“…and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.”(Ephesians 4:24 NASB)
Working from home can be comfortable, but don’t get too comfortable. Case in point: A high level manager joins a virtual meeting, clinging to a coffee cup in hand and comfortable in his attire; an athletic tee-shirt, commonly referred to as “wife-beaters.” I just shuddered as I wrote the common word for the men’s under garment because the behavior it suggests is really foreign to men who know that the Bible says “Love your wife” and not beat your wife. Nevertheless, lesson taught, let me continue. The leader calls the meeting to order. Now, as you know, you can mute your microphone and turn off your camera. And, you can show you are present by typing notes to contribute to the meeting. Here’s the problem. The high level manager I mentioned, he did not turn off his camera! He’s astute, paying attention, absorbing content, and accumulating notes, but he is also modeling upper body muscles and unveiling reams of chest hair. A co-worker notices his clothing and texts him that his camera is on and inquires if he is aware that he is wearing the tee-shirt. He turns it off immediately, finds a shirt, and returns to the meeting.
Now don’t shake your head in disbelief. He is not the only person in this pandemic who has experienced such an occurrence. Running late, individuals have just thrown on the upper garments and rushing to the virtual meeting still had on boxers or pajama pants hoping not to be detected. It does not always work. Newscasters, at times, have been caught not fully clothed as their computer screen was titled to far towards them. Ladies have forgotten to remove their sleeping caps or a hair curler or two. Others have appeared on screen revealing who knows what because of how they positioned their PC screen with the built in camera.
All of the above instances can be avoided if one would just look in a full length mirror before joining an online meeting. This minor move will ensure that you have it all together before being live, and I do mean “live,” on screen.
Every morning, make sure you look in the full length mirror before you leave for a virtual meeting in another room of the house or when you making the drive to your physical workplace. Let me clarify what I mean. Make sure you are clothed in righteousness, holiness, strength, love, and all those new characteristics and ways of behaving that appeared in your spiritual wardrobe when you became a new creature in Christ Jesus. Make sure you put on the new self. If you see something that needs fixing up, fix it right away! If what you see in the mirror does not match how the Lord dictates you should wear, change it right away. See the closing verse to gain insight on how important it is to look in the full length mirror and to respond accordingly. Have a great Saturday and don’t forget tomorrow is the day where we worship the Lord in spirit and in truth. Be blessed!
“For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was” (James 1:23-24 NASB)
Still committed to the climb,
Mark L. King