Modeling

“Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.” - I Corinthians 11:1

Okay. It’s word association time – one of psychology’s favorite games. Here’s how we play. I give you a word and you say the first word that comes to your mind. For example, I say ball, you might say round. If I said knife, you might say cut. If I say handsome, you might say Mike Minter, but then again you might not. Now that you have the idea, let’s try one more word – modeling. Well, what comes to your mind? Glamour? Beautiful people? Fur Cots? The Sears catalogue?

At the risk of being psychoanalyzed, I’ll tell you what comes to my mind when I think of modeling. I immediately think of a model’s qualifications. You know, high cheekbones, perfect ratio between height and weight, and as if that weren’t enough, add photogenic to the list. Fall short in any area and “don’t call us, we’ll call you” will be the studio’s parting words.

Perhaps if I were a bit more heavenly minded, this word would take on a different meaning. After all, the Bible has a great deal to say about modeling. “… and be clothed with humility” (I Peter 5:5). “Put on the whole armour of God” (Ephesians 6:11). “Ye are our epistles written in our hearts, known and read of all men” (II Corinthians 3:2). “Not the outward adorning…but the hidden man of the heart, which is in the sight of God a great price” (I Peter 3).

The beauty of God’s modeling program is that anyone can qualify – anyone. I once heard it said that a person can be paralyzed from the neck down and still model the fruit of the spirit, “love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance” (Galatians 5:22-23).

How well I remember my Dad modeling honesty by telling a cashier she had given him too much change. And then there was the time I had broken my arm in a car wreck but my father refused a check from the insurance company because our hospitalization was covered by the military. No doubt your parents or someone you have admired modeled a character quality that you are now able to pass on to your children. One thing is for certain, you can have family devotions until the swallows come back from Capistrano, but if you don’t model it, your children won’t buy it, nor will your employees, friends, or neighbors.

So why not slip into something comfortable like the fruit of the Spirit. You’ll look great, even if you don’t’ have high cheekbones. That’s the way I see things.