Truth or Bare Fashion

Claire Black: This is True Girl a podcast for girls and their moms. Together we’ll explore God’s truth for us one drive at a time. Buckle up. 

We’re going to talk about fashion, and wowza lots of girls seem to have forgotten parts of their skirts, shirts, and shorts. I remember one time a girl walked past me and I said, “Oh wow, hi.” It looked like she had forgotten the rest of her shorts. 

Now, this topic might seem difficult, but we’re going to make it a little less awkward, as we explore truth or bare fashion. I probably should warn you that today’s going to get a little crazy. In case you haven’t heard, normal is overrated. God’s girls stand out. We think differently, our actions and choices are not like everyone else’s, which occasionally makes us look, well, crazy. 

True Girl is hosted by Dannah Gresh, author of 8 Great Dates for Moms and Daughters. Let’s get moving for season 1, episode 5, titled “Truth or Bare Fashion”

Here’s Dannah.

Dannah Gresh: Hey there true girl and mom. Welcome to our fifth episode of our very first season. This has been so much fun. I hope you’re having fun too. I’m Dannah Gresh, here with my favorite True Girl lead teacher, Staci Rudolph. 

Staci Rudolph: Am I really your favorite True Girl lead teacher?

Dannah: Well, of course you are. You’re my only one. Today we’re going to ask the question, “Does God care about fashion?”

Staci: That’s a good question. What’s your favorite piece of clothing that you have right now? I’m really into fashion right now.

Dannah: I think it might be this jean jacket I have on. I found one that’s long.

Staci: That’s pretty cute. 

Dannah: Yeah. Thank you. 

Staci: I like my bomber jacket. I didn’t realize how sporty I am, so I just like that I can throw it on over everything.

Dannah: You are a sporty girl.

Staci: Thank you, thank you. 

Dannah: I like that about you. 

Staci: So, on one hand I’m pretty sure that on top of God’s list is not my bomber jacket or my Converse, right?

Dannah: Right.

Staci: On the other hand, I think He does care since He’s concerned with everything about us. But maybe the way He thinks about fashion is different than how we think about it. 

Dannah: I know that’s right. Remember what the Bible says about King David? He apparently was small and not fully grown when the prophet Samuel came to anoint him as the future king of Israel. He was kind of like the runt of the family at that time. 

Staci: Oh, yeah. David’s dad got all jazzed up when the prophet arrived. He just kept showing him older sons who were strong and handsome, but that’s not who God wanted. 

Dannah: That’s right. David’s dad was way off course, and he was looking at the wrong qualities when he showed the prophet his strong older sons. What was God looking for? In 1 Samuel 16:7 we read this, “The LORD does not look at the things that people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”

Staci: Based on that I think it’s safe to say that God is way more interested in what we look like on the inside than how we appear on the outside. 

Dannah: Yes. What we wear on the inside—our kindness, our helpfulness, our gentleness—those things matter much more our jean jacket or our bomber jacket. 

Staci: But at the same time, we do have to be careful about what we wear and how we look. But not so we’re in style or feeling super good about ourselves or anything. The reason we are careful about what we wear is so that the way we look reflects our hearts well. 

Dannah: Yes.

Staci: And since a Christian girl is full of God’s joy, His love, His kindness and gentleness, well, her clothes should definitely reflect that and not be dark and angry looking. 

Dannah: I agree. And since God instructs us to love others well and not be selfish, your clothes should not be the kind to say, “Hey! Look at me!” But we want our lives to say, “Look at God, look at Him.”

Staci: Okay, I feel like this is getting a little confusing. 

Dannah: Yeah?

Staci: Well, let me break it down. First, clothes are an essential part of daily life, and we here at True Girl think it’s okay to express your unique personality through what you wear and how you dress. 

Dannah: Yes.

Staci: So, go ahead grab a cute dress, if that’s what you like, or maybe you’ll roll more like me and enjoy a sporty look. Have fun with it. But remember what you wear should reflect your heart. And I’ve got news for you, if your heart is being trained by God’s truth as found in the Bible, you probably won’t fit in with the crowds well. 

Dannah: That’s true. In fact, let me read a verse we mentioned briefly in our last episode. It’s our power verse today, it’s from Philippians 2, starting in verse 13, “For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.”

This verse tells us that if we let Him, God will work in us to give us the desire to live the way He wants us to live. And that includes a lot of things, but it includes how we dress. It means that we’ll obey both God and our parents in what we choose to wear.

Staci, can you read verse 14 of Philippians 2?

Staci: Yup. It says, “For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.” Oh now, that hit me. I can definitely think of a time or two when I complained or argued with my mom about what I wanted to wear. 

Dannah: Me too. You know Staci, I wish I had known this verse back then. Okay let me read verse 15, it tells us the final result of that obedience. Here’s how it goes, “Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people.”

Staci: Now, that’s what I’m talking about. When we obey God and our parents in the way that we dress, we stand out. 

Dannah: Yes. 

Staci: We don’t necessarily fit in. We’re like bright lights in a dark world. Right?

Dannah: Yeah, like stars on a dark night sky, we stick out. 

Staci: Yes, we should stand out. This actually reminds me of a time back in like middle school, I was really obsessed with just having the coolest sneakers, the coolest gym shoes, all of that, and they always ended up being so expensive. 

Dannah: Yeah. 

Staci: And I would be begging my mom for them and she would be like “I’m not spending money on those shoes that you’re going to wear for like two months.” You know? And the older I get the more I realize how insane that was. 

Dannah: We do get to the point where we’re willing to do almost anything and spend any amount of money to look like everybody else. 

Staci: Yeah. 

Dannah: And that’s just kind of the root problem of our hearts, wanting to fit in and look like the crowd and go a long with the crowd. 

Staci: Yeah. 

Dannah: But one of the things that God puts in our hearts, when we really start to follow His Word, is that we are careful with the money that we spend. We’re good stewards of it. We aren’t spending it on foolish things and it’s not that shoes are foolish . . .

Staci: Right. 

Dannah: . . .but you know.

Staci: Now, we’re not saying that there’s a right or wrong price for shoes. We’re saying more so that it’s about the heart behind why you’re buying them. And it’s so important that we ask God, “What do You want me to spend this money on?”

So, I had to kind of learn that as a believer in Jesus I don’t look and act like everyone else. I am different; I am going to be different. You don’t want to live like everyone else and be “normal.” Normal is so overrated. That’s my opinion. 

You are a true girl, a girl who let’s God’s truth get the first and last say in everything you do. 

Dannah: Oh, I love that, Staci. You know what? I got a story to help us picture what we’re learning today. Let’s pretend that we can all visit my little farm right now. And let’s imagine Chizzy Anderson is there with us. 

Chizzy Anderson: Hello there, true girl.

Once upon a time nestled in a place called “Happy Valley” there was a flock of chickens. They lived in a chicken coop which was quite normal. The coop was nestled into a tiny, little wooded knolll where llamas and goats pleated and horses galloped in pastures. 

The chickens did the “normal” things that chickens do. They scratched and pecked all day for bugs. Oh, and they laid eggs. There was one chicken who didn’t like being normal. This one named Napoleon never felt like one of the flock. He didn’t like scratching and pecking. 

One day as the sun began to slip behind the horizo, and the moon came out to shine, Napoleon noticed that when the chickens all strutted single file into the chicken coop for the night, there was a grand old bird that flew majestically into the tree tops. Rather than sleeping through the night like the normal chickens, this bird stood majestically surveying the land. 

Beginning the very next morning Napoleon spent all his time watching the grand old bird. His colors were so brilliant—blue, purple, black, and flecks of gold lined his magnificent tail. And sometimes the bird would suddenly fan his tail high into the sky, making an arch above his head, and standing proudly. 

More than anything, Napoleon wanted to be like that bird. Of course, the other chickens thought Napoleon was crazy. They made fun of his feathers and forced him to practice his pecking and scratching. 

One day, Napoleon asked Cheerio, the oldest chicken on the farm, “What kind of bird was the one who soared to the top of the tree tops at night?”

“That,” said Cheerio, “Is a peacock.”

Napoleon sighed and said, “Oh, I wish I were a peacock.”

At this Cheerio paused and looked straight into his little friend’s eyes, “Why Napoleon, didn’t you know, you are a peacock. When you were just an egg you rolled out of the peacock pen, which is high above the chicken coop, and you plopped smack into the middle of our chicken nest. We warmed and incubated you, but you my friend, are a peacock.”

With that, Napoleon did the craziest thing, he tried and tried with all of his might. He squeezed and squeezed, and he pushed and pushed and puffed and puffed, and suddenly, his tiny tail popped straight into the air. It wasn’t quite as spectacular as the great peacock in the tree, after all, Napoleon was only a tweenager. He would need to grow into his tail feathers, but Napoleon wasn’t a chicken at all. He was in fact a peacock. 

From that time on, he decided he wasn’t going to go along with the flock and act just like everyone else, he was going to be who God created him to be.

Staci: Well, Chizzy Anderson is one amazing story teller, but I gotta say, that was one confused bird. 

Dannah: Yes. It gets even crazier. Napoleon is a real peacock. He lives on my farm; he was born there. But his momma could not incubate his egg, she couldn’t sit on it. So, the chickens did. It actually took him a while, but he finally figured out that he was a peacock. And today, he sleeps in the tallest tree on my farm. 

Staci: I’ve seen him and I noticed something, Napoleon finally grew into his tailfeathers. 

Dannah: Yup. That bird wears one fancy suit. In fact, the reason I wanted us to hear that story is because it reminds of the verse read earlier from Philippians 2. Let me read that again.

Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people.

You know, it’s so easy to go along with the crowd, the rest of the “normal chickens” if you will, but we want you to be bright lights for Jesus, living the way He wants you to live. And when you do that, you’re going to stick out. You’re going to look different. Just imagine that dark night sky with one bright star laying upon it, that is you. 

Staci: When you’re living for Jesus, you might be like that bright spot that sticks out like crazy, because the Lord calls us to put Him above everything . . . and that includes fashion. It’s so overrated anyways, right? 

Dannah: Yes.

Staci: Have you seen some of the stuff your mom wore back in the day? 

Dannah: You’re not going to go there.

Staci: Yes, we are. Well, actually you are. Your True Girl Challenge is to scout out some vintage clothing, and laugh a little or a lot. You can do this by looking at photos of your mom.

Dannah: Hey, don’t laugh too much at that.

Staci: Or by visiting a vintage clothing store to survey the fashion trends of yesteryears. 

Dannah: You can laugh as much as you want if you do that. 

Staci: You don’t have to buy anything, just try on some crazy outfits. And while you’re there, I want you to remember that the clothes you are buying aren’t the most important part of the trip. 

Dannah: Exactly, the whole idea behind this True Girl Challenge and do it when you have time if you want, is to really consider that piece of clothing we think we have to have, is going to be pretty laughable in a few years. 

And what we want you to do is think about is, What’s going on in my heart when I think I need that.

Then spend some time thinking about this, Am I willing to be different? Am I willing to stick out? Am I willing to shine bright and be different for Jesus?

Claire: Well, I’m excited to try on some wild shoes. But I’m even more excited to spend time with my mom. How about you? 

Dannah Gresh invited you to check out some vintage clothes. You’ll find more details on how to plan that experience by getting a copy of her book, 8 Great Dates for Moms and Daughters. You’ll find that book and lots of other helpful resources at MyTrueGirl.com .

True Girl is a production of Revive Our Hearts calling women of all ages to freedom, fullness, and fruitfulness in Christ. 

All Scripture is taken from the ESV unless othewise noted.

*Offers available only during the broadcast of the podcast season.