Dress for the Job You Want

A mentor of mine used to tell me, "Dress for the job you want, not the job you have." I was a college student at the time, and would often just blow off this statement.  I would think, "but I'm not there yet, what is the point." I didn't really understand what she was trying to say to me.

Now that I'm in Divinity School, working toward a M.Div. degree, I'm starting to see the wisdom of her words.  Every semester we have a special chapel service at school to commission the new students as they begin their theological education.  It is a lovely service and definitely a time to wear your "Sunday best."  This year in particular it was special because we celebrated the 15th anniversary of the divinity school with an elegant and special lunch.  I went out and bought a new suit for the occasion.

 After lunch, however, I had just enough of a break to go home and change before my next class, so I took advantage of the opportunity.  When I arrived back on campus a little while later, in my black capris and my mickey mouse t-shirt, I felt suddenly completely out of place.  Most of my classmates had not had opportunity to change, and were still in their chapel clothes. Sitting there, the words of that wise mentor came back to me.  "Dress for the job you want, not the job you have."

As I was preparing to head for the church where I am currently working as an intern for part of my requirements, those words came back to me again.  I was prepared to lead in a women's ministry meeting, with a short Bible study and even a hand out with some things to be discussed.  I knew, as an intern, and the youngest woman at the table, and especially in the very relaxed setting of this church, that I could easily have gone in the casual outfit I was wearing, but I didn't.  I changed into the suit that I'd worn to chapel the day before, and I think it paid off.  The ladies noticed right away, and I think I gained a new level of respect, even as the youngest woman in the room.

In reflecting on this lesson learned for me, I could not help but think about the words of the Apostle Paul in Romans 13:11-14.  In this passage Paul reminds us that we are to live as if we are already in "the day." He's talking about living as if we are already walking in the day of Christ's return, when He will establish His Kingdom with us.  He says to put off the darkness, and put on the light.  In essence, when Paul says, "But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh" (Rom. 13:14), he is really saying, "Dress for the job you want in the Kingdom, not for the temporary position you hold on this earth." What job do you want in the Kingdom?  Are you dressed properly for the One who has the power to grant that job to notice you?