Christian Living

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Observing my black and green clothing, my husband said, “So today you’re wearing ‘broccoli and soot.’”

I rolled my eyes at his attempted humor, spurred by an earlier discussion about the ways men and women view color. To men, green is green; to women, color is never so ordinary.

Color is descriptive and often references jewelry or food. Green might be jade or kiwi and red could be ruby or cherry. Yellow-gold is more interesting when it’s topaz or butterscotch. The list goes on and grows longer when you add the colors of nature. Sky, wheat, snow, forest—oh, the possibilities!

When my oldest son was invited to escort a young lady to her high school’s Homecoming Dance, he said he needed a tie to match her dress, which she informed him might be “chocolate.”

“What’s a chocolate dress?” he and every other male in my household wanted to know.

The question triggered further eye rolling. “Oh please,” I said with the bored annoyance of a fashion designer dealing with yahoos in beige polyester. “In your world, that would be dark brown.”

Chocolate is a fantastic color, especially when it’s accented with teal or fuchsia. You see, I love bold colors and have always admired the gal who had the courage to show up in head-to-toe chartreuse or tangerine. Work that color, girl!

A lot of people shy away from bold colors, but I think God loves them. After all, He’s the One Who created those scarlet autumn leaves that blaze against the sapphire sky. He painted the mango sunset that shimmers across the turquoise sea.

Of course, we see God’s glory in the pastel meadows and the neutral sand dunes. He speaks from the contrasts of a black mountain capped by a shock of snow. The quiet and the gentle, the brilliant and the bright, the deep and the rich—all colors are expressions of the Master artist.

Personalities are often assigned colors. A vivacious person might make us think of orange (fire) while a quiet individual is associated with blue (cornflower). We might link a moody person to gray (slate) and a cheerful soul to yellow (banana).

What color should a Christian be?

Christians often hear that we should be bold in our witness. For some, this seems as natural as breathing; for others, it’s an intimidating prospect, as scary as leaving the house in neon pants trimmed in Christmas lights.

Lack of boldness is a burden to many believers, often leaving them racked with shame. What should one to do? I think we should first recognize that spiritual boldness doesn’t come from our own resolve, self-confidence 101 or a pill for social anxiety. It doesn’t originate with talent, scholarly smarts or an exuberant personality. Boldness comes “not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit”. (Zechariah 4:6 NIV)

To be bold in our witness, we must be submissive and obedient to God’s will and ways. At first glance, those qualities don’t sound like boldness, but surrender is the first step towards it. Until we surrender, we’re trying to overcome challenges on our own, but apart from Christ we can do nothing. (John 15:5)

With Him, we can do all things. (Philippians 4:13) Because of our salvation through Christ, the Holy Spirit indwells us, functioning as comforter, encourager and counselor, imparting wisdom, discernment, truth, guidance and might.. How do we know the Holy Spirit gives us power to witness? Because Jesus said so! “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1: 8 NIV)

Always a gentleman, the Holy Spirit doesn’t force Himself upon us. Though He lives in the heart of every believer, how active He is depends on our willingness to yield ourselves to Him. Realizing that God “did not give us a spirit of timidity” (2 Timothy 1:7), we should ask to be filled with the Spirit’s power to witness. Try it—and see if you don’t start breaking out of your shell.

It doesn’t matter if we’re pale pink or as purple as Barney. The Holy Spirit working within is the bold color of God--and it looks good on everyone!

©Donna G. Morton October 2007

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