Decorating the Tent
Ok, in the Bible Paul compares our body to a tent. What does this mean? By profession he was a tentmaker, so he would know. A tent is temporary. It's portable. It's cheap.
Above all, it's practical. It keeps the rain off. It keeps the warmth in. But that's about it. It's not permanent; it's not meant to be. It's a shell.
So here's my question. If our body is a tent, why do we spend so much effort to decorate it?
2 Corinthians 5:1
Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.
I'm not pointing fingers. I suffer with my tent. I'm self-absorbed and I admit it. During Bible study last week, I interrupted the discussion to ask if I should get bangs. Can you imagine? (My dear sweet friends even took the time to discuss the bang/no-bang dilemma with me! The conclusion? Side bangs, to show more of my face. My sister Carey concurs...she told me today my face is the size of a penny. Given the chance, I'd talk about my appearance for hours. And so would you.)
Recently someone came up to my car and told me that I was wearing the wrong sweater. December 25th is the Statue of Limitations for a snowman sweater. I evoked the Snow Clause but was shot down. You can't wear snowmen after Christmas...even if it's snowing. My bad.
Bangs are a tent issue. Sweaters are a tent issue.
Why are we consumed with our tent? It's temporary. Disposable, even. Only our inside layer--our soul--survives. So, help me understand. Why do we decorate our tents?
6 comments:
First and foremost,why not wear a snow sweater in the winter when snow is:
A) Predicted
B) Falling
C) Wished for, or
D) Just because you want to?
Now onto the matter at hand. If we want to spiritualize our "tent decorating", our bodies are also the temples of the Holy Spirit. That should be reason enough to take good care of our "tents". Of course, I think the real reason that we spend so much time "decorating our tents" is because we are prideful and want others to think well of us, rather than "she has really let herself go." A sad rationale, but unfortunately I'm afraid it is true, certainly for me at least!
Well! The Fashion Police need to get over it! I have snowmen pins, earrings and sweaters and I will wear them until Easter, when winter is officially over. By the way, it is February 20th and I have one sweet daffodil who has decided that Spring is not far off! "Cool"! As for decorating my tent, there is not a lot of tent to decorate and I just enjoy fixing my face to make it look a little better, hopefully for the world to see. God looks on the inside and if we aren't prideful about the way we decorate, I think he doesn't mind. I'm not the greatest dresser, but I think God wants us to be the best we can be inside and out and besides it's fun and sometimes fun is hard to come by. Can't wait to see the new "do"! Loopie
"Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised." Proverbs 31:30. I think it's the fleeting part that causes us to be preoccupied with our tent. We want our tent lines to be taunt, not sagging. Our tent fabric to be attractive.
But I like the New American Standard versus of 1 PEter 3:3-4 "Your adornment must not be merely external--braiding the hair, and wearing gold jewelry, or putting on dresses; but let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God."
MERELY external...we should be more concerned with what is inside the tent, but a little outword decorating doesn't hurt.
I think we decorate our tent for many different reasons. To cover up our insecurities, to feel better about ourselves, to impress others, or in my case, so I don't punish those who has to look at me. : ) I don't need to be beautiful, just plain and easy on the eyes will do. I think we feel better mentally and physically when we dress nicely or fix our hair a certain way. Some people can be obsessive about such things. I love the analogy from the previous anonymous comment of First Peter 3:3-4. There's nothing wrong with decorating our tent on the outside as long we also decorate our tent on the inside (heart) the same way.
Blessings,
Soon-to-be Nana
I like the verse that anonymous #2 referenced: "Do not let your adornment be merely outward" which is implying that there is nothing wrong with giving some attention to the external tent, but not to be consumed by it. I recently finished the book by Shaunti Feldhahn, "For Women Only". It's a book about the inner lives of our men (husbands), if you have one.Chapter 8 is entitled, "The truth about the way you look". A quote from that chapter goes like this: "He doesn't need you to be a size 3, but he does need you to make the effort to take care of yourself for him". It's interesting that 1 Peter 3 is all about wives and husbands and how we need to be concerned with the "incorruptable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is preciious in the sight of God. But I agree with anonymous #3 who said it makes us feel better mentally and physically when we take care of the tents God gave us.Of course it doesn't just affect our demeanor but also those around us, especially those that have to look at us every day. I think the trap comes when we become obsessed with how we look, buying new things and having to have the latest fashions in order to be happy. A little makeup, a new hair style, and some stylish outfits will go a long way to let our husbands know they are loved, we are respecting the "tents" God gave us (for better or for worse), and make us feel better about ourselves. You GO Martie!!
Wow~! Love the blog! I will be coming back.
Decorating the tent...
Well, before I had children, my husband and I were avid campers- but true to the analogy, children do horrid things to our "tents". But even in our camping days, I would take little flowers and stuff and put them INSIDE to make it look like "home". Hmmmm. But I don't think I ever did anything outside.
I hate to think I wash that gray right out of my hair because I am prideful, but I guess it is true. But I also agree with the comment about not being consumed with our appearance. I believe we should have a healthy balance and always strive for the outside of our tent to please the tentmaker.
Since He made our tents, I am sure He takes pride in how we look. - a good pride. I don't want to embarrass my maker! :)
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