build deep relationships is by serving others in love. You can teach about love; but until you are actually willing to do something that demonstrates your love, people will not believe it’s real.

Well, I can say with certainty that I am thankful that clothing doesn’t define who I am. I did somehow survive the era of bad plaid and it didn’t tarnish my soul forever.

My mug is filled and ready! Here’s to a new day, a new opportunity to demonstrate love for my fellow humans.

All verse quotes courtesy of biblegateway.com