Costumes

I never was much on Halloween. I guess I liked it okay when I was little, but just for the candy. I don't really remember enjoying “dressing up” or wearing costumes. I know, strange to be talking about Halloween in March. Let me explain:

I attended the memorial service of a friend/coworker Monday night. Because such things are never fun, I went with several friends from work. The service was beautiful, but surprisingly (to me) formal. The speakers at the service were the Sr. Pastor, two associate pastors, and the youth minister. The three ordained ministers wore white robes.

At the end of the service, I looked up to see one of my friends (who is unfamiliar with Methodist traditions) rubbing her hands together. I gathered from the look on her face she had a profound question—well a question anyway, and one she was dying to ask. “What?” I asked. “Why did the one guy not get to wear a costume?” I giggled a bit and attempted to explain that he didn't get a 'costume' because he wasn't an ordained minister, which she understood, but still thought he should go buy himself a costume.

This conversation reminded me of another conversation that had taken place recently. It seems a local pastor's wife had found herself in the unfortunate situation of being caught “fraternizing with another man.” After a brief discussion of the fairness of preachers and their wives being held to higher standards (a topic for another day), the conversation led to the inevitable statement that churches are full of hypocrites.

Typically, the word hypocrite is thought of as someone who pretends to have morals, and beliefs but their actions contradict stated beliefs. Hypocrite comes from the Greek meaning a stage actor. Someone playing a part—pretending to be something they are not. And yes, the church, and the world, is full of people who pretend to be something they are not. However, I don't think it's always intentional—yes sometimes, maybe many times, it is, but not always. Some people don't know who they are—they want to be all things to all people. Some people rather than hypocrites, are chameleons. It's not that they are trying to be something they aren't, they just take on the characteristics and actions of those around them so as to blend in. Others, are trying to be true to who they are, but find themselves pressured to put on a mask in certain situations.
Debbie, from my experiences, was one person who was not a hypocrite. She was true to herself and her God and was the same no matter where she was or who she was around. This was obvious from the attendance at her service on Monday night—and the amount of laughter at a shared experience about a voice mail. In addition to being true to herself, Debbie did not judge others for being themselves. She was friends with a great number of people from many backgrounds and lifestyles. She accepted people for who they were—without question. For that, she was loved.

As I look at my life, I hope I can be more like Debbie. I don't want to live as a hypocrite—intentionally or not. I want to take off whatever costumes I might be wearing and be myself in all places around all people. I want to honor Christ by letting the world see me as I become the person he created me to be.

And on that note, I wonder what my readers think (both of you). Should preachers/ministers wear “costumes”, or should they dress in the same manner as their congregation?