A few weeks ago I spent a glorious week in Clearwater FL. My room had a great view of the intracoastal waterway and Clearwater Beach. Unfortunately since I was in Morton Plant Hospital for triple bypass surgery, I didn't have the opportunity to enjoy it very often. The people there were first class and I received very good care.
However, as two nurses were figuring out what to do about the sore on my left buttock, it occurred to me: there is no dignity in the hospital. First, they start you out with those ridiculous gowns, then they come wandering into your room at all hours of the night. My favorites were the merry band of x-ray techs that burst in every night around 3 AM. One shoved a board under my back and the other took the picture.
All the patients suffered the same indignities. I tried to moderate it by wearing a robe, but to limited effect. We accepted it because we all needed something and all the wires and tubes attached to us made the gowns part of the deal.
It didn't matter if we arrived in a new Lexus or twenty year old Honda, or even had an original Shelby Cobra at home in the garage. It didn't matter if they wore Armani suits, Walmart jeans or Jimmy Buffet Hawaiian shirts. It didn't matter if they had a high rise condo, a small rented house, or a home on the water. We were all there seeking the same care and receiving it. Hopefully everyone went home with the mission accomplished.
Sometimes it seems to be just the opposite when we gather at our church. We see the some fancy cars in the parking lot and how people dress. We may even know where some of them live. But this is just the veneer that is obvious to all and there are some people who are quick to size up other members and interact with them based on these visible factors.
They are irrelevant! Coming into a house of worship is not the place to show everyone how much we have things together, but to get help becoming more like our Creator. The church is a hospital for the sick... and if we make out like we have no needs we miss out on the value of attending. This involves spiritually putting on the flimsy hospital gown. God already knows everything about us, we aren't hiding anything from him... just like in the hospital where they all know what is under the gown.
It is when we come into the presence of the Lord and drop our pretense of being fine that He can help us and we can grow closer to Him. There is nothing wrong with having nice things, but don't let them keep you from associating people less fortunate. If you come in with your spiritual act, some people will fall for it, but that will be your reward and nothing more... and it may keep you from the eternity you say you are seeking.
I was once in a men's Bible study when one of the men commented on how frustrated he was about some of the things he still was dealing with, not as successfully as he would have liked. I told him to look around the room and he could tell the perfect people who had everything together because they had halos above their heads. He nodded and smiled – he got it.
So set aside all the pretense of needing nothing and put on the gown of one who needs what the Creator has to offer – remember, he already knows all about you – and ask for His forgiveness and direction. No matter how good you think you are – you still can't measure up.
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. Ephesians 2:8-9