HOLY OR SANCTIMONIOUS?

Yesterday morning I uploaded (on my WhatsApp status) a goofy 10-sec video of me dancing and winding my waist to Ladipoe's "Know You." It would have passed for twerking if I had any noticeable bum and my waist weren't so stiff.

While having a casual discussion with my granny later in the evening, the conversation somehow veered towards conservative people who suddenly "open-eye." I then told her about this prudish female cousin of mine who has lately begun to adopt a new lifestyle. She now wears trousers (tight-fitting ones, even), makeup and generally seems to be more liberal about life.

For an average Christian, nothing she did was out of the ordinary. But it seemed more provocative when she did it because she was raised by a mother who permitted neither earrings, makeup nor even tights (undergarment. They, according to her, are no different from trousers). 

As if to further confound me, she uploaded videos of herself half-dancing and half-twerking today. She had full makeup on, had a nice shirt on with skinny pants. 

My first instinct was to go show her status updates to my granny and say, "see, I told you so."  Then I asked myself why it was okay for me to dress appealingly, wind my waist and goof around but not okay for my cousin. 

What kind of Christian does that make me when a fellow young woman finally comes out of her cocoon of self-righteousness and I respond by making a mocking news of it? I nearly choked with the realization of my hypocrisy, and quickly repented of it.

When people suddenly appear to pay more attention to their looks, or their tastes upgrade, it should not be seen as backsliding. It is also instructive to know that most of the habits and values we espoused while growing up was as a direct result of parental influence. We knew God, but not for ourselves. My cousin's mom knew a God who frowned at hair extensions and lip stain, and she raised her daughter(s) that way. My cousin has grown older and now sees a God who is interested in the affairs of men, and is as interested in her spiritual growth as in her fashion tastes. And truly, nothing can separate us from the love of Christ. Not the judgement of bible-thumping Christians, not makeup or trousers or good, clean, fun.

Yes, everything should be in moderation, but I don't get to define "moderation" for other people. It is between them, their conscience, and their maker. 

I'm guiding against making a long epistle of this post, so I'll end with this prayer: that the Lord keep us all in His perfect will, and hide us in the hollow of His hands.