Beacon of Light: Simple and Humble

I desire to live simple.

not elaborate or artificial
plain: not ornate or luxurious; unadorned
unaffected: modest; a simple manner
not complicated; a simple design.

I desire to BEE humble.

not proud or arrogant: modest; to be humble although successful.
to be subservient
courteously respectful

I want to live simple. I want to live humble. Christ was both and so much more. He gave up his divine privileges and took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being (Phil 2:7). He went from riches to rags. He came not to be served - but to serve!

As a Christian, I just want to follow Christ's example and practice simplicity and humility. Look at how He lived. He and His disciples went town to town with only the shirt on their backs. They were not concerned about "things"... only a place to rest their head. He told His followers if they wanted to be perfect to sell all their possessions and give to the poor (Matt. 19:21). Consider nuns - they take a vow of "poverty". If things are not important to Jesus, then they shouldn't be important to us. I don't want to get caught up with all the newest electronics, devices, or array myself with all the newest fashions. I feel if you are too crowded with worldly things, that's all people will see. Christ will become lost in the murky water of materialism. Jesus's presence alone is enough for me.

I have to be honest, before I got saved, these attributes didn't matter much to me. I liked the things of the world. I wanted to act, look/dress like everyone else. I loved fashion, make-up, and fancy things! I liked flashy, fast cars... until I wrecked mine (which was very humbling). I was living for the here and now - not realizing the things I was chasing after had no eternal value. My mindset was completely different before I met Christ. Back then I wanted maybeline, now I want the Lord! =) God made me just fine the way I am. I despise how the world tells women they need to *add* to God's creation in order to make it beautiful. God is a great artist. He got it right the first time! When He made the world

and everything in it, He said it was good! (Genesis 1:31). I am an artist and I would be very offended if someone came and altered my painting and said, "There - now it is better!" Women, if you are dating a real man, he will be happy with you in your natural state. Forget about excessive make-up, fake nails, fake eye-lashes, veneers, breast implants, crazy anorexic diets, etc. Be yourself - that is beautiful. There is no one like you.

I PRAISE God for opening my eyes and transforming my mind by the power of His word.

Romans 12:2 (NLT) says:

"Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect".

My thoughts and desires have completely changed...

I have changed. I try to honor God in all that I do, even how I dress. For instance, the past few years I've been more concious of my attire. I look in the mirror and think, "Is this too short, too tight, too flashy, too revealing... will this make another man stumble... would I want another woman to wear this around my husband?" I would rather become blind to man than become a stumbling block of lust. Am I being over the top? Can God lie?? Definitely not - consider Mark 9:42...

"And whosoever shall cause one of these little ones that believe on me to stumble, it were better for him if a great millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were cast into the sea!"

Also...

"Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man (no woman) put a stumbling block or an occasion to fall in his brother's way" (Rom 14:13).

Wow! LADIES -get it- you will be held accountable for your dress if it causes men to 'stumble' in their walk! Please - check yourself... make sure what you are wearing in public, even in CHURCH, is pleasing to God. "Purity of motive does not cancel the effects of your appearance" - Al Martin.

MEN -get it- you will be held accountable for your 'mental adultery'. Oh, how this one burdens me (given our sex-saturated society).

This is why it is SO vital Christians do NOT dress like the rest of the world. We are called to a higher standard - a narrow road.

"Come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you." Separate from the world, and all its corrupting influences! See Isaiah 3:11.

So how does God want women to dress?

1 Timothy 2:9 (NLT)

"And I want women to be modest in their appearance. They should wear decent and appropriate clothing and not draw attention to themselves by the way they fix their hair or by wearing gold or pearls or expensive clothes".

Women, do not adorn yourselves with pearls and expensive clothing because it is not what we wear on the outside that makes us beautiful or of worth, rather it is what's on the inside. God tells us what is beautiful in His eyes: