I've just been thrown into a quandary. I recently received an invite to a meal. On the invite were two words that caused the problem. It simply said “Dress Formal.” The thing is, I can't remember ever having been to a dinner where formal dress has been required, I wasn't quite sure what to wear. A bit of research soon cleared the confusion, and the suit is now put to one side along with the right shirt, and even a smart looking bow tie. What I didn't want to do was turn up and look out of place. Just think of the horror of turning up to a party that you thought was fancy dress, but wasn't! We like to fit in. We don't want to stand out, and so knowing what is normally expected, the etiquette,  for a situation is helpful. But there are times when we have to take a stand, when something is so important that it's worth standing out for. Issues of justice and righteousness, protecting the vulnerable, standing up for the weak, even if it costs us. There are those values that we have which are worth more than the potential embarrassment of appearing out of place.

In the New Testament of the Bible, in the book of Matthew Chapters 5 to 7, Jesus delivers a body of teaching to his followers. It has become known as the sermon on the mount. In the sermon he sets out the way of living for Christians, and the values of the Kingdom of God. The sermon on the mount reminds us that worshiping God and living by his norms and values is what human beings are called to do. The values of the kingdom may make people stand out, mark them as somewhat different, but Christians believe the values of the kingdom of God are things worth the potential embarrassment of appearing different. Those kingdom values treat others with compassion and give God the worship He deserves. What values do we hold most highly?

By Rev Tony Musgreave, Church of the Nazarene.  Representing Churches Together in Dewsbury. 

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