how others see you
“For man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart” (1 Sam. 16:7).
The evidence is unmistakable that we are living through a period where our civilization is decaying. Of course, that doesn’t mean that men of God must participate in this decay. In fact, we are called to go in the opposite direction—to resist it and to live as a light to our generation.
One of the obvious signs of decadence is the standard of clothing and appearance in public. And while there is a lot to be said to women about modesty, what about the standard of young men? If you are living up to the calling God has given you as a leader in your generation, then you are the one who sets the standard for what is good, true, and beautiful—not the women and not the men who follow another god.
And that is a point that needs to be emphasized—your public presentation (clothing and appearance) is a statement of who you are. You are presenting to the world a clear signal about your values, your identity, the image you want to portray to others. You can present either a representation of power, strength, and confidence; or you can exhibit weakness.
When anointing David to be King of Israel, God told the Prophet Samuel not to judge people by appearance, but to be wise like God Himself and seek to “look upon the heart” when judging a person’s worth. However, he also points out that most people make the mistake anyway—they judge by outward appearance. It is part of human nature. And while there can be some value to snap judgments, a wise man will not allow that to be the final word in his mind.
So, how does a man of God respond to that truth? Does he disregard people’s superficiality and focus on the heart only? Clearly, we must become sincere and genuine within our own heart and motivations first. But don’t ignore the other part of that insight--people still judge you by how you appear. A good man ensures that he doesn’t make the same mistake of being superficial, but he also ensures that when other people do judge him by his appearance, they get the right message.
Of course, fashion and style change over the years. But if one is paying attention, there is very little that changes for the person pursuing the “classic” look—a look that is impressive, simple, and smart, no matter the decade. “Classic” doesn’t mean making the same fashion mistakes as older generations. It means making some of the same wise choices of older generations. That doesn’t mean picking things that are “no longer in style.” It means finding those elements of a wardrobe that have shown some continuity through the decades and choosing those when building a wardrobe. After all, to dress well is not cheap, if one is going to buy for quality and build for the long term.
“Well, I just dress for comfort,” you say.
Ah, yes—comfort—that loud siren of our age luring us into a life of sleep, luxury, and underachievement. Who said that was the goal in life? Where does the idea come from that everything is supposed to be for our comfort and pleasure? Where is the desire to achieve? The desire to conquer? The desire to lead? This is the role of men in the world today—no matter what feminists or beta-males try to tell you. It is your destiny. You must pursue it despite the voices telling you to sit down and shut up. You’re the one God calls to be a leader in our civilization.
And even though we’ve been taught “not to judge a book by its cover,” people do it every single minute of the day. You should be aware of that and make sure the impression you give others is one of power, leadership, and control—all within a context of Christian grace and humility before God.
The trend to dress down in our time is actually a backhanded way of emasculating men. “Emasculation” is when men are criticized and belittled for exhibiting manly traits, to the point that they begin acting like women—thus leading to the feminization of our society. A society governed by feminine ideas is a sign of civilization on its last legs. Again, this has to be resisted by men. Masculinity should be celebrated and honored—courage, action, leadership. Dressing down, dressing just for comfort, or ignoring traditions of masculine dress from the past, simply lead to further emasculation. There should be a distinct difference in the way a man appears in public and it should be one that portrays power, grace, and nobility.
Another trend to beware of is imprinting your skin with permanent ink—tattoos. The most important question to ask about such a thing is not, “what do I want?” But it is “what will other people think?” For a start, putting visible tattoos on your body automatically closes off opportunities to you that may otherwise be open. Such a mark automatically distinguishes a person with a number of responses, good or bad: dangerous, rash, unthinking, cool, chic, wild, “one of those.” Regardless of your reasons, what does it say to other people? Especially to employers who may not want that kind of representation of their company? Better to go without and leave your options open, than get one done and close off possible opportunities.
In regard to such things, one thing I read has always stuck out in my mind: remember that facial hair is temporary. Tattoos are permanent.
As with all aspects of your appearance, what do you want people to think of you? That you are stable, strong, and in charge? Or that you are weak, easily influenced, and submissive to ungodly forces?
Such a representation is not in contradiction to living as a Christian gentleman. In fact, it is the express sign of a Christian gentleman that he is such a strong personality, that those who are weaker look to him for protection, for guidance, and for mercy. A Christian gentleman is one who shows these graces to others from that point of strength.
A Christian man is humble before Almighty God. He is gracious to those weaker than himself. But he is fearless in the face of evil which seeks to overwhelm the world around him. The question here is just one simple aspect of that formula: how do you want others to perceive you?
Return to Words to Live By
One of the obvious signs of decadence is the standard of clothing and appearance in public. And while there is a lot to be said to women about modesty, what about the standard of young men? If you are living up to the calling God has given you as a leader in your generation, then you are the one who sets the standard for what is good, true, and beautiful—not the women and not the men who follow another god.
And that is a point that needs to be emphasized—your public presentation (clothing and appearance) is a statement of who you are. You are presenting to the world a clear signal about your values, your identity, the image you want to portray to others. You can present either a representation of power, strength, and confidence; or you can exhibit weakness.
When anointing David to be King of Israel, God told the Prophet Samuel not to judge people by appearance, but to be wise like God Himself and seek to “look upon the heart” when judging a person’s worth. However, he also points out that most people make the mistake anyway—they judge by outward appearance. It is part of human nature. And while there can be some value to snap judgments, a wise man will not allow that to be the final word in his mind.
So, how does a man of God respond to that truth? Does he disregard people’s superficiality and focus on the heart only? Clearly, we must become sincere and genuine within our own heart and motivations first. But don’t ignore the other part of that insight--people still judge you by how you appear. A good man ensures that he doesn’t make the same mistake of being superficial, but he also ensures that when other people do judge him by his appearance, they get the right message.
Of course, fashion and style change over the years. But if one is paying attention, there is very little that changes for the person pursuing the “classic” look—a look that is impressive, simple, and smart, no matter the decade. “Classic” doesn’t mean making the same fashion mistakes as older generations. It means making some of the same wise choices of older generations. That doesn’t mean picking things that are “no longer in style.” It means finding those elements of a wardrobe that have shown some continuity through the decades and choosing those when building a wardrobe. After all, to dress well is not cheap, if one is going to buy for quality and build for the long term.
“Well, I just dress for comfort,” you say.
Ah, yes—comfort—that loud siren of our age luring us into a life of sleep, luxury, and underachievement. Who said that was the goal in life? Where does the idea come from that everything is supposed to be for our comfort and pleasure? Where is the desire to achieve? The desire to conquer? The desire to lead? This is the role of men in the world today—no matter what feminists or beta-males try to tell you. It is your destiny. You must pursue it despite the voices telling you to sit down and shut up. You’re the one God calls to be a leader in our civilization.
And even though we’ve been taught “not to judge a book by its cover,” people do it every single minute of the day. You should be aware of that and make sure the impression you give others is one of power, leadership, and control—all within a context of Christian grace and humility before God.
The trend to dress down in our time is actually a backhanded way of emasculating men. “Emasculation” is when men are criticized and belittled for exhibiting manly traits, to the point that they begin acting like women—thus leading to the feminization of our society. A society governed by feminine ideas is a sign of civilization on its last legs. Again, this has to be resisted by men. Masculinity should be celebrated and honored—courage, action, leadership. Dressing down, dressing just for comfort, or ignoring traditions of masculine dress from the past, simply lead to further emasculation. There should be a distinct difference in the way a man appears in public and it should be one that portrays power, grace, and nobility.
Another trend to beware of is imprinting your skin with permanent ink—tattoos. The most important question to ask about such a thing is not, “what do I want?” But it is “what will other people think?” For a start, putting visible tattoos on your body automatically closes off opportunities to you that may otherwise be open. Such a mark automatically distinguishes a person with a number of responses, good or bad: dangerous, rash, unthinking, cool, chic, wild, “one of those.” Regardless of your reasons, what does it say to other people? Especially to employers who may not want that kind of representation of their company? Better to go without and leave your options open, than get one done and close off possible opportunities.
In regard to such things, one thing I read has always stuck out in my mind: remember that facial hair is temporary. Tattoos are permanent.
As with all aspects of your appearance, what do you want people to think of you? That you are stable, strong, and in charge? Or that you are weak, easily influenced, and submissive to ungodly forces?
Such a representation is not in contradiction to living as a Christian gentleman. In fact, it is the express sign of a Christian gentleman that he is such a strong personality, that those who are weaker look to him for protection, for guidance, and for mercy. A Christian gentleman is one who shows these graces to others from that point of strength.
A Christian man is humble before Almighty God. He is gracious to those weaker than himself. But he is fearless in the face of evil which seeks to overwhelm the world around him. The question here is just one simple aspect of that formula: how do you want others to perceive you?
Return to Words to Live By