During the “little cold snap” we had this past week, I experienced an arctic swirl of wind that hiked my formal dress skirt off my ankles and over my shoulder exposing my entire lower extremities to some extremities of nature.   Not only was I shocked, but so were those observing…although they were waging battles of their own! As a black-tie wedding attendee, we guests got to don our best outfits, which for women are not known for their warmth, just in time to brave Atlanta’s coldest day of the last year. Before you cold-climate natives scoff, it was 13 degrees Fahrenheit with a wind chill factor of ZERO degrees. Admit it, you don’t expect to hear of that kind of cold in the sunny South.

Even though we were warned of the coming cold, most of us women dug out our strappy, open-toed sandal shoes with no leg coverings, long dresses made of slinky material that feels colder on your skin than the temperature actually is, with slits and skin exposure areas that are perfect targets for frostbite. We haughtily say, “Beauty before comfort,” and strut into the arctic vortex, not feeling our feet that are carrying us there!

The minute I stepped outside, I felt like Renee Zellweger in the movie, New in Town. As an executive from Miami, FL, sent to Minnesota in winter, she stands at the airport door looking outside wearing stilettos, a wool blazer, and a skirt. She thrusts her chest out, nose up, and says, “How bad can it be?” As she hits the airstream crossing the airport doors, you see the wind dishevel her as she screams, “HOLY MOTHER…” before she is cut off by the sliding glass door closing. She jets inside to the safety of the heated airport and proceeds to put on every warm clothing item in her suitcases.

Preparation and concession. There are many situations in life where we enter into things less than prepared, even when we know what to expect. Wedding weather vs. couture: concessions equal sacrifice. Comfort for fashion.

Jesus is coming back. We have been promised. Before He gets here, we have the exhortation to be prepared. We do this by following Jesus’s instructions and example. This is for our benefit here on earth, but also so that others may know who we follow and be drawn to Him through our actions and love. AND YET, we tend to make concessions. Despite our awareness of the brevity of life and the extension of eternity, we would rather look “cool” to others and sacrifice some of the warmth of a close, committed relationship with Jesus.

Our current self-focused culture embraces the phrase “we deserve” to do what feels good and right to us. What benefits us? What satisfies us? All of this is well and good until it comes with sacrifices of faith, family, relationships, and integrity.

Our current pop culture seems to direct that we focus internally – satisfy self. Concerning ambition, financial status, sex, entertainment, politics, social status, ethnicity, and ____, lines are progressively blurring between what is moral, just, and true. Individuals are defining these. We are quick to point out what offends us. And we assume that what offends us also offends others and is intentionally hurtful. We become offensive defending the offended. We step on each other’s frozen toes. We have lost our plum line. We are hanging it on things that are askew.

A plum line, a string with a weight on the end, shows a builder what is true vertical. A follower of Jesus has the Bible, God’s Word, as our plum line. This is what keeps us in line with what Jesus says is not only for our best, but for the good of society as a whole, and for every individual that God fearfully and wonderfully created.

The apostle Paul writes: “For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.” (Romans 15:4) He goes on to say that we ought to follow Christ’s example – for unity, and for the glory of God.

Making concessions for something like freezing temperatures may make me physically uncomfortable. (It DID!) It also challenges me to be intentional about NOT making concessions when it comes to doing what yields God’s best for me. I won’t be perfect at it and will experience discomfort from time to time. But I don’t want a spiritual coldness that eventually makes me numb to the fact that I, and thus those around me, am missing the warmth, joy, and hope that comes from living more like Jesus.